[Amps] 50 or 60 Hz, a problem?

[Will Matney]

Bob,

That settles it then, I'd say Heath built about everything with 50 Hz 
transformers, or at least after a certain year I imagine. Don't take my 
word for this though as I may be indeed wrong. One would think that 
would be the wise decision, selling to both US and foriegn customers. 
Then, in this case, the transformers are heavier than need be for 60 Hz 
operation which is a blessing power wise for the iron in it. This in 
turn means the whole thing will run some cooler on 60 Hz providing the 
windings wire is sized correctly. The larger hunk of iron acts like a 
heatsink somewhat absorbing more of the heat of the coil because it will 
be cooler. This is because the magnetic current in the core itself will 
not heat the core as hot as would a 60 Hz. The transformer will be 
farther from saturation this way which is a big plus.

When a transformer goes into saturation, the permeability drops off 
sharply. The waveform becomes distorted, the inductance of the primary 
drops creating heat by the increased current drawn from the primary, and 
the magnetic current rises creating more heat in the iron. Adding more 
iron, which would be the case above, drops the saturation point and 
lowers the flux density ( the required number of magnetic lines have 
more room ). This drops the magnetic current in the core the same as 
raising a wire size for its current capacity. From this then, running a 
50 hz transformer on 60 Hz is a blessing.

Best,

Will



My SB-220 says 50/60 cycle in the introduction.  SB-221 manual also
says 50/60.

Bob  W6VY

----- Original Message -----
From: "Will Matney" <craxd1 at ezwv.com>
To: <amps at contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2005 13:14
Subject: [Amps] 50 or 60 Hz, a problem?


 > Roger,
 >
 > I just picked up a Heath manual for a IG-28 color generator which was
 > laying here on the desk to see what it said. It shows its transformer
 > running at either 120 or 240 Vac and at 50 or 60 Hz. The HP-23B power
 > supply has 120 Vac and 50-60 Hz, the SB-220 schematic says only 60 Hz,
 > and the 200 and 230 dont say on the schematics. I thought Heath may
 > have made all their equipment with 50 Hz transformers but I dont think
 > so. If somebody has an original SB-220 manual, look it up and see what
 > the line frequency is. The 60 Hz may have only been a mis-print on the
 > schematic as other equipment has both 50 and 60 Hz. If this was the
 > case, all were 50 Hz, it's a good thing for 60 Hz owners as your
 > getting more bang for your buck!
 >
 > Will
 >
 >
 >
 > My SB-200 worked fine 0n 50 Hz during the 4 years I
 > was in Germany.
 >
 > 73, Roger
 >
 > --
 > Remember the USS Liberty (AGTR-5)
 > http://ussliberty.org/
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