1/4 or 1/2 watt resistors

[intoodeep]

i am building some yusynth modules and am not sure whether to buy 1/4 or 1/2 watt resistors. it doesn't seem to be discussed here or on the yusynth site, so i was wondering what others have used. thanks for your help!

[yusynth]

1/4W unless specified otherwise

[Don Erskine]

Remember that some simple math can give you the power dissipated in a resistor.

V=IR (Volts = Amps x Resistance)

Power in watts:

W= VA (Volts x Amps)

Incidentally, with most synths running from voltages of +/-15v or less, the highest voltage that could be across a resistor is 30v, and so in practice no resistor with a value of more than 3.6Kohms would need to be rated at more than 1/4 W in any design. A handy rule of thumb.

[FJS]

Hello Don,

Hope the question is not too stupid. I can follow your simple math. But I still have a couple of 0,6W resistors in a box. I can't see a draw back from using them? Do I miss an important aspect?

Thank you.

[yusynth]

The "wattage" of a component gives the maximum power that it can dissipate without being destroyed. This is an upper bound only. Therefore if you have 0.6W resistors there is no problem using them at any power below 0.6W.