Original poster: Ed Phillips <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net> Forgot to mention that the three voltmeter method gives the magnituce of the load reactance but not the sign (in other words could be an inductor or a capacitor). Easiest way to find out is to put a big capacitor (say 10 ufd) in series with the test circuit. If the current goes up the load is inductive and if it goes down it is capacitive. Ed