Does anyone use light bulb dummy loads anymore?

[VE7NOT]

I do. I have a 3 position antenna switch. Two antennas and one light bulb.

Kind of fun when tuning with cw to see it send things. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

I got the idea from an older ham. And i'm not about to buy a dummy load.

Curious how much is actually radiated though.

[WA2ZDY]

Quite a bit is radiated in fact. #DX contacts have been made by hams #using light bulbs as "dummy" loads.

They aren't very good for imitating a 50 ohm load either. #The resistance of the filament changes considerably as it heats up. #So as a steady known load, they're poor.

If you think about it, here's where you find trouble. Take a 60w 120v bulb for example. I=P/E, so this bulb draws half an amp. R=E/I so we know the resistance of this bulb is 240 ohms. That's hot. The cold resistance is closer to 0 ohms. And it drifts upward, albeit very quickly, from there.

Not quite the 50 ohms your rig is looking for, huh?

If you need a dummy load for tuning, adjustments, testing, etc, get a real one.

[K7JBQ]

Quote[/b] (WA2ZDY @ Sep. 26 2006,17:58)]They aren't very good for imitating a 50 ohm load either. #The resistance of the filament changes considerably as it heats up. #So as a steady known load, they're poor.

If you need a dummy load for tuning, adjustments, testing, etc, get a real one.
Which means that while it will work, after a fashion, when hooked up to a DX-40, it'a probably a poor idea with an IC-7800.

73,
Bill

[W0LPQ]

Chris & Jim ... when we started ... that WAS the ideal dummy load. #Oooops .... did someone answer me...

Yep.....

But what did we know 35+ years ago.!! #Zip cord, ratty antennas ... light bulbs ... yeah....what a trip.

However today ... a dummy load is mandatory.

Bill, W0LPQ

[KL1ZB]

Buy a dummy load. Why?

I guess if you were running over 1000 Watts of power you might consider buying one otherwise you can build a good, near continuous usage 100 watt dummy load out of spare parts(that doesn't involve a light bulb).

[W0JBC]

I am not surprised to see such a post from
" NOT " .... simple is as simple does ..

Used that for tune up in the late fifties ..

It did radiate then, and would radiate now...

Of course, there will be someone to explain this phenomenon .... What a a hoot ......

JB WØ J B C

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[W0UZR]

I have heard of hams making contacts on a light bulb.
# # # I tried it too, and the lowest VSWR was a 3. #And it radiates rf everywhere. #WHY??

# # # # # # # # # #AAh, #If you don't know, I'm not Xplainin



~~EDIT~~


Oh, I forgot to mention. You will think the bulb is great until you are keying down some day, and the bulb burns out, and so does your radio.

[W0JBC]

Well " UZR " I am sure you have done this... With 4000 posts, you have heard this dribble before ...

TTFN
JB WØJBC ...

HAVE FUN.. !!!!!!!!

[VK2TIL]

ZB;

"......you can build a good, near continuous usage 100 watt dummy load out of spare parts......".

Like this;

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2204/pix001de7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

100 watts for as long as you like.

[KC9ECI]

I used one a few months ago with my FT-101. Shielded in a coffee can. I have since aquired a nice commercial made dumy load.

[W0JBC]

What ya' gonna do when the light bulb doesn't burn very brightly http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif?http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif??


JB WØJBC

[W0UZR]

Quote[/b] (W0JBC @ Sep. 26 2006,20:37)]Well #" UZR " #I am sure you have done this... #With 4000 posts, you have heard this dribble before ...

TTFN
JB # WØJBC #...

HAVE FUN.. !!!!!!!!
No I Haven't

I tried the light bulb just to try it. Took it
off the same day


I wan't born last night http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[N2RJ]

I have quite a few bulbs in my shack. I wouldn't exactly call any of them dummy loads...

[W0JBC]

Well... "UZR" , if you look me up ( I'm sure you have ) on QRZ you will see that
I wasn't born just yesterday either ....

Gonna hang on to the ADVANCED class until they take me out screaming !!!!!!!

With the class I have, no one is gonna say I got my license for free... I find this COMPUTER thing to be a learning experience also... As CW goes, I practised for about 3 months to go from
10 WPM to almost 30 WPM by using W1AW ... Taping every day ... Then taping a new one the next... Sometimes fast to slow and others slow to fast... Sometimes W1AW would reverse the text... No cheating ....

This IS NOT to turn into a I KNOW BETTER THAN YOU thread ...!!!!

I learn everyday.. thats the way it is ...

