wafer sockets

[gary sanders]

Ive got a few dozen of these,are they worth using? they used to be in everything I guess but how durable are they?

[David Root]

They look pretty old, might be worth something on the NOS market. You're right, they look a bit wobbly.

[selloutrr]

These are commonly used in old radios and consumer electronics that would sit and stay in one place. As long as the contacts are clean and the boards don't crack under the stress of tightening a screw and bolt or rivet, they would work for restorations and or prototyping projects.

They sell from $0.50 cents up to a couple dollars depending on the number of holes, materials, and condition.

I wouldn't feel confident using them in any circuit directly connecting to a vibrating source such as a speaker running more then 3watts due to the vibration.

[sliberty]

I have rebuilt a couple of old Dynaco's, and they were built using these type of sockets. They crumbled while I was cleaning them up. Not the waffer - the contacts. The simply fell out, broke off, you get the idea.

Personally, I wouldn't use them.

[Phil_S]

I suspect not all wafer sockets are equally cheap. I've managed to harvest a few from derelict chassis for the bone pile. In general, I'd say this type of socket is a last resort. It's more work than it's worth and a big inconvenience when time comes to replace it.

[BTF]

I had an amusing experience with an old Kalamazoo Model 2 that used wafer sockets. One night we were practicing when the odor of smoke started wafting through the practice room. I looked around and there was a flame about the thickness of a pencil poking through the top of my amp! When I took the amp apart, I found that the wafer socket for my rectifier had two shorted contacts and the resulting heat had set a carbon comp resistor alight and the flame had burned through the paperboard amp cabinet. Oddly, despite the short the fuse did not blow. Old 6X4 tubes evidently were very robust! I must say though, the socket did have almost 40 years service with no problems.

Regards, BTF.