I have a resistor in a Merak center channel that I'm modding. The resistor is a white long-house shaped thing with the following printed on its top: "7W5R"
Anyone make any sense of the resistor's value from 7W5R ?
There no bands on it?
http://itll.colorado.edu/ITLL/index.cfm?fuseaction=ResistorChart for the colour code (or "Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Violet Goes Willingly" - yes, honestly the way we were taught to remember it!)
Bren R.
No bands. I have a digital picture, but no host, so no way to post it.
http://www.photobucket.com/
free hosting, real easy.
bigjohn
Thank you BigJohn
The white thingie is the resistor
no problem..
hope you can do something with that bren.
its all just wood and wires to me!!
bigjohn
Hmm.. maybe would help to see a better pic (of the whole circuit) if possible... it looks like it's glued in, but...
It looks like (hard to tell from the pic) you have a sand block resistor there - used to find them a lot in CB radios. The marking is confusing though, they'll usually be marked, say... 5W50(omega)±5% - 5 Watt, 50 Ohm give or take 5%.
Maybe if I could see the whole circuit... looks like there's an electrolytic cap behind it... other than that - it might as well be lego.
Worst case scenario... take it out of the circuit and measure it with a multimeter.
Bren R.
7W5R eh...
could be 7 watt resistor, 5 ohm.
Usually they have the color bands as mentioned above, or in the case of ceramics they have a number. Id have to go look at some of my notes to decode the ceramic type but color bands are easy, there are a bunch of online calculators. As BrenR suggested, if you have a DMM just set it to resistance and measure it, you can just clip the leads onto it without un soldering it, but probbly wont get an accurate reading.
Nice find chess
I forgot, when i said that the ceramic ones had a numerical code i was talking about small ceramic CAPACITORS... DOH! (yes, its been a while) I better get my stuff straight cos' im gonna be starting my AAS in electronics technoloy starting this fall.
Well done, Chess... (and Alan)
Bren R.
So that makes it a 5.0 ohm resistor?
This is how I'm more used to seeing them - possibly old notation?
Bren R.
This is great! Thanks guys. It looks like Chess is correct and that lump of sand is a 7W/5Ù resistor. The capacitor is a tiny 4.7uf/100V.
OK, I'll tell my secret. The first Axiom made speaker I bought was a Merak MC6H center channel speaker from ubid.com for $19.00. Blew away my expensive Infinity CC3 center. The Merak has the same basic shape as the VP series, but 2x6.5" drivers (not Axiom aluminums). I spoke with Joe and asked what would happen if I swapped a pair of the Axiom 6.5" drivers. His answer boiled down to "Distortion." OK, hey, obviously I'm partial, so I had a dented Axiom 6.5" and swapped it for one of the 2 Merak drivers. Sound improved. Not a little, a lot. I finagled a second Axiom driver and hold on, this is now the best sounding center I've ever heard. (I'm partial to horns even though the Merak horn probably cost $0.39.) I demoed the system with the hybrid center for a few folks, didn't tell them what I'd done, folks who had heard and loved my office system before and all thought the sound had gone to a new and much higher plane of audio goodness, damn close friends to audio nirvana. So, I picked up 2 more Merak centers from ebay, one an MC6H (horn tweeter) and the other an MC634 with the same compliment of 6.5"s and a Merak titanium 3/4" tweeter (same as used to be used in the M2Ti.) I'm going to order a bunch of Axiom 6.5" drivers, swap the resistor with a Caddock and the capacitor with Solen Chateauroux Polypropylene fast caps, (except for one which I'm going to run with a Mundorf cap) rewire the speaker with my favorite speaker cable - Clearview Golden Helix, make sure they don't burst into flames, give some away, and enjoy the music.
The one I listen to now (stock caps and resistor but Axiom drivers) has unbelievable slam, and sounds simply and stunningly great. There was a piece of new age music on our digital music station which I've heard before, has the sound of running water in the background. I got up to check if there was a leak. It sounded like water running. Actually running, not like stereo sound, but the real deal. Ed Gerhard's Slide Improve and Homage sounded better than it ever did on this system.
So, I'm pumped, and thanks for the resistor value!