TNX ,

JB WØJBC

[WA9SVD]

Quote[/b] (K7JBQ @ Sep. 26 2006,18:05)]Quote[/b] (WA2ZDY @ Sep. 26 2006,17:58)]They aren't very good for imitating a 50 ohm load either. The resistance of the filament changes considerably as it heats up. So as a steady known load, they're poor.

If you need a dummy load for tuning, adjustments, testing, etc, get a real one.
Which means that while it will work, after a fashion, when hooked up to a DX-40, it'a probably a poor idea with an IC-7800.

73,
Bill
A 75 Watt (120 Volt) bulb was a perfect (at least adequate) load for the DX-40. Anything higher was a dim bulb.

But in the "old daze" with tube amps and Pi (or Pi-L) output tuning, the bulb was an adequate load. But as also stated, unless enclosed in a sheilded enclosure, it was far from a true "dummy load" and could radiate a fair amount of energy in the RF region at the fundamental frequency, not just in the IR and visible regions of the spectrum.

[W0UZR]

Quote[/b] (W0JBC @ Sep. 26 2006,21:17)]Well... #"UZR" , if you look me up ( I'm sure you have #) on QRZ you will see that
I wasn't born just yesterday either ....

Gonna hang on to the ADVANCED class until they take me out screaming #!!!!!!!

With the class I have, no one is gonna say I got my license for free... #I find this COMPUTER thing to be a learning experience also... As CW goes, I practised for about 3 months to go from #
10 WPM to almost 30 #WPM #by using W1AW ... #Taping every day ... Then taping a new one the next... # Sometimes fast to slow and others slow to fast... Sometimes W1AW would reverse the text... #No cheating ....

This IS NOT to turn into #a I KNOW BETTER THAN YOU #thread ...!!!!

I learn everyday.. thats the way it is ...

TNX #,

JB # WØJBC
I guess you missed my smily at the end of my post.


# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # GEE !

[W0JBC]

OK ... " UZR " I understand...

Hope to work you on HF one of these days .... My initial quip was for " NOT "
as we have been bantering about things before.... Of course nothing IGNORANT...

Life is too short to argue, especially,
if who you are arguing with doesn''t get it..

ps. His spelling has improved quite a bit !!



Later,


JB WØJBC

[W0UZR]

I run #MidCars about 3 times a week, so check in there on 7.258. #My usual spots are at 8:00am to 9:00am on Wed, and 8:00am to 10:00am on Sat.

[K6UEY]

Probably no need to explain any further but some are not as bright as the bulb.

If you tune the TX to match the bulb as a load as the bulb glows the impedance changes. Then you retune the TX to match the now impedance of the bulb and you put more or less into the load and as you do the filamant glows brighter or dimmer but it changes the impedance.

The purpose of a dummy load is to pretune the TX with out radiating and QRM ing some one else. A load that radiates is NO good as a dummy load,since it will radiate,and you will chase the impedance trying to match it.So in practice you will accomplish NOTHING but generate QRM with a Bulb as a dummy load!! #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

BTW. Zip cord does make a fair low Z balanced line . It is pretty close to 72 ohms.



http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[VE7NOT]

Quote[/b] (W0JBC @ Sep. 26 2006,19:00)]I am not surprised to see such a post from
" NOT " .... simple is as simple does ..
"Won't you do this for me son.. if you can." - Simple Man Hank Jr.

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[KL1ZB]

Quote[/b] (VK2TIL @ Sep. 25 2006,20:42)]ZB;

"......you can build a good, near continuous usage 100 watt dummy load out of spare parts......".

Like this;

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2204/pix001de7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

100 watts for as long as you like.
Well the Watt meter on the left side(if thats what it is) would be a little more difficult(for me at least) but yea I could do it with junk I have laying around.

[W4HAY]

Testing a transmitter on a light bulb can get you a 'pink ticket' from the FCC. With an improperly protected rig it can get you blown finals.

You'd be surprised how well they radiate. Connect a digital voltmeter across a light blub during tune-up and you have a close approximation of a random number generator.

MFJ has an air-cooled 300 Watt load for about $35 and a liquid-cooled 1000 Watter for $60, including oil. Much cheaper than new finals. No?

I have the kilowatt load connected to my transmatch and the 300 watt load connected to a Wheatstone RF bridge between the XCVR and AMP. I use the RF bridge & 35 Watt load to adjust the transmatch and the kilowatt load to tune the AMP. Before I get on the air, I'm completely tuned up.

