I was concerned about regulation with HEAVY variable loads, beyond the
scope of the battery charge output. But use of the dc output can
certainly be efficient for smaller loads.
The raw battery charge outputis an unfiltered rectified output, usually
providing <10 A, whereas a transceiver usually requires more than 20
A on peaks. If you actually have a storage battery, that will provide
both filtering and a deep reserve for voice peaks.
On Conway Reef, we lost a lot of gear overboard, including a 12V supply
for a 757. A few days into the operation, Mats, SM7PKK had a bright
idea. He set up alongside our Robyn diesel generator with a dc output,
connected two 12V cables together, and went on the air barefoot with the
757. Since the generator in question had a self-starter, it also had a
small battery, and that was all that was n eeded. (The only problem was
that he was out in the bright tropical sun, so we fixed him up with a
makeshift shelter and he was off and running.) Later, we moved the
generator close to a tent, and had a more conventional operating
position.
jack.sippel@nellcorpb.com wrote:
>
> One solution for the duty cycle problem would be to use a generator with
> a 13.8 VDC output. Wire the generator in parallel with a car battery
> battery and power your rig with 13.8 VDC. Many (most) rigs take DC
> input and its a waste of energy to generate 120VAC and then lose 25% of
> it in the AC-to-DC power supply. As for the shack computers, some
> laptops can run off of 13.8 DC but most desktops cannot, so thats a
> problem if you need computer support. I don't run QRO, so I'm not sure
> if any of the amplifiers can use DC input....
>
> For those of you who like to tinker...there was an article in QST within
> the past year where a fellow took a heavy duty car alternator, hooked it
> up to a lawn mower engine, added some regulation, fuses and a battery,
> and had 40+ Amps to drive his portable station.
>
> 73 de KU0KU, Jack, Kansas City
> <jack.sippel@nellcorpb.com>
--
Garry Shapiro, NI6T
160 meters: not a band, but an obsession
--
CQ-Contest on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
Administrative requests: cq-contest-REQUEST@contesting.com
|