On 18/06/2010 12:56, N_Cook wrote:
When did they first arrive and do they always have an unusual body colour?
There is a patent reference to 1977 but when would the first appearance in
domestic equipment have been ?.
Resistors that fail open circuit if a designed-in current capacity weak
point is exceeded , fuse-fashion, not just the thermal limit of the body ,
so often no overheating discolouration to the body or surrounding board


The first ones I remember were in the dropper series on old televisions,
they had a spring (like half a safety pin) soldered to the terminals. Do
they count?