Trimmer caps

[zachtheterrible]

wut do y'al use to adjust trimmer capacitors? I cant think of anything non-conductive that I have laying around my house. And I dont want to buy anything, im sure theres gotta be something ive got laying around here. Oh yeah, what is the third leg for on trimmer caps? Thanx

 

[grrr_arrghh]

melt some plastic onto the end of a smalll screwdriver, shave into a point.

 

[stevez]

Are you sure the trimmer is really a cap and not a pot?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

wut do y'al use to adjust trimmer capacitors? I cant think of anything non-conductive that I have laying around my house. And I dont want to buy anything, im sure theres gotta be something ive got laying around here. Oh yeah, what is the third leg for on trimmer caps? Thanx

Just use a small screwdriver, make sure you fit the trimmer the correct way round though, that way the adjustment slot will be at zero or ground potential, and adjusting it won't give a problem. You could try filing down a plastic knitting needle, that's been a common 'twiddler' for a great many years!.

The third connection is simply a duplicate of the first one, it's just to give a more stable mounting.

 

[zachtheterrible]

nope, not a pot, i dont do pot :lol: (tough crowd eh?). How do i tell which end to put @ ground?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

nope, not a pot, i dont do pot :lol: (tough crowd eh?). How do i tell which end to put @ ground?

Just look closely at it, it's obvious which connection is the moving plates, or you could check it with a meter.