Cool stuff, man. I wish I had the skills (and chutzpah!) to do that sort of thing. My custom built speakers were a disaster. Just ask Peter...
Are you using the centers as main channels?
No, pmb, but I thought about it! This center sounds strong down to about 50Hz! and integrates beautifully with my twin sub set up - it sounds like a full range center speaker with the subs! (Dahlquist DQ1500 15" and a Klipsch LF10 1640 watt 10") Dialog sounds excellent. I'm very, very pleased.
Chutzpah, yes, I had a friend show me how to solder, got fixed up at ratshack, got the Cardas silver solder and their magic flux, stick my tongue out, and concentrate.
I'm confused - why buy new drivers to place into an old particle board enclosure? For the horn tweeter? For the price? (what do they sell 6.5" drivers for from Axiom anyway?)
Bren R.
It's something to do. I refer folks to Axiom, and ask Axiom to send me some drivers. Everyone comes out ahead. I like the anti standing wave shape of the cabinet.
Yes, I like the horn - I liked this center speaker before I modded it. I also dampted the speaker with blue tac and acoustic foam from partsexpress.com.
WOW, that is a lot smaller than the 'flux capacitor' in my delorean.
but it sounds great at 88 MPH..
bigjohn
How many "jigawatts" does that thing produce?
And to think I get off work in 30 minutes....everyone can go back to bed, Tuesday is a wet rainy and cold day.
Semper Fi
I believe i saw some Merak boxes in the Axiom warehouse. I wouldn't be surprised if Ian still had some of these 'in stock' so to speak. These are most likely some of the stock he provides for charities and donations though if i were to guess.
Either that or he's just nostalgic.
Maybe Ford can confirm this if he is still heading to Dwight in the next while.
In reply to:
How many "jigawatts" does that thing produce?
Depends on how you tune the flux capacitor.
Ooh, just saw that BigJohn already mentioned the FC.
SSSSSSSSSLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW to the punch there 2x6..
all this resistor, capacitor, transistor talk sends me back to my youth.. my dad was an amateur electronics person, and he had a table full of chips, clips, sodering guns, wires, etc.. all looked like a big pile of junk to me, but he managed to keep stuff working with all of it.. i remember he got one of those mail order TV's that you have to put together. he worked on that thing for months before he finally got it to work.
funny, the stuff you can remember when you try.
bigjohn
bigjohn,
My father used to own a Radio Shack in the early 80s.
How is that for a kid in a candy store eh?
Every Christmas, new radio controlled toys to test out, brand new computers all around (anyone remember the TRS80?), the latest in hifi equipment (they used to sell much better stuff back then) and electronics gadgets galore.
I used to love wiring things together for fun. I never realized miniature grinding motors and batteries could bring so many hours of joy.
My wife may disagree. 
Oh geez, did i just say that???
The Tandy TRS80 Color Computer was our first computer!
btw...yes you did say that, and it was funny as hell!
OK, everyone. Our challenge now it to find a topic that BigJohn is unable to segue into his own life from.
In reply to:
OK, everyone. Our challenge now it to find a topic that BigJohn is unable to segue into his own life from.
Easy!!
"So, last night I found something interesting on the
CPUSA site."
Bren R.
congrats bren, you found it.. no segway here!!
peter- i dont mean to do that. when i read posts, random thoughts just pop in my head, and i start to type. i need to quit that. i have unintenionally hijacked too many threads. i dont need that reputation.
see, here is where i would normally insert a joke about ray, to get the heat off me, and then run!! but, i can handle it.
OK.. back on point.. WOW, that resistor looks cool!!
bigjohn
I ordered some Solen caps and Mills resistors, Clearview wire, etc. The big thing with soldering is not to set your hair on fire.
That's exactly why you don't see many hippies working in electronics stores.
Hey! I resemble that remark!
WhatFurrer
are we talking about tubes again?
(LOL, just kidding, couldn't resist!)
In reply to:
Hey! I resemble that remark!
Me too. Soldering doesn't scare me. It's working on engines, anything with a gear train, and power tools that scare me...
In reply to:
It's working on engines, anything with a gear train, and power tools that scare me...
