Decade box/Resistance box, 1-6 decades

Description

A decade box or resistance box is a passive circuit, the electrical resistance of which can be accurately set step-by-step. A decade box is composed of several adjustable components, which differ from each other because the resistance per component increases by a factor of 10.
Decade boxes are highly useful for laboratory, education, or design work; they are also ideal for verifying the accuracy of test equipment prior to use as well as troubleshooting in the field or on the factory floor.

The Foundation currently owns 27 decade boxes, ranging from 1 decade to 6 decades and with a maximum range of 0.01 to 100 kΩ. There are variants with two voltage terminals, but also with intermediate terminals, so that resistance ratios can be set.

• 1-decade resistance box: Bleeker, serial number 30908 S.
• 2-decade resistance box: Bleeker, serial number 2465, 11888, 11890, 11915, 51816, 51818, 57518 S, 65168 S, and 67421; an old copy with an ebonite cover plate without serial number; and a Huyser, serial number 791002.
• 3-decade resistance box: Bleeker, serial number none, 42139, and 52188.
• 4-decade resistance box: Bleeker, serial number 52345 S, 60175, and 730065 (type 31480).
• 5-decade resistance box: Bleeker, serial number7257, 8803, 44918, 34281, and 36864.
• 6-decade resistance box: Bleeker, serial number none, 27395, 37910 S, and 44969.

Most of the decade boxes come from Peter-Paul de Bruijn’s collection and three copies from the Faculty of Chemistry at TU Delft.

More information about decade boxes/resistance boxes can be found in the original Bleeker brochures (see: Documentatie/Bleeker  [in Dutch]).