All the ARRL Handbooks I've seen have at least schematics for the bridge. The XCVR is 'dumped' into a dummy load, the voltage across it sampled through a several-k-Ohm resistor, and applied to a 50-Ohm Wheatstone bridge, the transmatch and antenna being connected as one leg of the bridge. The transmatch is adjusted for a null on the meter. During this adjustment, only a few milliwatts reach the antenna.

The problem with using an SWR bridge to tune up is you're dumping a lot of power into the antenna and probably creating QRM.

[W0LPQ]

HAY I believe that at one time, one of the ARRL Handbooks (50's?? maybe before) had a light bulb dummy load inside a metal case. The case was perforated stuff, so you could see the bulb. Many people did not get dummy loads until later on, and especially with the advent of the solid state final rigs. With tubes, who cares ... they worked.

Orv, zip cord (as Chris, ZDY and others talked about earlier) was the alternative to somewhat more expensive 75 ohm twin lead. Used a lot of it in the mid to late 50's before my uncle talked me into becoming licensed.

Used to think that zip cord was the cure all..! Much cheaper than coax.

Bill, W0LPQ

[W4HAY]

Light bulbs were OK back when nothing really affordable was available. Now dummy loads are dirt-cheap.

Some of the above posters showed disdain for non-radiating loads. I wonder if they're some of the ones that screw up our QSOs while they obliviously tweak to their heart's content.

And hitting the 'auto-tune' function on that modern rig does dump enough power into the antenna to cause significant QRM! If you're going to use it, find a clear frequency, tune, then QSY to where you want to be.

[N2RJ]

Speaking of bulbs - didn't hams at one time use Neon lamps as dummy loads?

[W0LPQ]

HAY I don't think anyone shows disdain for a non-radiating dummy load. Just that when I started, there were very few around. We had tubes anyway and even if you used one (light bulb) once in a while, you'd probably never hurt the rig ... that is for the the DX-100 category transmitter.

Now most of us do have ... and use ... a good dummy load. However, given the current state of the art radios with no tune finals ... and a resonant antenna, there is no need to "tune" a radio, even with an auto tuner built in. The antenna is (or should be) resonant, therefore, why a tuner?

Bill, W0LPQ

[n0nwo]

Never used a light bulb but know older hams that have and still do. Although, I have often kidded about stringing up Christmas lights and using them as a dipole. It would look cool on CW #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif #

Minton

[w8znx]

Quote[/b] (K6UEY @ Sep. 26 2006,21:47)]The purpose of a dummy load is to pretune the TX with out radiating and QRM ing some one else. A load that radiates is NO good as a dummy load,since it will radiate,and you will chase the impedance trying to match it.
I still use light bulb dummy loads
have pair of 300 watt bulbs
single 300 watt bulb
and single 150 watt bulb dummy loads

do not use them for modern gear

do not use them for tuning/matching pa to antenna

use them for testing old (pre 1960) gear
work great
can cook a rig for 30 min or more
before grunting it from the work bench

i don't care if it radiates

don't run this kind of lash up
during peak hours on active band
always listen first

most summer nights after 0600 GMT
there is not one single station on 80 cw

same time only thing on 28.635 is the
crud thats their all the time

do id every ten min

yes do have a proper modern dummy load
with watt meter
but the heavy iron am/cw transmitters
would melt it down to slag in 10 min

45 min or longer transmission
Ozona Bob W5PYT would just be
geting started

Mac

[ky5u]

Quote[/b] (K6UEY @ Sep. 26 2006,21:47)]Probably no need to explain any further but some are not as bright as the bulb.

If you tune the TX to match the bulb as a load as the bulb glows the impedance changes. Then you retune the TX to match the now impedance of the bulb and you put more or less into the load and as you do the filamant glows brighter or dimmer but it changes the impedance.

The purpose of a dummy load is to pretune the TX with out radiating and QRM ing some one else. A load that radiates is NO good as a dummy load,since it will radiate,and you will chase the impedance trying to match it.So in practice you will accomplish NOTHING but generate QRM with a Bulb as a dummy load!! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

BTW. Zip cord does make a fair low Z balanced line . It is pretty close to 72 ohms.



http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Exactly. The light bulb was used with old marine/commercial gear (up to 150w) to locate (cheap and dirty) the load point on a final amp tank coil. You then fastened the output clip to that spot. You could tune on the air (with antenna attached) by (with insulated pliars) dragging the clip down the coil for max antenna current, then attaching it at that point. There was also an RF sense ckt you could use on high power gear that you could peak power using a light bulb. Somehow it seems this morphed into lightbulb dummy loads perhaps by misunderstanding more than anything.

