Wire wound resistor query - Electronic Circuits Projects Diagrams Free

Nameless1 · 10th August 2007, 01:37 PM

Hey people,

What would the difference be between a normal 5W wire wound resistor and a 5W "power" wire wound resistor...
We going through an interesting discussion here at work, what do you guys think?

ronsimpson · 10th August 2007, 02:36 PM

There is no difference.

Optikon · 10th August 2007, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nameless1

Hey people,

What would the difference be between a normal 5W wire wound resistor and a 5W "power" wire wound resistor...
We going through an interesting discussion here at work, what do you guys think?

"power" is just a label, doesn't mean much at all!

5W is 5W is 5W is 5W is... you get the idea.

dknguyen · 10th August 2007, 05:43 PM

Marketing.

RODALCO · 11th August 2007, 11:19 AM

And they get hot !

Hero999 · 11th August 2007, 12:02 PM

Also, don't use wirewound resistors at high frequencies as they're inductive, use metal film resistors instead.

Nameless1 · 13th August 2007, 07:03 AM

Cool, figured its the same...just wanted to know what the other view points were. Also, we in the Component distribution industry and thats what the customer specified...and sometimes they can be fussy for no reason! blerry customers!

Optikon · 13th August 2007, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nameless1

Cool, figured its the same...just wanted to know what the other view points were. Also, we in the Component distribution industry and thats what the customer specified...and sometimes they can be fussy for no reason! blerry customers!

Yes sometimes a wirewound is the best fit for the design. Say, the design doesnt operate at high frequencies and you need 2ppm of stability. Not many resistors can do that! - except a wirewound or some exotic (read expensive) foil technology.

Bob Scott · 14th August 2007, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hero999

Also, don't use wirewound resistors at high frequencies as they're inductive, use metal film resistors instead.

Then you can specify non-inductive wirewound resistors. This is done by adding NI to most wirewound resistor part numbers, or also by prefix:

http://www.vishay.com/docs/30201/rhnh.pdf

Bob

Nameless1 · 14th August 2007, 07:53 AM

hmmm....just had another thought....what are the odds of someday resistors becoming "redundant" as more and more they are included in semiconductor packages....???

picbits · 14th August 2007, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nameless1

hmmm....just had another thought....what are the odds of someday resistors becoming "redundant" as more and more they are included in semiconductor packages....???

That would be so nice for designing tightly packed PCBs

Optikon · 14th August 2007, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nameless1

hmmm....just had another thought....what are the odds of someday resistors becoming "redundant" as more and more they are included in semiconductor packages....???

The odds are nil. There are lots of reasons for this.

Hero999 · 14th August 2007, 07:08 PM

I take it you're talking about types of resistor or packages becoming obsolete. You'll never have a particular value becoming obsolete for obvious reasons.

I can see carbon film becoming obsolete as it's very noisy, lower tolerance and more expensive than metal film which is superior in every respect. As far as packages are concerned, I can't see any packages in current use becoming obsolete but I've opened up old radios and seen resistors in weird packages with spots on them instead of bands that are probably obsolete as I've never seen any of them in component catalogues.

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10th August 2007, 01:37 PM	(permalink)
Nameless1	Wire wound resistor query Hey people, What would the difference be between a normal 5W wire wound resistor and a 5W "power" wire wound resistor... We going through an interesting discussion here at work, what do you guys think? __________________ If its not here... then it must be somewhere else - Tigger

10th August 2007, 02:36 PM	(permalink)
ronsimpson	There is no difference.

11th August 2007, 11:19 AM	(permalink)
RODALCO	And they get hot ! __________________ There are more ways to get to Rome. Electricity, Electric clocks, Meters and Trains are great.

11th August 2007, 12:02 PM	(permalink)
Hero999	Also, don't use wirewound resistors at high frequencies as they're inductive, use metal film resistors instead. __________________ I also post at the following sites: http://www.stop-microsoft.org http://www.heated-debates.com Screen name: Aloone_Jonez And http://www.silicontronics.com, same screen name as here.

13th August 2007, 07:03 AM	(permalink)
Nameless1	Cool, figured its the same...just wanted to know what the other view points were. Also, we in the Component distribution industry and thats what the customer specified...and sometimes they can be fussy for no reason! blerry customers! __________________ If its not here... then it must be somewhere else - Tigger

14th August 2007, 07:53 AM	(permalink)
Nameless1	hmmm....just had another thought....what are the odds of someday resistors becoming "redundant" as more and more they are included in semiconductor packages....??? __________________ If its not here... then it must be somewhere else - Tigger

14th August 2007, 07:08 PM	(permalink)
Hero999	I take it you're talking about types of resistor or packages becoming obsolete. You'll never have a particular value becoming obsolete for obvious reasons. I can see carbon film becoming obsolete as it's very noisy, lower tolerance and more expensive than metal film which is superior in every respect. As far as packages are concerned, I can't see any packages in current use becoming obsolete but I've opened up old radios and seen resistors in weird packages with spots on them instead of bands that are probably obsolete as I've never seen any of them in component catalogues. __________________ I also post at the following sites: http://www.stop-microsoft.org http://www.heated-debates.com Screen name: Aloone_Jonez And http://www.silicontronics.com, same screen name as here.