In message "WarrenS" writes:

I don't plug ANYTHING new to me, directly into the line the first time I
try
it.
(especially if it had a blown fuse)

Here is the solution that I use for a universal, general purpose, tester
for
Old (and new) equipment.

I don't plug ANYTHING new to me, directly into the line the first time I
try
it.
(especially if it had a blown fuse)

Here is the solution that I use for a universal, general purpose, tester
for
Old (and new) equipment.
This is a great tool that can be used for trouble things that draw too
much
current, has shorts, for reforming caps, Testing line voltage sensitivity
etc, etc.

First time powered up test equipment is powered from:

1. A line voltage rate light bulb in series, starting with a low wattage
   and
   working  your way up.
   The light bulb acts Nonlinear variable dropping resistor, which act like a
   current limit and will limit the max current to a safe value but still
   have
   minimum effect at lower currents due to it's Hi TC.

2. The voltage to the Light bulb comes which from adjustable variact.
   The voltage rise and the Time at each voltage setting is a learned
   function
   and depends on what is being tested.
   If you're in a hurry, set it to the nominal line output and flip the
   switch.
   The rest of the stuff will still provide protection.

3. The Variact is plugged into a KillAwatt meter
   Used to constantly monitor the power, If it shows too much power is being
   used, ... Well don't let it do that..

4. The Kill-a-W is plugged into a solatron 1 to 1 line regulating
   transformer.
   My Line regulating Solitron has the very desirable built in characteristic
   that it goes into a saturation mode that limits the max output power if
   overloaded
   If not overloaded, it outputs a constant voltage.

5. Have a few resetable and/or  standard  fuses in there to be over safe.

The proper use of the variact's output voltage has a learning curve,
because
equipment with switchers behave differently than things with linearly
supplies

ws

In message "WarrenS" writes:

I don't plug ANYTHING new to me, directly into the line the first time I
try
it.
(especially if it had a blown fuse)

Here is the solution that I use for a universal, general purpose, tester
for
Old (and new) equipment.

I don't plug ANYTHING new to me, directly into the line the first time I
try
it.
(especially if it had a blown fuse)

Here is the solution that I use for a universal, general purpose, tester
for
Old (and new) equipment.
This is a great tool that can be used for trouble things that draw too
much
current, has shorts, for reforming caps, Testing line voltage sensitivity
etc, etc.

First time powered up test equipment is powered from:

1. A line voltage rate light bulb in series, starting with a low wattage
   and
   working  your way up.
   The light bulb acts Nonlinear variable dropping resistor, which act like a
   current limit and will limit the max current to a safe value but still
   have
   minimum effect at lower currents due to it's Hi TC.

2. The voltage to the Light bulb comes which from adjustable variact.
   The voltage rise and the Time at each voltage setting is a learned
   function
   and depends on what is being tested.
   If you're in a hurry, set it to the nominal line output and flip the
   switch.
   The rest of the stuff will still provide protection.

3. The Variact is plugged into a KillAwatt meter
   Used to constantly monitor the power, If it shows too much power is being
   used, ... Well don't let it do that..

4. The Kill-a-W is plugged into a solatron 1 to 1 line regulating
   transformer.
   My Line regulating Solitron has the very desirable built in characteristic
   that it goes into a saturation mode that limits the max output power if
   overloaded
   If not overloaded, it outputs a constant voltage.

5. Have a few resetable and/or  standard  fuses in there to be over safe.

The proper use of the variact's output voltage has a learning curve,
because
equipment with switchers behave differently than things with linearly
supplies

ws

I like your test method, Warren.

Regarding switch-mode power supply issues: Once or twice a year we had power
brown-outs in the neighborhood where I used to work. The lights would dim,
but power wouldn't necessarily cut-out completely right away. You could hear
various computers and pieces of equipment intermittently beeping or humming,
and relays clicking in some equipment. At that point we would manually
turn-off all equipment as quickly as possible!

After power returned to normal and we turned everything back on, there was
about a 50% chance one or more HP 8662A signal generators were smoked. The
problem was always the switch mode power supplies in them. Most HP equipment
seemed to survive the brown-out, but, based on those experiences, I would be
leery (if not downright afraid) to try running a 8662A on reduced AC primary
voltage.

-Greg

I recall a similar method in the past, it was great for linear supplies.
An interesting development is that incandescent bulbs are being phased out
of the USA by 2014, locally I haven't seen one installed in over 5 years.
In my household, I don't have any anymore.  Since the price is on par with
CFL, most everyone I know are using them since 2005.  In Canada, you can't
even find them in stores.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_incandescent_light_bulbs

You will still find at least one bulb in your baking oven.

With best regards

Andreas