Now I have used an NE1 or NE2 bulb silicone sealed to a long tie wrap to insert in waveguide to show if a radar was transmitting, or a lightbulb hooked to coax as a quick check to see if RF was coming out of a marine rig. But other than a "ballpark" indicator, it is useless.

[ky5u]

Quote[/b] (n0nwo @ Sep. 27 2006,06:16)]Never used a light bulb but know older hams that have and still do. Although, I have often kidded about stringing up Christmas lights and using them as a dipole. It would look cool on CW http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Minton
LOL! Told the story before of working on a 500W Daytimer AM Station Transmitter on a dummy load. Had a Loni Anderson look alike receptionist and got her to hold a 4 ft. neon tube (unattached) while I turned on the transmitter. Needless to say, the light lit and she got scared and dropped the tube....it exploded and the transmitter sucked up all the phospher dust. Took over 4 hours to dismantle and clean the transmitter. Yep....really smart move.

[WA2ZDY]

Quote[/b] (AB2MH @ Sep. 27 2006,08:31)]Speaking of bulbs - didn't hams at one time use Neon lamps as dummy loads?
No but they make good indicators. Next time you have your antenna down, put an NE2 on the end of it. Next time you're on the air at night your neighbours will wonder why you have the only firefly in town.

If using openwire feeder you can make a relative reflected power indicator out of a couple #47 bulbs. That trick is found in old Handbooks.

I like the holiday light dipole. Thought about that here myself.

Zip cord will be my next feedline AND linear loaded dipole, sitting on my roof. Wish me luck.

[ac3p]

When I built my first kit, a Heathkit Sixer, the instuctions specified using a specific flashlight bulb got a dummy load.

Later I bought an RME 602 six and two meter AM/CW transmitter. I hooked it up to a 75 Watt lightbulb and loaded it up on 6 meters in the basement. After saying, "Testing this is WA3CIY", in the mic a couple of times, a fellow calls me from about 10 miles away and gave me a 5/5 report. #

# http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[ac3p]

Not exactly a dummy load but, Chuck K3FT(SK) used to tell the story of how he took a bunch of flashbulbs and wired them in in series and strung them out like a diplole. Then about 11 p.m. he keyed them with his transmitter and caused a brilliant flash that brought all the neighbors out to see what happened.

[w8znx]

Quote[/b] (ac3p @ Sep. 27 2006,11:26)]Not exactly a dummy load but, Chuck K3FT(SK) used to tell the story of how he took a bunch of flashbulbs and wired them in in series and strung them out like a diplole. Then about 11 p.m. he keyed them with his transmitter and caused a brilliant flash that brought all the neighbors out to see what happened.
want to make your xyl
realy mad at you

sometimes in some houses
one of the power outlets
are wired to a on off switch

so a lamp can be turned on and
off from wall switch near the door

had one wired that way in a bathroom
the switch turned on the bathroom light
and also switche the pwr outlet

wired about a dozen flash bulbs
to power cord
late one night
in the dark pluged the flash bulbs
in to power socket

set up a pin hole camera
loaded with tri x sheet film

went down to basement ham shack
to play radio

it worked
boy was she pissed

that was one great photo

can see the look on her sleepy face
as the photo flash bulbs went off

don't want to sleep
at the book store for 3 days
agn

the things one must suffer for their art

hi hi
Mac

[K2WH]

I use dummies to change light bulbs.

K2WH

[KC2PBJ]

Quote[/b] (W0JBC @ Sep. 26 2006,21:55)]What ya' gonna do when the light bulb doesn't burn very brightly http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif?http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif??


JB WØJBC
I resemble that remark. Used one with my first transmitter, a Healthkit AT-1. Worked fine.

[KL1ZB]

Quote[/b] (w8znx @ Sep. 26 2006,10:16)]i don't care if it radiates
So you are admitting to repeated illegal unidentified transmissions?

Wow!

[W5JO]

Why don't you hang a florescent bulb near the current node on your antenna and tune for max brightness. When you talk, it will make the neighbors curious if you have any, neighbors that is.

[k8jd]

I used a heathkit "cantenna" for testing years ago and another ham I knew heard me testing a mile away.

[KA3TGV]

I still use a 75 Watt light bulb for a dummy load on my Heathkit DX-60 transmitter, constructed as per the manual.

