Re: 'Tron Care in Humid Climes.....Dry Static Buildup :
2006-05-18 by Jerry Korb
kenmerb@... wrote: > > > Yes, Jerry, but I think that one of your trons holds the record for being in > the most humid climate. Wasn't "Julia" at one time living on someone's boat > before you restored her? What were the effects of that on a MKI? > _______________________________________________________________________ Hi KM and gang, Thanks for the reply. MK-I #124 spent its earliest years on the yacht of millionaire Mr. Bloom (not the mayor of NYC). This was many years before our dear friend Gordon Reid was Julia's owner (1981-1988). Upon taking delivery of it in 1998, saw evidence of "L" brackets bolted to sides in four places. Used to fasten Julia to bulkhead walls of Mr. Bloom's yacht. Found salt crystals embedded in floor-pan and base-plate for foot-pedal needed replacement. Alum. piece was dissolved on all corners, and pitted thru in a few places. Oxidation and electrolysis do their work slowly..... __________________________________________________________________ > > The Florida humidity *was* good for my MKII however. The static snapping that > was happening in the MKII audio due to the cold, dry Boston climate was not a > problem in Florida. The thinking was that the cycling was causing a buildup > of static electricity that was being discharged when the keys were depressed, > causing pops in the audio. Martin graciously sent me another set of MKII > tapes without backing, but I moved to Florida before I got a chance to install > them, and the humid Florida air eliminated the static problem. __________________________________________________________________ After the fact, I understand how this can happen. MK-II (and other mdls) drums are coated paper, an insulator. Add-in plastic rollers, and a thin oxide coating on recording-tape moving at 30 IPS for 2-20 seconds (1-6 stations) , creates a wonderful static demo machine . Small version of the popular Van der Graaf Generator (machine, not the band) at science fairs of the 1960's. Some charge is dissipated on the metal guide combs, but residual static remains to cause those popping gremlins you experienced, Ken. An easy fix is to fit a tiny grounding wire (found on some MK-II's) from sprocket to metal end cap. Harry's use of all-metal drums on some Chamberlins is by-far the best solution . In my realm of Edisonia, I've personally seen vintage Edison lightbulb bamboo filaments bend and contact inner glass wall during winter, because of static. Buildup caused by bubble-wrap, tissue-paper,etc. Not a problem in summer. If any of you "seasoned" readers heard/know of Alfred Morgan's books of electricity/electronics , there's loads of cool science-projects about static electricity. Not a Mellotron in sight , whew ! ___________________________________________________________________ > > > Now I'm living in Dallas, which is, I guess, on one end of tornado alley. So, > there are potential problems for the trons wherever I go. Hmmm...Boston > (static problems, currently flooding), Florida (hurricanes), Dallas > (tornados). There's your "Merbler Triangle". ;-) The trons are currently in > storage, so I don't know how they will play in Dallas. > > BTW, anyone want to buy a condo in Cocoa Beach, FL? Ken M. _______________________________________________________________ Well, let's see....Pontoons to keep your gear afloat, or building a studio in concrete room , no windows, everything anchored to the floor. Oh yeah, dehumidifiers galore. ....NOAA radio on standby..... Good Luck ! The Merbler Triangle as drawn on a map, encompasses many Tron owners in the Northeast and Southern states. Uh-Oh ! Make sure your motors don't reverse direction someday or have a desire to attach to walls. Cheers, -JK- (science fair nerd of the 1960's, and Tron nut of the 70's )