Yesterday, I was replacing a 2 megohm meter multiplier that seemed to have failed. It was a single large-bodied resistor stamped "2M 3.5W". I get it unsoldered and it falls apart in my hands--a cardboard tube with two 2-watt, 1 megohm resistors soldered together in the middle. From the outside, you could not tell that this was 2 resistors in series. It was the connection between them that had failed. Very strange.
In replacing this, I was trying to use some resistors from my stock of old ex-mil surplus types. These are usually painted brown and stamped with some specific value--like 681K--on them. Some of these have a construction that has metal end caps attached to the hard body of the resistor (not sure what the body is made of). In many cases, I discovered that when these metal end caps were just gently tugged , they came right off. Clearly, this is another component design that was not engineered to last 50 years. 73, Don Merz, N3RHT The information contained in this e-mail may be confidential and is intended solely for the use of the named addressee. Access, copying or re-use of the e-mail or any information contained therein by any other person is not authorized. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us immediately by returning the e-mail to the originator.(A)
