Brent Brown clear.net.nz> writes: > Interesting what the article says about gold not being as durable as=20 > silver under arcing conditions. >=20 > I had wondered once if gold plating over standard contacts in a power=20 > relay might=20 Sealed relays are a better idea. This includes power reeds (10A ones are available), and sealed can type relays, which normally should have low O2 inside, either because it was deliberately scavenged at canning time, or because it was consumed by oxydizing the contacts in part during use. Plate= d and solid contacts have been manufactured in billions of units for at least 100 years so I think that most mysteries about them have been solved. Low current in contacts other than gold or mercury wetted is a really bad idea in general, unless vacuum or sealed oxygen free atmosphere is used. This is clearly illustrated by the metal oxide (various!) semiconductor experiments made by many. See here for more:=20 http://www.sparkbangbuzz.com/els/ngres2-el.htm I also did my work with such horrible things more than 10 years ago (at least I wrote it up then), but my work is not online. --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .