Do carbon resistors have any advantages over metal film?

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crazytooguy

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Messages
57
I usually use metal film resistors since they tend to be lower noise, but is there any application that a carbon resistor gives superior performance? Cost isn't much of an issue, since the price difference between carbon and metal film is insignificant for one-off designs. Are metal film resistors just simply better all around? Thanks!
 
Check R.G.'s site geofex.com ther is a nice writeup on CC resistors.
 
Carbon films are somewhat more resistant to deterioration in the presence of ionic contaminants and moisture. Otherwise, they tend to have higher voltage coefficients and resistance temperature coefficients. These may account for their specific "sound" in some circuits. Carbon composition R's can be quite rugged under pulsed overload.

Above a certain value it is hard to make metal films, but carbon films can be deposited on blanks to make R's about as big as you like, even exceeding 10^12 ohms.
 
carbon=organic

for that down home sound. :cool:

are you with me, brutha?

can I get an Amen?

the color codes on a 2 watt carbon comp, you just can't beat that.
major ebay money
 
There's no competition with the sex appeal of a shiny Allen-Bradley hot molded carbon comp, I'll give you that CJ.

Although I have a few hermetically-sealed clear glass package metal films with heavy-gold-plated leads from the heyday of cost-plus military contracts, and I hate to use them in circuits, they are so pretty.
 
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