A decade box is a piece of test equipment that can be used during prototyping of electronic circuits to substitute the interchanging of different values of certain passive components with a single variable output.[1][2] Decade boxes are made for resistance, capacitance, and inductance, the values of which can be adjusted incrementally by the turning of a knob or switch, with the contacts of the switch moving along a series of the respective components.[3] The interface for these devices usually consists of dials or adjustable tape counters, and they are operated in-circuit and without any external power source.[4]

A resistance decade box, made in East Germany

References

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  1. ^ "Dictionary and Thesaurus | Merriam-Webster". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  2. ^ Graf, Rudolf F. (1973). Modern Dictionary of Electronics (4th ed.). Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc. p. 139.
  3. ^ "More About Decade Boxes". Instrumart. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  4. ^ "Decade Resistance Box Hookup Guide - learn.sparkfun.com". SparkFun Electronics. Retrieved 2016-10-10.