Capacitors

      Hi Omer,

      I can recommend these caps.
      They are made by Fischer & Tausche in Kiel, Germany and get relabeled by Jan Wüsten for his own distribution.
      If you are looking for the highest quality - search no more.

      Unfortunately - as always - quality has it´s price. This is why many people here prefer the yellow capacitors (made ich China) for their everyday projects.

      Personally I think it depends on the radio you want to use them for and on how much you want to spend.
      If you´re not on a budget and intend to repair a SABA Freiburg I´d recommend the F&Ts. If you´re going to repair a Wildbad for use in the kitchen - why not fit in the Chinese caps.

      Just to make it clear - your radio will play alright no matter which capacitor brand you decide to use.

      If you use New Old Stock capacitors however, you can´t be sure if they are fully functional and if they still meet their old spacifications.
      Achim

      In your opinion, do any of these vendors offer capacitors that SABA restorers would place in a Freiburg model radio?

      http://www.justradios.com/capacitors.html

      http://www.tubesandmore.com/

      http://www.radiosupply.com/category/23.aspx

      http://www.radioantiques.com/supplies.html

      http://www.wjoe.com/capacitors.htm#top of page

      http://www.mouser.com/Passive-Components/Capacitors/Film-Capacitors/_/N-5g7t?Keyword=capacitors&FS=True

      thank you

      Omer

      Hello Omer,

      maybe there was a misunderstanding. The capacitors you linked in your first post are good to restore old radios. They are of good quality, have good electrical properties and match optically perfect in an old radio. Achim replied that Mr. Wuesten does not make this capacitors by his own, they are made by Fischer & Tausche (F&T) and specially labeled with this typical black cover. Since F&T is a manufacturer and not a distributor you can not buy small quantities there.
      As Achim wrote, if you don't care about the visual appearance of changed parts and you don't want to spend much money you can take the cheaper metallic film capacitors with axial connection (usually yellow) which are made in China. Technically also metallic film capacitors with radial connectors would work, but they have very short pins and are uncomfortable to install in free wired circuits.
      In your last post you listed some sources where to buy.
      I don’t know where you are. My recommendation is, buy where you get the best price and service. Here in the forum a lot of members including me buy at our forum member Volker (www.antikradio-restored.de). Maybe it would be also an option for you.

      Regards,
      Wolfgang
      geht nicht - gibt's nicht!

      Thank you very much for all the answers.

      The reason I placed this post, is to find out what most restorers use for their SABA radios, Freiburg in specific.

      Achim articulated that he likes the F&T brand, and relegates the yellow capacitors for the cheaper SABA models.

      My placing all these capacitor sources, is to find out from forum members which kind of capacitors are mostly used. Since Volker is a member and sells capacitors, I have no problem paying for the extra shipping for axial type capacitors that are not available in North America, if he offers the ones that are used by members of this forum on their radios.

      More important, even though the yellow capacitors are Chinese produced, I have the impression that these capacitors are the ones mostly used by SABA collectors.

      I would like to thank all of the members of this forum for your help and I apologize for my lack of being able to communicate in German.

      As a matter of fact there are only a handful of manufacturers of axial capacitors left today.
      So if you want to use new components that are currently being produced - and I would recommend to do so - there´s only a small number of sources to choose from.

      There are basicaly four "ideologies" present in this board:

      Number 1: Only use New (or used) Old Stock capacitors. We´re not dealing with this here - it´s very few people anyway.

      Number 2: Use "WIMA MKS" capacitors. They are widely available and of superb quality but they are radial. This is no problem since you can extend one leg with a piece of wire. From an aesthetic point of view it´s not perfect of course. Some members here use this method and when it´s done carefully it´s a fine solution.



      Number 3: Use the widely available Chinese "CBB20" (and it´s derivates) axial capacitors.

      http://csdsz888.en.made-in-china.com/product/PMGniZgyfVhw/China-Axial-Type-Matellized-Film-Capacitor-CBB20-CL20-.html

      This is indeed the model most people are using here. The Pros are cheap price and axial lineout.


      (note they even didn´t manage to put the wire at the center here)

      Number 4: Use the capacitors by Fischer & Tausche. Their quality is superior, they are still "made in Germany" and they make a very authentic optical impression when used in the older SABA radios.

      http://www.ftcap.de/seiten/de/home/home.php



      There´s a handful of people here who use them.

      As commonly known here I prefer this brand since for me 50ies SABA radios and Chinese firecrackers don´t mix very well.

      Components made in Asia weren´t introduced here before the 70ies (late 60ies). Thats why I use Chinese electrolytic capacitors today when repairing 70ies HiFi components but as long as axial capacitors are produced in this country I prefer them for use in the old tube-radios. Why not help the Guys in Kiel keep their jobs anyway ;)
      Achim

      Thank you very much Achim for the detailed explanation.

      Considering that the Freiburgs are commanding $1000.00 $2500.00 US, on EBay, and since many restorers seek authenticity, it would be worth investigating the possibility that the folks at F&T, through SABA forum's member Volkers, put some sort of package deal for forum members, that would include capacitor values that are used the most for these radios, as well as the multi electrolytic capacitors.

      Being that these radios are a part of German heritage, I can't think of a better way for a capacitor manufacturer to promote their product, than through a forum like this one!

      The suggestion regarding use of NOS SABA capacitors sounds like a prescription for a disaster!

      It would be the same as using fifty year old rayon Vredstien or Continental tires on an old Porsche Speedster!

      Omer

      There are distributors in North America, but not with the selection that Jan offers.

      My suggestion is, that for all those that are interested in using these type of capacitors, to contact the manufacturer and ask them if they could put something together for forum members, possibly using Volkers as the middle man.

      http://www.ftcap.de/seiten/de/anfrage_kontakt/anfrage_kontakt.php

      Since the order would be much smaller than what F&T is accustomed to, perhaps F&T's promotional department could engage with this idea.

      Omer

      And here´s one more hint for those looking for high quality capacitors:

      For "recapping" old systmboards I need "Ultra Low ESR Electrolytic Capacitors" on a regular basis. One of the most renowned suppliers is the Japanese company Rubycon (amongst Panasonic, Samxon, Sanyo).

      Rubicon are also offering highest quality narrow tolerated (3%, 5%) radial film capacitors with 20mm long leads.

      http://www.rubycon.co.jp/en/catalog/capacitors.html

      Maybe these capacitors are worth considering for repairing / restaurating tube radios specially those made in the 60ies.

      Achim