It does the job for the DX-60, but I don't recommend using a light bulb dummy load on a rig with solid-state finals.

73

Doug Burlew
KA3TGV

[WA2ZDY]

Quote[/b] (ac3p @ Sep. 27 2006,14:26)]Not exactly a dummy load but, Chuck K3FT(SK) used to tell the story of how he took a bunch of flashbulbs and wired them in in series and strung them out like a diplole. Then about 11 p.m. he keyed them with his transmitter and caused a brilliant flash that brought all the neighbors out to see what happened.
We still miss Chuck on here. What a great guy he was. Knew his stuff and knew how to teach it to us too. And the stories, like the flashbulbs . . .

Mac, I have OLD flashbulbs here from the 40s and 50s that screw into a standard light socket. I got them with my Speed Graphic. If I had more I might just try that stunt. I have plenty of sheet film here and a tank to develop it in too. (TMax though, not Tri X.) Unfortunately, or maybe it is fortunate, I dunno, I have only four or five of those bulbs and I doubt I will ever see any like them again. So they're safe in the display cabinet.

Yep, I'm thinking again about the Christmas light string for a dipole . . .

[w8znx]

Quote[/b] (KL1ZB @ Sep. 27 2006,16:36)]Quote[/b] (w8znx @ Sep. 26 2006,10:16)]i don't care if it radiates
So you are admitting to repeated illegal unidentified transmissions?

Wow!
you are admitting to
not beeing able to read

Mac

[KL1ZB]

Quote[/b] (w8znx @ Sep. 27 2006,09:48)]Quote[/b] (KL1ZB @ Sep. 27 2006,16:36)]Quote[/b] (w8znx @ Sep. 26 2006,10:16)]i don't care if it radiates
So you are admitting to repeated illegal unidentified transmissions?

Wow!
you are admitting to
not beeing able to read

Mac
So you are admitting to not having sense of humor?

[w8znx]

Quote[/b] (KL1ZB @ Sep. 28 2006,12:20)]Quote[/b] (w8znx @ Sep. 27 2006,09:48)]Quote[/b] (KL1ZB @ Sep. 27 2006,16:36)]Quote[/b] (w8znx @ Sep. 26 2006,10:16)]i don't care if it radiates
So you are admitting to repeated illegal unidentified transmissions?

Wow!
you are admitting to
not beeing able to read

Mac
So you are admitting to not having sense of humor?
once more
you admit
to not beeing able to read

must not know who Ozona Bob was
whipper-snappers !

Mac

[W0LPQ]

Mac ... quit that ... almost got the monitor with my Diet Pepsi..!!

ZB the majority of us used our calls in CW to begin with, so what is the problem.!

Bill, W0LPQ

[ka0gkt]

Quote[/b] (AB2MH @ Sep. 27 2006,05:31)]Speaking of bulbs - didn't hams at one time use Neon lamps as dummy loads?
Only the dummys!

Ne lamps were used in some VSWR indicators, I can remember a balanced line swr indicator in an old handbook which used Ne-2 lamps.

Neon indicators are interesting items, they can be used to make relaxation oscillators just like unijunction transistors.

When the potential across an Ne-2 reaches 90-volts the Neon in the envelope flashes into a plasma, going from a high resistance to an extremely low resistance. When the potential goes to zero, the highly charged plasma collapses and the Ne-2 displays "Negative Resistance" for a short time.

Conversely, a test load must display a fairly constant impedance across a specified band of frequencies and dissipate the power applied to the load with minimal radiation and no harmonic generation.

73 DE KAØGKT/7

--Steve

[ka0gkt]

Quote[/b] (W0LPQ @ Sep. 27 2006,06:10)]#The antenna is (or should be) resonant, therefore, why a tuner?

Bill, W0LPQ
Sure, the antenna should be resonant...An end-fed half-wave displays a feedpoint impedance of several K, a 1/4-wave vertical over a "perfect" ground will be in the 40-Ohm range.

A 1:1 VSWR does not necessarily indicate resonance; if you hook a 50-ohm resistor to the end of a piece of 50-ohm coaxial cable, you will read a 1:1 VSWR, that doesn't make the resistor resonant by any means.

An antenna is resonant at the point where the impedance of the antenna is purely resistive. The XsubL and X subC cancel each other out at resonance. Sometimes the charecteristic impedance of an antenna is other than the 50-Ohms which modern transceivers expect to feed.

73 DE KAØGKT/7

--Steve

[K7JBQ]

Exactly.

