Air variable cap parts arrived a couple of weeks ago now. Have had this sitting on the bench for over a week, thought i should post about it. These are the panels, i separated them by cutting the tabs off on the bandsaw. If i ever make a second iteration, I will add in some drillings to make the tabs break off.
6 plates top and bottom give a minimum capacitance of 20pf.
Fully meshed they give a maximum capacitance of 133pf. Using the parts on hand, I have enough plates to build 2 capacitors that are 60 to 400pf or there about’s, being 15 plates top and bottom. Its just a matter of spending the time assembling them. There are some changes i would make if I was to do them again, like make the rod 5mm rather than 4mm, this would make it easier to mount a knob on and things like that. There is a spring front and rear to apply resistance to the movable plates so they hold their position. Other than that, it works.
