On Mon, 12 Feb 2001 Bob Baker wrote:

> I do not believe that this unit requires 1500 watts to do justice to
> whatever music one wishes to listen to.  One San Francisco electronic
> engineer of high repute informed me that he didn't think a typical
> Pianocorder System would draw more than 6 amps.  At 110 Volts AC,
> that's about 660 watts.

There is mention of 1000 watts in the Pianocorder literature.  Peaking
at 1000 watts (the same amount as drawn by a small electric heater)
will certainly affect the lights on a 15 ampere circuit.  I live in a
typical older San Francisco apartment, where the majority of the power
receptacles drop off of the (single) 15 amp lighting circuit.  Now and
again there is a bit of twitching of the lights, especially if the
circuit is loaded up.

However, I concur with the above estimate of maximum peak at 660 watts.
I just now attached my ammeter to the system, and playing at regular
volume (fairly loud) it draws an average of 2 amps (about 240 watts),
peaking at 3 amps (360 watts).  If I turn up both expression controls
to the maximum, I can realize an occasional peak at 5 amps (600 watts).

I suppose it might be possible to actually draw 1000 watts if the
internal expression controls were both turned up all the way also.
But, of course, this would be for experimental purposes only, and not
a correct setting for normal use.

While a 20 amp circuit may be more desirable,  it should present no
problem to operate the Pianocorder on a 15 amp circuit, as long as it
is not overloaded.

Tom Lear
San Francisco, CA