by EWBrown » Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:18 am
I've been using the non -nductive 8 ohm, 10 watt resistors from Parts Express as dummy loads. For the GSG, with its lower power levels, 10 ohms 2-5 watts is more than good enough.
If I need full power tests on the "big amps" then I have some 8.5 ohm, 150 watt "aluminum heat sink" power resistors that I got on the cheap at Eli Hefron's about 35 years ago... These have a slide tap, so I can set for lower resistance if needed for 4 and 6 ohm tests.
"8 ohm" speakers aren't actually 8 ohms across the entire audio spectrum, so the resistors don't have to be super-precise...
(ramble mode on)
Eli's was a electronic and equipment surplus seller in Cambridge Mass, which literally used to price and sell stuff by the pound (and by the ton) , and even individual item prices were less than dirt cheap. Unless the 3rd or 4th generation of Hefron's have taken over , it is probably long gone...
It was one of my favorite hangouts in the late 600s and early to mid 70s,
and living about a mile away was a bonus, as well... Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_03
It's unique feature that it was fully owned and operated by two brothers, named Bennie and Jay, and the usual practice was to bring your goodies to one and ask him the price, then wait a few minutes, and ask the other guy. Whoever gave teh best (lower) price was the "winner". Either they never caught on, or else they didn't care.
The other trick that I learned (apparently not to their knowledge) was their "secret alpha-numeric code" of which they would mark items with seemingly random large block letters in chalk or wax crayon.
It didn't take me too long to realize that the particular combination of letters spelled the word "REPUBLICAN", and R stood for 1, E for 2, and so on, with N standing in for zero. So, knowing their own cost was an extra "lever" in dealing with them. Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_03
FWIW, some hardware stores and others still use similar codes, Ace and Tru-Value in particular. Go and have some fun playing "codebreaker"...
That was before the days of the hamfests and swapfests that are more the normal standard of today's times and usually have even lower prices and more to choose from.
(ramble mode off)
/ed B in NH
Real Radios Glow in the Dark