Micheal_A,
Sorry...one up on you there...my Dad taught me engines when I was a kid and I spent my teen years rebuilding the engine in a '66 Mustang, recreating the engine for a '75 Dodge Colt and then into my early married years rebuilding a '89 Honda Accord hatchback.
Don't do that much any more...the '96 Honda Accord runs just fine (bought it only slightly used unlike the above)...
I would like a Mini Cooper S though...
WhatFurrer
WhatFurrer -
Hey man, I had a '66 mustang. This car was CLEAN, inside and out. The only downside was it had a 200 and not a 289. Before selling the thing (like a fool) I rebuilt the engine and transmission - my first rebuilds and it worked like a champ.
^billy
not stupid enough to sell a vintage mustang anymore
Wish mine had been that clean. When I originally got it, it had orange shag carpet in it...my Dad had brokered the deal with a Spanish gentleman he worked with at the time.
Needless to say, the orange carpet came out and I quickly found that the passenger floorpans had a considerable size hole in it. One night, it was raining and going through a considerable water puddle at a good clip gave my girlfriend a shower inside the car from road water coming up through the floorboard...
.
Mine had a straight 6 200 in it as well...would have preferred a 289 with a stick...this was an automatic.
Was always trying to talk a friend of mine out of the 260 V8 that he had...no luck...
WhatFurrer
Also not stupid enough to sell a vintage mustang anymore
In reply to:
The Tandy TRS80 Color Computer was our first computer!
My first computer was the Tandy
TRa
Sh 80 Model 200. (The black and white laptop version of the regular
TRa
Sh 80.)
In reply to:
My first computer was the Tandy TRaSh 80 Model 200. (The black and white laptop version of the regular TRaSh 80.)
I've owned: CBM VIC-20, CBM 64, CBM 128, PCs (8088, 8086, 80286, 80386, 80486, then onto the others), Sun SPARC10
And used or programmed for: Apple ][+ ][e ][c, CBM PC10, TI-994A, TI Sinclair, Macs of all shapes and sizes, Coleco Adam, Atari 400/800/1200XL and yes even the venerable TRaSh-80.
Bren R.
Wow. Resistors, particle board, soldering, hair, tubes, computers, cars ---
Where
else is this thread going?
I just had some fresh made, whole wheat spaghetti for lunch. In a double blind taste test, I couldn't tell the difference between the whole wheat and "regular" spaghetti noodles. I could however tell the difference between the red-meat sauce and the turkey-meat sauce. Not that one is better than the other, each one excels differently in the right places and could easily exceed the needs of the individual granted that the correct choice was made in deciding on the needs to be met.
^billy
LOL! Thank you so much for that timely review, Billy. It's time for lunch, now.
Your next assignment is to compare a tomato sauce with ground beef to a tomato sauce with textured soy protein.
In the double-blind taste testing event, there was a textured soy protein with tomato sauce entry - #27 I think - but the entrant has since left...probably upset over all the off-handed jokes about soy made by the others in attendance. Seems that they all prefer their meat as meat...and since meat, as a meat has been around for millenia, it's well believed that meat as a meat is a matured and therefor superior meat - as opposed to the soy meats readily available in your urban conscious markets.
Either way, I've found that everything is much better with a little tabasco - and with a lot of tabasco, everything is everything.
^billy
Billy wrote:
In reply to:
I just had some fresh made, whole wheat spaghetti for lunch. In a double blind taste test, I couldn't tell the difference between the whole wheat and "regular" spaghetti noodles. I could however tell the difference between the red-meat sauce and the turkey-meat sauce. Not that one is better than the other, each one excels differently in the right places and could easily exceed the needs of the individual granted that the correct choice was made in deciding on the needs to be met.
Billy, you silly twit! Don't you know, scientific studies have conclusively demonstrated that you can't tell the difference in taste between spaghetti sauces? You just think you can, but if you blindfolded yourself and participated in a true and well designed double blind study, you could eat dog food with your spaghetti and not know the difference.
Now, I know you're just trying to impress people with the fact that you use the fancy meaty spaghetti sauce and real noodles instead of dog food and string, but hey, it's your money, but please stop trying to mislead people by telling them you can taste the difference.
