Another Good Point
 

:cool: Richard has addressed the other weak part of this assembly. The interior is hollow, and the only support for the connector pins are the three pairs of "clips", or "opposed locking fingers" as Richard calls them. However, there is one other weak area. So, when testing to see if the plate that holds these connector pins is loose, don't push very hard, or you are likely to dislodge one or more of them from the plate that they are fitted into that is held down by the three pairs of "clips", or "opposed locking fingers"(whew). These connector pins are simply glued into that plate, and not very well. Also, don't bother with the center, as that is just the latex potting compound, and pushing on that won't do you much good.

OK. After spending about 3 hours of quality time with my Xacto set and the TDC amplifier, I have removed enough if the silicon to see that I do not have any broken or weak solder joints on the printed circuit board. I'm now thinking one of the electrical components. Based on the clock issue, my first thought is the FRAKO capacitor. I would welcome any other thoughts at this point.

The capacitor identification on the top is weak, but appears to be marked "100/16 FRAKO T2." The only number I am uncertain of here is the 100 microfarad rating, as a large portion of the number is missing. Can someone confirm this to be correct? The clock capacitor, rated 100/16, was labeled "100/16 FRAKO P8."

I have posted a couple pictures of the TDC amp innards for those who are interested. They are at:

http://web.infoave.net/~ontheriver/automobiles/tdcamp.htm