[TenTec] Orion & Motorcyle battery

[Bill Miner]

Terry,

The Astron DC supply has a high voltage crowbar protection circuit.  If
you have a battery connected directly to the output of the Astron and
the crowbar circuit operates you will have hundreds of amps of current
flow even from a motorcycle battery.  You can install an isolation diode
between the astron and the battery but then you will have the voltage
drop of the diode and the battery will not be charged to the proper
terminal voltage.  If your shack is inside your house it is a bad idea
to have a flooded cell (lead acid) battery there because of fumes or
spillage hazards.  

In short....  yes you could do this but it is not a good idea in my
opinion.

F Y I  boot time for the ORION is less than ten seconds.

73,
Bill - K6WLM

"Zivney, Terry L." wrote:
> 
> W4ZV says:
> 
>         I've ordered an Orion and for the first time will be
> using an outboard DC supply (a used Astron RS-35M
> is on the way).  I often get short power glitches since I am
> in a rural location and am concerned about getting resets
> on Orion since I understand it takes awhile to reboot (how
> long?)  I'm thinking of getting a small battery (motorcycle)
> to place between the RS-35M and Orion.  This would stay
> fully charged and might help prevent unwanted resets by
> brief power glitches.
> 
>         Has anyone ever done anything like this?  Is it even
> necessary or is there enough residual energy in the PS
> filter caps that brief interruptions (typically <10 sec) are not
> a problem?  I  don't really want to buy a UPS large enough
> to power Orion but is there a simpler solution?
>