When soldering some copper braid to a gold plated spring, contemplated the wisdom of soldering over the gold plating where it contacts the battery. Gold is great for contacts because it doesn't tarnish.
Then it hit me, steal a contact button from a power relay and solder it to the tip of the spring.
I haven't tried this yet and don't know whether it will help, but it sure seems reasonable. Has anyone else tried this?
By the way, if you don't like the gold plating (because gold is higher resistance than silver), just burnish off the plating to expose the silver/nickel underneath.
Where do you buy one and how much is the cheapest price for a gold contact power relay? Any other salvageable (Recycle bin) sources of gold contacts? I am thinking old Mother boards or computer monitors…
A lot of relays, strowager switches etc used in telecommunication systems etc especially older systems, use contacts that are coated with platinum, palladium, rhodium or similar
Would that not be better as its low resistance like gold but more resistant to wear as often in its original use it had to often slide over more than one contact point repeatedly ?
I live nearly next door to http://www.electronicsurplus.com/ (although the pictured relay came from an old project from two jobs ago). I suspect suitable contacts can be scrounged from many scrap appliances, microwaves, washer, dryer, etc. but the condition of these contacts may be quite used. Buying a brand new relay from Radio Shack or the like will get pristine contacts but it's a shame to waste a perfectly good relay just for the contacts.
Look around at thrift shops for something that may work. Keep in mind the gains here may not be worth the time/expense.
EDIT: These are $0.95 http://www.electronicsurplus.com/deltrol-4051c-relay-dc-coil-24vdc-23ma-1045-ohm
