Building a poor mans variac (Dim Bulb Tester or DBT)

[cicadasong]

With the pending arrival of my new (to me) Kenwood KR-9600, and having lost my previous "load adjuster", I decided to build a new one.

In the process I took several pictures so that others who may also wish to have this very valuable tool, for bringing the power into vintage unit up safely in steps, could see how I built mine.

The parts list is small:

1. Small board to construct on (2X4 about 24" long)
2. Square electrical box
3. Light bulb socket assembly
4. Inexpensive power bar

First, strip the casing off the power bar about 3" back from the unit (we will cut the wires later) - or, alternatively cut the electrical cord about 8-10" back from the power strip.

EDIT: 2007-07-06 -- Because we lost all the pictures in a recent server swap, I have re-built the image links.

Paul

Is there another place to see the photos? Looks like new server was re-lost! Thanks!

 

[Bvers1]

Here is a visual reason to start up an untested unit on a DBT. Had an EBAY QR-4500 Sansui I tested about 8 years ago and put it on the shelf until a few weeks ago. It worked but had a weak channel so I investigated and found these mystery fuses. The DBT would have gave me an indication if there was a severe problem. I wonder why the fuses were missing?? Don't know how long these would have stayed in place if they were not checked. I'll check all fuses from now on everything new.
I'm working on my DBT now.

 

[d3imlay]

Here is a version of DBT that mounts in a 4" box

 

[LBPete]

Another blast from the past. I'm still using the DBT shown in post #6! I never made the modifications mentioned but I do plug it into a GFI outlet.

- Pete

 

[Tuncay KIRIŞ]

merhaba arkadaşlar böyle bir test devresi yapacağım.

Neden G27 yerine G9 soketli bir lamba kullanmıyorsunuz?

Böylece daha az yer kaplar ve birden fazla anahtar ile çeşitli watt'lı lambalar seçilebilir. (Seçici anahtarlı 40w, 100w, 200w gibi) Standart tip büyük akkor lamba G27 ile G9 (her ikisi de Flaman akkor) arasında herhangi bir fark var mı?

Google Translate translates the above to:

hello friends, I will make such a test circuit. Why don't you use a lamp with a G9 socket instead of a G27? This way, it takes up less space and lamps with various wattages can be selected with multiple switches. (Such as 40w, 100w, 200w with a selector switch) Is there any difference between the standard type large incandescent lamp G27 and G9 (both Flemish incandescent)?