Variacs N Stuff

WOPL Sniffer said:
So, I was looking for a Simpson Panel meter (Dual Scale 0-1 amp, 0-5 amps AC) and I was messaging this guy and I gotta tell you..... This fucking guy is so full of himself, I couldn't listen to his shit any more. This was the last thing he said before I called an end to out conversation. What a self centered twat. He has the meter I seek in stock but I have my limits of what I'll listen to. I spent time on the phone listening to him extol his great contributions to mankind about a year ago and decided I couldn't handle that again. It was almost as painful as sitting on the phone with Ed. This guy is old and only types in capital letters (which I know pisses some people off as being rude).



New message from: davidriddle (12,588YellowShooting Star)
WELL PERRY, YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU MISSED IN NOT HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH ME! DAVID RIDDLE

P.S. JUST TO LET YOU KNOW; I'M A 22-YEAR EBAY SELLER AND HAVE BEEN SELF-EMPLOYED FOR MORE THAN 47-YEARS AS AN INVENTOR, DESIGNER AND MANUFACTURER OF TOOLS OF CREATIVITY AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE FIELDS OF ELECTRONICS, MECHANICS AND OPTICS. I FOCUS ON PROVIDING INDIVIDUALS ALL OVER THE WORLD THE MEANS AND WAYS TO ACCOMPLISH A MYRIAD OF TASKS IN VARIOUS TECHNICAL FIELDS AND I DO THIS VIA TELEPHONE CONTACT INITIALLY TO INSURE THAT THEIR EXACT NEEDS ARE MET WHETHER THEY PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM ME OR NOT!
Click to expand...
Shit send me his number I will call and talk to him..lol
 
D-500 Flogger said:
Glen,

In the land of audio the general rule of thumb used to be that the larger the volume knob, the better the sound that was implied. And I do know that the large 'flywheel' tuning wheel on the old Marantz receivers always gave the very best tactile feedback while watching the tuning meter.

Given this, that knob on your Variac is simply over the top. No doubt knobs of similar dimensions were in the control rooms of the better electric power plants:

View attachment 63500
All that's left to do now is to find some nice volt meters of similar dimensions to go along with your new (to you) Variac.

Well played!

:0)
Click to expand...

It’s to go with this gizmo
 

Attachments

  • 2ECC0140-4B5D-4BD2-89E6-FDAADF2DE440.jpeg
    2ECC0140-4B5D-4BD2-89E6-FDAADF2DE440.jpeg
    2.5 MB · Views: 6
D-500 Flogger said:
In the land of audio the general rule of thumb used to be that the larger the volume knob, the better the sound that was implied.
Click to expand...
This is true. When I bought my Crown DC-300a it had the smaller black with silver center knobs on it. I replaced them with the earlier bigger all black flanged knobs. Not only did it improve the sound, I had to turn the levels down a bit cause the bigger knobs added 7 HP to the output of the amp. A great upgrade.

If I had known about these variac knobs I might have tried a set on that amp.
 
0915AFE1-8380-4DD7-8B67-0543D554CC1B.jpeg
D-500 Flogger said:
Glen,

While researching my own Variac I remember seeing the original introduction of the 20 amp line to join the existing Variac family. The knob & face on your unit triggered this memory. As you can see your portable 'cased' model (W20M) is highlighted:

View attachment 63501
(Refer to attached .pdf for the electrical specs / wt / prices on all M20 variations on p. 5)

3D

PS - When I recently found myself in the "analysis leads to paralysis" mode when it came to choosing some of the test gear for the lab, I realized that this is not the time to dither. To get this as right as possible as soon as possible, I've decided instead of trying to choose the correct 1 new item in a particular category, I'll buy the 2 best competing used items, use them both, decided which one is better for me, and then (assuming I bought it correctly in the 1st place) I'll sell the other one off for around the same price as I paid for it. Good news -- by adopting this mindset, the logjam is broken.

So yeah, no harm, no foul with purchasing > evaluating > selling that 30A Variac. Been there, doing that.

Cheers --

3D
Click to expand...

So I paid new price
Not a bad deal I’d say
 
$591 won't buy you a Superior Electric Powerstat. Sure you can get a chinese 20 amp unit for that with lots of change but to get American quality you will have to go a few hundred more for a stripped down unit. Digital voltage indication and extras run the price over 2 grand. And the Staco Variac is also in that high priced range.

I tripped over one of the bog standard Powerstats at a Men's used junk store. Got it for 20 bucks and it appears to be like new. I later picked up one of those chinese units and sold it off quickly. It did not have the smooth rotation of the adjustment knob the way the Superior Electric unit had. Much better unit in my opinion but for light duty the cheap ones might be just fine but with all the used US made ones out there finding a 10a unit for a c-note or so should be easy. That 20a unit will be more. Buying one for the original MSRP in the catalog is a deal today.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top