Another VARIAC!

[(*steve*)]

Here's something else that has turned up.



A baby VARIAC with an interesting control mechanism.



Looks like 60 to 85V 50/60 Hz 1.5A



The knob pushes/pulls the slider using a metal tape.



There's 2 brushes, which is a bit odd. And that's where the problems is:



One of these brushes is not like the other!

The brush looks like it's soldered in place. The Silver material is soft and easily scratched with a screwdriver.

And there's something else that's odd:



There are heaps of internal turns. Not what I'm expecting from an autotransformer.

Happy to hear any suggestions for fixing the brush, or comments on this odd device.

 

[(*steve*)]

Interestingly enough, I have found a site that sells very similar brushes. But more importantly, they also offer to "re-tip" existing brushes. This may be extremely useful because my brushes are similar, but not the same.

http://www.carbonbrush.com/variacbrush.htm (see VB-1 brushes)