[CQ-Contest] Power Inverters

[Georgens, Tom]

Power Inverters

I am currently planning another = contesting trip to the Caribbean and am 
giving some thought to a point = I have neglected in the past, emergency 
power.  I had a power = outage during a WPX in KP2 one year but it 
remarkably occurred during = an off time.  I actually had a generator 
which, by the time I = coaxed it into working, was not necessary since the 
lights had come = back on.

More recently, I have been in 8P where = there is a generator but I dread 
ever having to use it.  I am not = very handy with motors and dealing with 
gasoline before and after the = contest seemed like an ordeal.  Instead I 
have just taken the risk = that the power would be OK.

However, I have seen these relatively = cheap inverters in stores such as 
Circuit City that claim 300 or 500 = Watts output at 110V.  Since I have an 
automobile handy that is = sure to start and already has gasoline, I was 
wondering if anybody out = there has a judgement as to the suitability of 
these devices.  I = figure that, in the event of a short power outage, I 
can continue to = run at exciter power off an automobile and one of these = 
inverters.  At a minimum, I need to run the radio, computer, and = lamp (if 
dark).  It is not ideal, but it is better than being off = the air entirely.

Assuming the inverter is operating = within its limits, does it provide a 
viable alternative to a generator = for contesting power requirements in 
the 300 to 500 W range?  I am = concerned about stability, electrical 
noise, reliability, and lots of = other things I surely have not considered.

Thanks and 73, Tom W2SC

tom.georgens at lsil.com


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