In this day of government warnings, I would like the following sticker affixed to every SWR meter sold:

"The government has determined that SWR does not equate to resonance, or vice versa, or whatever."

73,
Bill

[K4KWH]

I use a B & W Model 334-A Wattmeter and dummy load:) .

Once upon a time, in a more innocent time, I was (and still am) a member of CAP. In the late '60s we had just transitioned to SSB. One older gentleman who was a unit commander had bought a Heathkit Apache with SSB adapter (remember those complicated boxes). We had a young kid (cadet) who very curious and seemed to get into everything. While we were working on some vehicles and such on a Saturday morning, this kid was "helping". He wandered into "Fitzhugh's" shack and turned every knob on the SSB adapter. Fitz was not a ham, so he called a ham friend over to get things back into kilter. #Gordy got the rig working, and it must've needed attention because it worked MUCH better after the "tune-up", and Fitz was so proud!

Now remember that words like "hell" and "damn" were not even allowed--at least in polite society--and certainly it was not allowed on CAP's radios and it still isn't.

Fitz switched onto a lightbulb dummy load and we were blinded by the #bright modulation of the bulb as the old gentleman said, "HELLLLLOOOOOOOO" TEST ONE TWO"

"Man look at that!!!" #He was just so proud of his "new" radio.

He would switch over to the antenna and listen for a while, then put it back on the dummy load.

"Hello HALLLLLOOOOOOOOO"!!!!!!!!!!!!

He did this several times. There was a CAP HF net on at 6:30 and even the receiver worked better.
Suddenly, he grabbed the mike and said,
"HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! ONE, TWO, TEST".
"HELLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" HELL-------HELL!!! I'M ON THE AIR!!!!!!! CLICK!!! He had forgotten to switch off of the antenna and the whole East Coast heard this gravelly voice everybody knew so well AND knew who it was!!!
*I* was rolling in the floor in stitches, laughing in convulsions!!! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! You know I ain't s'posed to cuss on the radio----it ain't FUNNY!!!!"

To which I screamed in laughing agony all the more!!! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

73

[kg4llq]

In the early 1960s I went to high school in Northern Virginia. #One of our field trips was to the Naval Research Laboratory. #One of their laboratories had a 10,000 watt AM transmitter with the output, via some type of transmatch, hooked to an insulated beaker (ring) stand! #They'd introduce a sample to be HEATED (that's an understatement) in the ring stand. #To show us how efficient it was, they placed a solid steel rod, approximately 12" Long x 6" Diameter inside the ring stand. #I distinctly remember that it turned cherry red within 30 seconds of the transmitter being activated. #Now that's a "dummy load"!
73, Ken - KG4LLQ

[cu2jt]

Knew a guy once who lived very close to a 300kW AM broadcast station antenna. He had this big coil up in the attic and kept the whole house lit up by the current generated from the carrier from that radio station.

I have never used a light bulb for dummy load but I recall using a flashlight bulb with a couple of windings across the poles to tune up the antenna. I just put the lightbulb inside the coil of the antenna tuner and tuned for max light.

[w7lpn]

Coiled chicken wire inside a old used dried up latex paint can full of vegetable oil, soldered to a SO-239 in the lid, and suspend the chicken wire as to not touch the sides or lid, tap the lid on. Don't clean off the old paint, either. "Voila!" Cheap enough? I bet you could trim the chicken wire to get 50 ohms.

[n2nh]

Quote[/b] ]Does anyone use light bulb dummy loads anymore?
Yep, why?
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/5250/fester01smau4.jpg

[w7lpn]

Quote[/b] (n2nh @ Oct. 08 2006,22:41)]Quote[/b] ]Does anyone use light bulb dummy loads anymore?
Yep, why?
HAR! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[kl7aj]

I have an OFFICIAL U.S. Navy dummy load (forgot the JAN part no.) that uses four type 47 lamps in parallel. It's rated at about ten watts. Uses typical mil-spec MOAN documentation....Much Ado About Nothing. Very well-constructed little box, though...HI.

eric

[kl7aj]

Quote[/b] (cu2jt @ Oct. 04 2006,07:04)]Knew a guy once who lived very close to a 300kW AM broadcast station antenna. He had this big coil up in the attic and kept the whole house lit up by the current generated from the carrier from that radio station.

I have never used a light bulb for dummy load but I recall using a flashlight bulb with a couple of windings across the poles to tune up the antenna. I just put the lightbulb inside the coil of the antenna tuner and tuned for max light.
That flickered with modulation, no doubt. Yikes, that would drive me batty!

Eric