[Amps] 20kw Dummy load?

craxd craxd1 at ezwv.com
Thu Sep 23 11:50:41 EDT 2004


Hal,
Well, if you think about it, most plastics are petroleum based and will 
burn like crude oil. Just like an old tire burning, black smoke and all. 
I would have liked to had the picture. That could have been a bragging 
pic, telling everyone I did that after a long winded session..LOL!

About the load part. Nichrome wire is rolled out of round rod in some 
factories. Wonder if a piece long enough, say 1" in diameter, and was 50 
ohms, would make a good load? Maybe find some with something like 50 
ohms per foot or something. It couldn't be that inductive and should be 
lower than a non-inductive resistor I'd think. Also, other Nichrome wire 
is rolled from large diameter wire, about 3/8" to 1/2" when it comes 
from the mill. It would be possible to wind this like inside a 
non-inductive resistor (same patterns) and make a good load up. 20Kw is 
1000 volts at 20 amperes on a 50 ohm load so I'd think it would be easy 
to make?

Will Matney


Dear Robin,

I sure wish I kept a copy of the photo that was circulating around
Bechtel this past winter showing the result of a coax fire that started
at the base of a monopole and flared out through the coax ports
at the top. It looked like something you see in oil refineries....

Since we were putting in Multi-Carrier Power Amplifiers all over the
place,
and since there was a typo in the original SOW that specified "10KW
output power,"
I approached my boss and asked if one of the contractors turned the
output 
adjustment screw past 8'oclock, and he turned white as a sheet........

(The kludges being deployed would go into alarm at 200 watts, but
  what do managers know, they're only there for the tee shirt.)

Hal Mandel
W4HBM




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