HF 12 volt supply on 24 volt system
Submitted: Sunday, Aug 06, 2006 at 11:34
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Skid
Has anybody got any experience of running a Barrett 650 HF or similar on a 24 volt Mitsubishi Canter or similar.
The Canter has 2 redarc voltage reducers that supply 12volts to the House lights and Engel fridge. I'm nervous to connect the HF direct to one of the redarcs because of the potential current draw on transmit.
The other option is to connect +ve direct to the 1st of the House 12 volt batteries, but I believe this may cause an imbalance in the battery bank, leading to charging problems.
My question is, has anybody got any experience, advise using HF on 24volt systems, how was it wired? any problems etc....?
PS- I've remembered not to connect the HF neutral direct to the battery.
Thanks in advance
Reply By: SteveL - Sunday, Aug 06, 2006 at 16:22
Sunday, Aug 06, 2006 at 16:22
What you need is a Redarc charge equaliser to compensate for the fact that you are taking 12v from one of the batteries.The voltage reducer is useless for supplying enough amps for a
HF radio. As it happens, I have a 20 amp one for sale.-Steve
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Follow Up By: Peter 2 - Sunday, Aug 06, 2006 at 20:50
Sunday, Aug 06, 2006 at 20:50
I've had a Redarc charge equaliser in the Humvee for over 4 years now, I can pull as much 12v from either battery as I want and it floats them to the same potential.
There is currently a Barrett HF, Blue Tongue compressor, stereo, CB,
camping lights, 300 watt inverter, various chargers for GPS, laptop, phone etc etc, the entire aircon system all pulling 12v out with zero problems.
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Reply By: Steve from Albany - Sunday, Aug 06, 2006 at 19:25
Sunday, Aug 06, 2006 at 19:25
We installed dozens of 12 volt Codan HF sets into 24 volt trucks years ago when I was working in the electronics industry. In theory you could have a problem with charging the battery's because one is been drawn down lower then the other but in pratice we never had any problems.
Steve
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187467
Follow Up By: Skid - Wednesday, Aug 09, 2006 at 09:32
Wednesday, Aug 09, 2006 at 09:32
Thanks for your response - rather than having another device wired into the system I think I'll monitor the batteries and take the risk.
I'm not someone who calls in everynight to VKS
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