5 Oct
1998
5 Oct
'98
12:36 p.m.
On Mon, 5 Oct 1998, Tony Duell wrote:
Well, it says 800W on the box, but I'm not going to insist it is correct
as I agree, 800W would melt a cubic foot of solder.
The labeling
indicates "MAX. 800 WATTS-120 V.A.C." My math tells me that
this unit can handle a maximum of 6 amps. Would this be safe to use as a
variac on, say, a sparsely loaded IMSAI?
800W is a _very_ large soldering iron... 80W would be more like it. My guess is that this is a Triac-based controller,
like a lamp dimmer. Is
there any electronics in the case apart form the pot? In particular is
there a 3-pin TO220 packaged device on a heatsink?
Yep, there it is. Sometimes I think you have a camera spying on all of us
list members.
I would not use a triac controller on a transformer
load like a computer.
The sudden edges in the waveform when the triac conducts would not do it
any good at all.
Ok, same as what Chuck suggested.
A true Variac does look a bit like a large pot, but a
6A one is going to
be about 4" in diameter...
Someone on the list turned me on to a cheap one being offered on the net.
If I don't get this one then I at least know what to look for now at the
ham fests.
Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
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