Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 26 Dec 2006 00:13:43 -0800, meow2222 Has Frothed:
mm wrote:

Is it dangerous to the output transistors or something to run a radio
without speakers?

What if the volume control is kept at the minimum?

This wouldn't be a problem with a tube set iiuc, right?, but I'm not
so sure about transistors, if, say, the volume were accidentally
turned high. (No I didn't do that, but I was wondering how much
effort I should expend just so I can turn the set on and measure some
voltages.)

with tr amps its harmless, do what you like with the vol ctrl. With
most valve sets its harmless, but perhaps not all. Sometimes valve amps
were fitted with spark gaps on the output transformer HT side.

Some vintage valve guitar amps had a shunt prong across the 1/4" spkr
output jack when the plug wasn't in it. IIRC Marshall amps had a warning
tag that to operate the amp without a load or with a resistive attenuator
would void the warranty. I know that operating most any class AB1 valve
amp is risky to the OT.

I had an old amp that would spark across the spark gap with no load
connected. But whats the mechanism for that? No load cant take any Vs
higher than normal run voltage, unless theres some kind of LC thing
going on in the op tf, and no load means no damping.


NT