A dummy load is a device used to simulate an

electrical load An electrical load is an electrical component or portion of a circuit that consumes (active) electric power, such as electrical appliances and lights inside the home. The term may also refer to the power consumed by a circuit. This is opposed t ...

, usually for testing purposes. In

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

a dummy antenna is connected to the output of a

radio transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

and electrically simulates an

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

, to allow the transmitter to be adjusted and tested without radiating

radio wave Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz (GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (short ...

s. In

audio system Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...

s, a dummy load is connected to the output of an amplifier to electrically simulate a

loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or " ...

, allowing the amplifier to be tested without producing sound.

Load bank A load bank is a piece of electrical test equipment used to simulate an electrical load, to test an electric power source without connecting it to its normal operating load. During testing, adjustment, calibration, or verification procedures ...

s are connected to electrical

power supplies A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load. The main purpose of a power supply is to convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, current, and frequency to power the load. As a res ...

to simulate the supply's intended

for testing purposes.

Radio

In radio this device is also known as a dummy antenna or a

radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upp ...

termination. It is a device, usually a

resistor A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active el ...

, used in place of an

to aid in testing a

. It is substituted for the antenna while one adjusts the transmitter, so that no radio waves are radiated so that the transmitter does not interfere with other radio transmitters during the adjustments. (As no dummy load is ideal, however, some radiation does occur). If a transmitter is tested without a load attached to its output terminals such as an antenna or a dummy load, the power will be reflected back into the transmitter, often overheating and damaging it. Also, if a transmitter is adjusted without a load, it will operate differently as compared with a load, and the adjustments may be incorrect. The dummy load ordinarily should be a pure resistance; the amount of resistance should be the same as the impedance of the antenna or transmission line that is used with the transmitter (usually 50 Ω or 75 Ω). The radio energy that is absorbed by the dummy load is converted to heat. A dummy load must be chosen or designed to tolerate the amount of power that can be delivered by the transmitter. Typically it consists of a

attached to some type of

heat sink A heat sink (also commonly spelled heatsink) is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a liquid coolant, where it is dissipated away from the device, th ...

to dissipate the power from the transmitter. The ideal dummy load provides a standing wave ratio ( SWR) of 1:1 at the given impedance. Veterinarian-grade

mineral oil Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils. The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...

, an inexpensive form of mineral oil, is frequently used by

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

operators as coolant in RF dummy loads.

Audio

When testing

audio amplifier An audio power amplifier (or power amp) is an electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power electronic audio signals, such as the signal from a radio receiver or an electric guitar pickup, to a level that is high enough for driving loudspea ...

s, it is common to replace the

with a dummy load, so that the amplifier's handling of large power levels can be tested without actually producing intense sound. The simplest is a resistor bank to simulate the

voice coil A voice coil (consisting of a former, collar, and winding) is the coil of wire attached to the apex of a loudspeaker cone. It provides the motive force to the cone by the reaction of a magnetic field to the current passing through it. The term ...

's resistance. For loudspeaker simulation, a more complex network is more accurate, however, as actual loudspeakers are

reactive Reactive may refer to: *Generally, capable of having a reaction (disambiguation) *An adjective abbreviation denoting a bowling ball coverstock made of reactive resin *Reactivity (chemistry) *Reactive mind *Reactive programming See also *Reactanc ...

and

non-linear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...

. There are many designs for loudspeaker simulators, which emphasize different characteristics of the actual speaker, such as the

's inductance, mechanical suspension compliance, and cone mass.

Power supplies

There are also dummy loads for power supplies, known as

load bank A load bank is a piece of electrical test equipment used to simulate an electrical load, to test an electric power source without connecting it to its normal operating load. During testing, adjustment, calibration, or verification procedures ...

s. These may be used, for example, for factory and in-service testing of standby generators. A load bank may be used to stabilize a power system in case of loss of load, for example, on an isolated wind or mini-hydro plant. An electronic load (or e-load) is a device or assembly that simulates loading on an electronic circuit. It is used as substitute for a conventional ohmic load resistor. As counterpart to a

current source A current source is an electronic circuit that delivers or absorbs an electric current which is independent of the voltage across it. A current source is the dual of a voltage source. The term ''current sink'' is sometimes used for sources f ...

, the electronic load is a current sink. When loading a current source with a fixed resistor one can set one determined load current by the connected load resistor. The characteristic of the electronic load is that the load current can be set and varied in a defined range. The load current is regulated electronically. The electronic load consumes

electric energy Electrical energy is energy related to forces on electrically charged particles and the movement of electrically charged particles (often electrons in wires, but not always). This energy is supplied by the combination of electric current and electr ...

and in most cases transforms it into

heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

. Fans or water-cooled elements are used as coolers. Under certain conditions, energy-recycling into the public power supply system is also possible. Electronic loads are used in diverse applications, particularly for the test of

, batteries, solar and

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...

generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

s. AC loads are used to test

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

uninterruptible power supplies An uninterruptible power supply or uninterruptible power source (UPS) is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source or mains power fails. A UPS differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system ...

(UPS) or onboard power supplies. The equipment and power spectrum of such electronic loads begins with simplest circuits consisting in general of a potentiometer for current setting and a transistor circuit for power transforming. Further developed electronic loads supply several operating modes, in most cases constant current, voltage, power and resistance. Nowadays, the equipment may be controlled by a PLC or remotely by a PC. Settings and measured values such as input voltage and actual load current are indicated on a display.

References

External links

Speaker impedance
- ePanorama.net {{Analogue TV transmitter topics Electrical circuits Radio electronics

Radio

Audio

Power supplies

See also

References

Further reading

External links