1 8

Philips

Two (2) NOS Beehive 2pF - 10pF variable trimmer capacitors - tubular piston caps

Two (2) NOS Beehive 2pF - 10pF variable trimmer capacitors - tubular piston caps

€10,99
€10,99
Sale Sold out
Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.

Brand: Philips

Mounting Style: Chassis Mount

Type: Trimmer Capacitor

Capacitor Construction: Variable Tubular Capacitor

Capacitance Rating: 10pF

Two (2 pcs) NOS professional variable capacitors 2pf - 10pf. Rare - Beehive - Tubular - Piston Caps!


Made back in 60s probably by Philips. They are marked "804-20012 10pF" and are very solidly constructed, with silver-plated connections and a ceramic core. Fully meshed the capacitance is ~15pF, falling to < 2pF when open. 

Rarely seen these days, these are no longer made, but at one time were used extensively in both domestic and commercial radio equipment. The 'beehive' nick-name derives from the concentric construction, reminiscent of old-style beehives. These would be useful for repairing vintage sets with authentic parts or for general radio construction for trimming filters and oscillators. 

They are called "beehive" variable capacitor and you can find them also as "tubular" or "piston" variable capacitors. Despite they are of low total capacitance (like all trimmers), they are small in size compared to their big brothers, they have high-Q, they can handle quite a lot of power and voltage (500V), and due to their construction, they are finely-tuned, since they all have an embedded mechanical reduction drive (their screw)! I have found these trimmers to be backlash-free as well, which means that as you tune back and forth you do not skip frequencies due to backlash. Whereas in a standard trimmer the usable rotation is half turn at maximum, these trimmers have several turns to achieve the same capacitance variation. Moreover, these trimmers allow a knob to be easily mounted onto them.

.
View full details