In case there's any doubt here, your opinion is well, worthless compared to mine, because, I AM A SCIENTIST.
We pay you to think, not to talk, Mr. SCIENTIST!
BTW. Dey terk arr jrrrrbs!
close paralel (SP) to chicken, beef, and turkey hot dogs. i can say that turkey dogs tend to look more like nuclear explosions when cooked on the grill than the beef tube steaks.
dan
here's betting that test doesn't need to be double blind for an accurate conclusion.
i'll tell you the turkey bacon invention is a real beaut! Hardly any fat and doesn't shrivel like a johnson on a cold day. Tastes pretty similar to regular bacon, though a bit more rubbery (probably due to that missing marble).
Dan wrote:
In reply to:
close paralel (SP) to chicken, beef, and turkey hot dogs. i can say that turkey dogs tend to look more like nuclear explosions when cooked on the grill than the beef tube steaks.
dan
Dan if you were a real SCIENTIST, you'd know that grilling dogs cannot result in maximum yield.
For maximum hot dog explosive yield, you MICROWAVE the hot dog. For a mixed explosive/chem result, all you have to do is MICROWAVE a raw egg.
NOTE to scientist self - Do not share this info with Al Qaeda.
try a potato without poking holes in the skin first. and let me just re-hijack this thread a tiny bit further..gotta love corn on the cob cooked on the grill while in it's husk placed on the warming rack. when i take them in from cooking, i usually announce that it's time to pass the waste basket around the table again (to remove charred husks neatly).
dan
you are a man after my own heart, dan. that's the only way i've eaten cron on the cob in the past three years...
^billy
If it's not grilled on real charcoal, it's hardly worth eating.
Did you come to that conclusion after a double-blind taste test?
Oh yes. Because I am a scientist I don't need a blindfold, I just sort of close my eyes.
Y'all are cookin' and eatin' them little bugs, y'know?
That's why a true scientist doesn't use a blindfold, just sorta squints but makes sure he's not eatin' any of them little 6-8 legged critters. (Ceptin for lobsters, crabs, shrimp and the good eatin bugs.)
You gotta love those arthropods!
See, pmb, that picture is purely pornographic and I'm really surprised at you.
peter, what will be the result of what we see after the gestation period?
In reply to:
Poster: WhatFurrer
Subject: Re: Resistor Value Question
It's working on engines, anything with a gear train, and power tools that scare me...
Sorry...one up on you there...my Dad taught me engines when I was a kid and I spent my teen years rebuilding the engine in a '66 Mustang, recreating the engine for a '75 Dodge Colt and then into my early married years rebuilding a '89 Honda Accord hatchback.
I think you misunderstood. I was refering to the fact that working on those things can be hazardous when combined with a ponytail.
I was also fortunate that my father taught me about all things mechanical. It was a wonderful bonding experience...
Haha pmb... Great pic.
The caption: "Farfegnugen!!!" (I'm sure that I botched the spelling on that one)
Micheal_A,
Gotcha...been there done that.
WhatFurrer
In reply to:
I think you misunderstood. I was refering to the fact that working on those things can be hazardous when combined with a ponytail.
Try taking an auto class for 4 years with an ex Rocks and Shoals Navy guy and having hair halfway to your... uh, wallet.
If only I had a dime for everytime he'd protected me from a possible accident through the ever gentle notification of throwing something at me... usually an air chuck or impact socket. Crazy old guy but I still go back to visit every few years, I don't think he'll ever retire.
He much prefers the new DND/CF inspired haircut.
Bren R.
AH, you guys trading around pony-tail stories.. thats sooo sweet!!
and this one time, at band camp.....
bigjohn
My hair is down to my, um, wallet. My best solution is to tie it back in a braid and just stick it down my shirt (and, depending on what I'm doing, hold it back with the strap on the respirator...)
Usually the only hazard I have to worry about is it falling into a computer, though.
the text in that pic is completely fake... not a very good photoshop either...
Something tells me this thread isint about resistor values anymore [rolleyes]
In reply to:
the text in that pic is completely fake... not a very good photoshop either...
Ya don't say!
Probably MS Paint.
Bren R.