Difference in Resistor Types

[Anson]

Does anyone have a good online reference for the uses of different resistor types? Why they are used and how important it is. I have been having a hard time finding anything that explains it really clearly. I have found several videos or article that tell you about the different types and a few that have a few basic explanations but nothing in great detail. Or explaining how important it is. Reason for asking is because I want to learn and also because I have a resistor I want to replace that I cannot find an exact replacement for. It's a wirewound precision .4 watt and I need to know if I can replace it with a metal film. Since I cannot find its value in wirewound without going to a lesser wattage. Or getting a New Old Stock replacement off Ebay which I really don't want to do.

[Paul Price]

Metal film at the proper wattage should do just fine or function better than the wirewound you are replacing. You don't mention anything about the resistors value and in what kinda circuit it is being used..don't you think adding this information to  your post would make any answer easier?

[alm]

The book Analog SEEKrets (available as free PDF, the author accepts donations on his website) contains an excellent description of the advantages of the various resistor types.

Wirewound resistors used to be common for precision applications back when metal film was not yet common. A metal film of the same or better accuracy should work fine in that application. Metal film resistors have a fairly limited peak current handling, wirewound and especially carbon composite are superior in this regard. You will need to look at the circuit to see if any of these aspects are important.

[Anson]

Metal film at the proper wattage should do just fine or function better than the wirewound you are replacing. You don't mention anything about the resistors value and in what kinda circuit it is being used..don't you think adding this information to  your post would make any answer easier?

Sorry I was going to add that bit of info but my wife interrupted me (apparently she was in a hurry). The original is a precision wirewound 0.5% .4watt 24.9k in a range switching application on a power supply. This one is reading out of spec and I was wanting to replace it. My 8840a is reading it as 31.9k.

[Anson]

The book Analog SEEKrets (available as free PDF, the author accepts donations on his website) contains an excellent description of the advantages of the various resistor types.

Wirewound resistors used to be common for precision applications back when metal film was not yet common. A metal film of the same or better accuracy should work fine in that application. Metal film resistors have a fairly limited peak current handling, wirewound and especially carbon composite are superior in this regard. You will need to look at the circuit to see if any of these aspects are important.

Thanks for the reference I will give it a good read.