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From: bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: battery sizes
Message-ID: <898@sigma.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Oct-86 11:33:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: sigma.898
Posted: Wed Oct 15 11:33:04 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 21-Oct-86 01:41:23 EDT
References: <100@houligan.UUCP> <839@jplgodo.UUCP>
Reply-To: bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan)
Lines: 11

In article <839@jplgodo.UUCP> steve@same (Steve Schlaifer x43171 301/167):
>The names A, B, and C batteries come from old (very old) tube radios.  The
>A battery supplied the filament current, the B battery the plate (anode)
>voltage also known as B+, the C battery supplied the grid bias.  B batteries
>are still around.  They are commonly known as lantern batteries [...]

Uhh.. one question.. it seems to me that the "A" battery would make a
better lantern battery, as the filaments require high currents at low
voltage (typically 6 or 12 volts), whereas the "B+" supply was (is?)
considerably higher (remember the vibrators in old car radios?) at lower
currents.