2-2
Impedance Ratio
The impedance ratio is the square of the turns or voltage ratio, so if we take the number found above and multiply it by itself we will have the impedance ratio.
Say we found the voltage ratio was 20:1, then the impedance ratio will be;
20 x 20 = 400:1
What this means is that for every ohm of load we will present 400 ohms of load anode-to-anode. If we connect an 8 ohm speaker cabinet the plate-to-plate impedance will be;
400 x 8 = 3200 ohms.
Power rating
How can you tell the power rating a transformer?
Note: Strictly speaking power in a DC circuit is measured in watts (W), while power in AC circuits is quoted in Volt-Amps (VA). Since transformers are inherently AC devices they are rated in VA. The reasons for this need not concern us here, and you can read guitar amp transformer VA ratings as “watts” without significant error.
This is actually quite a difficult thing to determine simply.
The most obvious method is find the manufacturers data sheet and look it up. If it's an A+R (OT or PT) or Ferguson (OP, OPM, PF, or PVD) type, see if you can find the type number in our listings.
But many trannies have no markings at all.
The power handling of a transformer is mainly determined by the core - the bigger the core, the higher the power.
In the old days (1940's) there was a graph in the ARRL Handbook that allowed you to estimate the VA-rating of a stack (of laminations) from the cross-section area of the centre limb of the core, the part that passes through the middle of the windings (and is thus the most difficult to measure accurately).
By the 1960's newer grain-oriented steels were being used that had higher power handling and only helped to confuse matters. These trannies were smaller for the same power and the graphs no longer held.
So most tech's guess from experience. One way to get some instant experience is to look through component catalogues at the transformers, and check out the size and weight for each of the various power ratings (maximum voltage by maximum current if not given in VA or watts).
If the tranny is in an amp then you get some clues at least from the type and number of output valves (if not from “Gunge-50” written on the front ;).
If you really want to know for sure, then the best way is to measure it.
One way is to load up the tranny until the voltage drops by 5%. The trouble is that different windings, heater and HT, will have different drops giving different values.
The real bottom-line test is to load the tranny with light globes to some value a bit less than you guess its ratings might be, then measure its temperature for an hour or two. It should be no more than 50°C in 25°C ambient.
The most reliable way to test an output tranny is to drive it with a suitable output stage into a dummy load, again watching the temperature carefull