Heath SB-series wafer switches

[G. Beat]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Myers" <rsmyers at ROGERS.COM>
To: <HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV>
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 4:27 PM
Subject: [HEATH-TEMPE] Details of metalic make up of SB-series wafer 
switches


> Any metallurgists out there?
>
> Does anyone know definitively what metals are used in the make up of the 
> wafer switches in the Heathkit SB-series radios?  For example, what is the 
> base metal?  What is the plating?  Are all SB-series wafer switch's metal 
> done that same way?
>
> I mean, are they just pure brass, or a thin mild steel base metal that is 
> copper "flashed" then plated with gold, or silver, or tin, or nickel, or 
> brass --- or something else.  I'd like to know as much detail about the 
> physics of the make up of those pieces.  In theory the base metal could be 
> steel, copper, or brass --- or even aluminum (I doubt it's that) which 
> could actually be zinc plated using chloride zinc, or alkaline zinc ---  
> which can look yellow and bright, as if it were just brass, or copper 
> plated with gold, or steel plated with brass.  So who knows?
>
> I know it's a rather esoteric question.
>
> Thanks,
> --- Rob VE3 JQL
>

Since Heath Company was located in Benton Harbor, Michigan "around the Lake" 
from Chicago.  Many of the Heath kit components came from electronics firms 
that were Chicago based  in the 1950s and 1960s.
Some companies are still here (e.g. Motorola, Switchcraft, Shure, Chicago 
Transformer) -
while others have been acquired, moved or closed.

Heath used Oak and CentraLab switches in many of their kits. Both companies 
moved in the 1990s.
These companies are now part of Electroswitch (plant operations located in 
Raleigh, North Carolina)
http://www.electro-nc.com/

Select a switch
http://www.electro-nc.com/selectswitch.shtml

Contact materials and construction
http://www.electro-nc.com/products/OFcontact-b.shtml

Open Frame Rotary switches
http://www.electro-nc.com/rotaryus/open_sel.pdf

The 6MLR series (old CentraLab) is still being made -
thanks to its usage in guitars (music industry has $$) - these special 
requests were handled.
http://www.electro-nc.com/oak/p28.pdf

w9gb 

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