It's actually used photographic FIXER that contains a lot of "free silver"...
the fixer removes any unexposed silver in the film emulsion. For many years I
recovered the silver from my fixer by adding powdered zinc, which will dissolve
more easily in the solution than silver will, causing the silver to precipitate
out. Collected over 28 ounces over the years.
His method of silver plating probably involved connecting the negative lead of
a
low-voltage source to the "can", filling it with used fixer, and then
suspending
a zinc electrode in the solution, connected to the positive lead. The zinc
goes
into solution, and the silver, instead of precipitating out, plates out onto
the
can. If the fixer is sufficiently loaded with silver ("exhausted", in
photo-speak), it will plate out on copper without any current source, but
adding
the batteries will speed things up & result in a thicker layer of silver.
George, KA3HSW
>
>From: cecil ferguson <[email protected]>
>To: Repeater Builder <[email protected]>
>Sent: Mon, July 12, 2010 7:08:36 AM
>Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Silver Plating - Cheap & Easy
>
>
>A couple of years back, in an exchange with an engineer from Texas Instrument
>Germany, who is working in Freising, Barvaria, I was told of a cheap and easy
>silver plating procedure he uses on his duplexers. He uses Photographic
>Developer (which has a really high level of 'free silver') and a simple one or
>two cell power source = 1.5 to 3.0 volts. (While not discussed, I would
>suggest
>
>that 'used fluid' may be better than new and may be obtained very cheaply).
>This should be an ideal solution for the DIYers in our group.
>
>If interested, why not contact Hans-Juergan Schott directly at < h-scho...@ti.
>com >?
>
>This should be an interesting topic for our Tecnical Info page as well.
>
>Hans-Juergan, if you are monitoring, pls forward this procedure to us as I
>think
>
>many of us would be interested. Tnx.
>
>
>73 to all,
>
>Cecil E (Gene) Ferguson. W4FWG
