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DIY Stompboxes => Building your own stompbox => Topic started by: nightingale on March 23, 2004, 05:42:19 PM

Title: OT: how to hook up a dummy load resistor when scope biasing?
Post by: nightingale on March 23, 2004, 05:42:19 PM
hello~
i just got an old scope, and i want to see if my old twin reverb has crossover distortion.. or mostly get a feel of what the "notches" look like on the wave.. simply because i have never seen them before..

i know that i need a dummy load resistor hooked up to the output, but i am not sure of the value.. or the voltage? or how to hook it up..?

could i just wire the dummy load resistor to a jack.. right across the hot/ground lugs? and plug the output cable into the jack?

my neighbor has a signal generator that i am asking to borrow.. i just want to know what i am doing beforehand..

i understand that the proper way to bias a tube amp is a controversial subject... but i am just trying to get some use out of my new scope.
Title: OT: how to hook up a dummy load resistor when scope biasing?
Post by: The Tone God on March 23, 2004, 06:54:37 PM
You need a dummy load of the right resistance and wattage. So with a twin reverb you need a 4 ohm 100 watt load. Wire it in like a speaker and take your probe reading across the load.

Andrew
Title: OT: how to hook up a dummy load resistor when scope biasing?
Post by: freebird1127 on March 23, 2004, 07:03:07 PM
If you're looking for crossover distortion, here's what you're looking for:  This happens in push-pull amplifiers when the two "pushing" transistors switch at different times.  If designed properly, and the components are fine, the positive half-cycle transistor will switch on at the same time the negative half-cycle transistor is switching off, and vice versa.  If malfunctioning, you might see a lag between the end of one transistor cycle and the beginning of the next.  That's crossover distortion:  The signal literally distorts as it crosses over the reference line.

Good luck  :wink: