01-13-2013, 10:18 PM
When and if you can find a parts list most of the B.E.D code carbon resistors used in Philcos were between 1/4 Watt to 3 Watt, depending on the circuit. Contrary to popular belief resistors with a maximum power dissipation of 1/2 Watt was not the floor in terms of those used in old radios, many used 1/4 Watt and even 1/3 Watt resistors if they thought they could get away with it.
If you can find a parts list for a given set that will tell the story, as with now it was all about cost and pinching pennies, if a 1/4 Watt resistor cost them 1 cent less then using a 1/2 Watt then they would use the 1/4 Watt. If you can use six 1/4 Watt resistors in a radio that's 6 cents saved per radio, when you are producing 100,000 or even 1,000,000 radios that's $6000 and $60,000 trimmed off the manufacturing costs. Thanks to some short sighted thinking as to where to use a 1/4 Watt resistor, every Canadian G.E and RCA model made between 1940 and 1946 ends up needing the plate resistor replaced on the 6SQ7 first audio/second detector tube.
Regards
Arran
If you can find a parts list for a given set that will tell the story, as with now it was all about cost and pinching pennies, if a 1/4 Watt resistor cost them 1 cent less then using a 1/2 Watt then they would use the 1/4 Watt. If you can use six 1/4 Watt resistors in a radio that's 6 cents saved per radio, when you are producing 100,000 or even 1,000,000 radios that's $6000 and $60,000 trimmed off the manufacturing costs. Thanks to some short sighted thinking as to where to use a 1/4 Watt resistor, every Canadian G.E and RCA model made between 1940 and 1946 ends up needing the plate resistor replaced on the 6SQ7 first audio/second detector tube.
Regards
Arran
