They have been in a sealed bag at the bottom of a box of “stuff” kept in a cupboard with the door kept closed for the last 20years i.e. they have not been stored in sunlight being exposed to UV. I found them when clearing out cupboards as we are having an extension built and the box needed a new home.
Having found them the other week, I opened the bag today as I needed one of these to make a PTT lead for my 705. When I opened it there was lots of brittle tiny pieces of black plastic and a few plugs had no black plastic cover. Some detailed examination shows there’s 50 perfect plugs with nice supple plastic and 50 plugs were the plastic is brittle and crumbles between the fingers like stale bread. The fact there’s exactly 50 : 50 split makes me think one batch was made from crappy plastic that has aged in some way but the lack of exposure to UV puzzles me. But I’m sure I’ve seen plastic covers on plugs turn from flexible to crumbly before over the years. Never en masse though!
Anyway I now have 50 of these plugs with no cover. Sure I could bodge a cover out of a small piece of self-amalgamating tape but I have 49 perfect ones. Other than the self-amalgamating tweak, can anyone think of a sensible use for them?
Otherwise they’ll go in the metal waste skip at my recycling centre.
Very little. I could print 50 of those for less than a buck. I get 1KG rolls of PETG when they are on sale for ~$20. Very likely someone has already made a model, but it would be trivial to draw that in CAD.
If you do make or bodge new covers, it might be worth considering an “elbow” design option (of course, it wouldn’t screw on). I have a self amalgamating tape elbow bodge on the lead for my Palm paddle, which means that I can leave it connected to the FT817 safely in transit. It saves rummaging around at the back to connect it on a summit…
Whether you will ever need more than the 50 good ones you already have, is another question!
Switches are from old 3.5" floppy drives (write protect sense switch).
A small strip of PCB for reinforcement, and all glued toghether with some epoxy.
They are very light to the touch, and can be operated with gloves on.
Suitable for left handed ops, just flip it over 180°
