RCA CTC-16XL Suggestions/Tips

[Rocket]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I'd be inclined to stay at 250 and go with slow blow...My gut feeling is the waveform spikes probably aren't going to reliably trip a 300 fast until the average DC current reaches the trip point of a 250 slow...

Another thing to consider is that some sets will have an increase of the static current during warmup or power off or changes in line voltage (which occur if the fridge, climate control, or local power grid your set is on cause voltage fluctuations*).

*That can be dealt with with a Sola VRT/CVT/voltage regulating line isolation transformer.....My local grid sucks so I've been forced to resort to these.

Fuses are cheap so you could probably grab 2-5 of each and experiment on sensitivity if you really want to get it to blow at anything above normal optimized parameters. Ultimately as long as it isn't nuisance blowing and isn't wildly above that point you should be fine...I've seen major non-flyback circuit failure (such as H osc. failure) drive the average cathode current well above 300mA. Most tube color sets that see daily use will need SOMETHING fixed every year or so...Thus if you check cathode current during that service you can catch issues developing.

Sounds good I already have a 5 pack of the 250ma fast on the way, if I have nuisances and the readings look good perhaps I will try the 250 slow. How often do you have nuisance blows? and did it get any better with the line voltage regulation?

What are you thoughts of them ups battery backups? I currently use a few of them I kept my stuff on. Surprisingly the power doesn't seem that bad around here and it rarely has to kick in. I have noticed that I run a little on the high side around 121vac here. I will have to get out the meter and kick on the fridge and AC to see if I notice any drop in voltage.