Question for THD Hot Plate power attenuator 16ohm.

[Supernatural]

Hello all!

A simple question please. Maybe sounds stupid but it’s just the first day with this beauty.

I got it today in a very good price to say no. Test it today and all functions seems to work great. The problem is that the bulbs not lighting and the fan doesn’t turn at all. I drive it with the small tube head DSL1 that it’s very low in Watt. Maybe that is the problem? Need more powerful amp to get bulbs light and fan to turn?

Thank you!

 

[JohnH]

Hi @Supernatural

I think you are right. There's no problem using it with a small amp like a DSL1, if you need to be quieter. But it's designed to deal with much more powerful amps, at which point they naturally heat up and need the fan to cool them. There'd be no point in drawing such power from a very small amp to spin the fan. And the light-bulb feature is a unique idea for Hotplates, to limit power further at high power settings. The bulbs will still be in circuit with low power, but won't glow.and probably make little difference.

 

[TAZIN]

Yes, the fan only comes on when the Hotplate is dissipating higher wattage.

 

[Supernatural]

Thank you both! So no need to worry about! … Fan and bulb we will meet in a higher amp!!!

 

[december]

Bulbs burn out. You can buy new ones for $10 from THD on Reverb.
The fan will only turn on when a certain amount of power or heat is being generated.

 

[december]

Hi @Supernatural

I think you are right. There's no problem using it with a small amp like a DSL1, if you need to be quieter. But it's designed to deal with much more powerful amps, at which point they naturally heat up and need the fan to cool them. There'd be no point in drawing such power from a very small amp to spin the fan. And the light-bulb feature is a unique idea for Hotplates, to limit power further at high power settings. The bulbs will still be in circuit with low power, but won't glow.and probably make little difference.

The bulbs are part of a noise reduction function. They're unrelated to the attenuation function.

 

[Jon Snell]

Using an incandescent lamp within a power brake or shunt to regulate the output level to your speaker is not a noval idea and is used by many manufactures and DIYers world wide.
Some times the incandescent lamp is used as a fuse link for HF drivers in many types of passive crossover.

 

[Supernatural]

Bulbs burn out. You can buy new ones for $10 from THD on Reverb.
The fan will only turn on when a certain amount of power or heat is being generated.

I open the case and I check both bulbs. They are both in good condition. Same thing with the on off bulbs switch.

Do you think we have a problem here? I didn’t understand if the bulbs should work no matter if the amp is low in watt or high. Maybe my English doesn’t help…. Can anyone explain please?

 

[D-Max]

I use 2 16 Ohm Hot Plates with my 1960BHW cabs, powered by 2x100W 9200 dual monobock power amp.
The fans will start and the bulbs will light up.

You are running a 1 Watt tube amp (DSL1) into a power soak that is designed to handle max. 185 Watt RMS of power.
In your case the bulb will definitely not light up and the fan will not start.

 

[december]

I open the case and I check both bulbs. They are both in good condition. Same thing with the on off bulbs switch.

Do you think we have a problem here? I didn’t understand if the bulbs should work no matter if the amp is low in watt or high. Maybe my English doesn’t help…. Can anyone explain please?

It's hard to tell if a light bulb is burned out just by looking at it.
This is from the THD listing on Reverb:
Built-in Noise Reduction
The THD Hot Plate is the only attenuator on the market with built-in noise reduction to reduce the hiss and hum between notes. We designed a passive, single-ended noise reduction system, which provides approximately 10dB of broad band noise reduction without gating or pumping. A by-product of the noise reduction circuit is that it generates light as you play. The harder you play, the brighter it glows.

Here's the link: https://reverb.com/item/61645697-br...nuator-and-load-box-all-black-direct-from-thd
click contact seller and send a message. Andy will be able to give you the best answer.

 

[Supernatural]

It's hard to tell if a light bulb is burned out just by looking at it.
This is from the THD listing on Reverb:
Built-in Noise Reduction
The THD Hot Plate is the only attenuator on the market with built-in noise reduction to reduce the hiss and hum between notes. We designed a passive, single-ended noise reduction system, which provides approximately 10dB of broad band noise reduction without gating or pumping. A by-product of the noise reduction circuit is that it generates light as you play. The harder you play, the brighter it glows.

Here's the link: https://reverb.com/item/61645697-br...nuator-and-load-box-all-black-direct-from-thd
click contact seller and send a message. Andy will be able to give you the best answer.

I test it not saw it

 

[Greg Rogers]

Hello all!

A simple question please. Maybe sounds stupid but it’s just the first day with this beauty.

I got it today in a very good price to say no. Test it today and all functions seems to work great. The problem is that the bulbs not lighting and the fan doesn’t turn at all. I drive it with the small tube head DSL1 that it’s very low in Watt. Maybe that is the problem? Need more powerful amp to get bulbs light and fan to turn?

Thank you!

I don’t know what you paid for the Hotplate, but a Weber Mini Mass would be perfect for you and cost much less. I have a Mini Mass for my SV20 and a Weber Mass for my ‘65 Bassman. They are great!

 

[Supernatural]

Thank you all, one by one for your opinions and your help! Soon I will go to a friends house with a 50w Marshall head and I will test it there too. I will post the results here!

Have a great day all!

 

[december]

Since we have Hot Plate users here, can I hijack your thread and ask: Can anyone comment on how the Hot Plate (as a load w/no speaker) line out -> IRs sounds compared to a Suhr reactive load box in the same scenario? Or a Rivera Mini Rock Rec?
I made IRs of my speakers and they sound very close to the real mic'd speakers with a Rivera Mini Rock Rec or an actual speaker connected, but with a Suhr RL as the only load, it sounds really boomy and mid-scooped.
I need 3 dummy loads to recreate my stereo wet/dry/wet rig in the DAW with IRs, and I don't like how the Suhr colors the sound. I need load boxes that make the line out sound more like it does when a V30 or MC-90 is connected. I need to record silently, so I can't keep a speaker connected.
Thanks for any insight you can provide.