[Milsurplus] Fuses

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

Wayne,

Thanks for the additional info or confirmation.  I had two notes and couldn't 
figure for certain whether 4AG-SB became MDC or MDM.

I sincerely hope manufacturers are not saving money on materials by making 
3AG (AGC) fuses 6mm diameter instead of 0.250".  There isn't much difference but 
every little bit hurts.  And it's just the sort of thing that some bean 
counter would do and cause a billion dollar Shuttle crash.

It isn't that the same fuse has several different nomenclatures but that over 
the decades from the 30's to the 50's and 60's for whatever reason the 
nomenclature system was changed several times.  And to add further confusion, 
Littlefuse apparently didn't change until a long time after Buss did.

Add to your list 3AG became AGC, 3AG-SB became MDL, and 8AG became AGX in the 
civilian world.  SFE is the really oddball one.  1/4" diameter but different 
lengths for different current ratings.  Supposedly made for "automotive 
applications".  Automotive fuse holders of the time were mostly all of the side 
entry clip type.  They must have figured that it would make it harder to over or 
under fuse a circuit.  The military went from FU-nn to F0na.  And at least in 
the Navy bought mostly what had been 3AB except that they had ceramic instead 
of bakelite bodies.  Marked F02A.  4AG became F05A.  Somewhere around here I 
have the MILSPEC sheets on all of this.

In a message dated 9/23/2004 11:39:58 PM Central Daylight Time, 
hwhall at compuserve.com writes: 
> 1) Glass fuses used "AG" and bakelite fiber, ceramic or other material
> fuses used the "AB" instead of "AG" in the size designation. 
> 2) Fast blowing 4AG were also marked at different times as AGS and slowblow
> as MDM.
> 3)  1/4" Diameter, 1-1/4 " Length (3AG, 6mm x 32mm)
>     9/32" Diameter, 1-1/4" Length (4AG)
> 
> The Buss Fusetron packs of MDM fuses I have are also marked "(formerly
> 4AG-SB)".
> 
> Seems like a lot of different ID numbers are basically the same fuse
> inside. 
> 

73
Robert Downs - Houston
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