[Amps] Power factor and choke vs resonant-choke input supplies

[Tom W8JI]

>
> That is insane!  The pig poles I know about transform 7000 
> to 240 or
> vice-versa, at enormous currents.  What size circuit 
> (breaker size) did you
> feed it with?

Actually it was very typical back then. The transformers 
were mostly 4160 RMS and only sized at 5kW or so. It was 
like buying a Peter Dahl soaked in fragrant oils. They had a 
nice radio smell. They were great unless you let the oil sit 
on your hands too long, then you would get skin sores.

The only other choice were the loose goose 50 pound monsters 
Stancore and similar companies made. They had terrible 
voltage regulation and never worked well in a capacitor 
input supply.

I'm sure I had fuses in my house way back then, circuits 
breakers were all but unheard of as were mains over 60 amps.


> You were old enough to be married when you did this?

Absolutely. You had to be 16 to be legally married or drive, 
18 to be drafted for Viet Nam, and 21 to legally drink and 
vote. Of course you could build amplifiers at any age. I 
suppose if you had a rich daddy you could buy a new 
transformer, hide in the reserves, get draft deferments, and 
live a lot safer. But many of us had to take chances and 
work with what we could manage.

73 Tom