[Boatanchors] Aircraft inverter - what to do with it?

[Meir Ben-Dror WF2U]

Charles,

I bought 2 24-28 VDC output @ 130 amps output (240VAC input) switching supplies on eBay, for around $60 each plus shipping. They're about one third of the volume of my Astron 12 VDC @ 50 amp output linear supply, and roughly a third of the weight. They don't emit any RFI on any of the HF ham bands  (I haven't checked for RFI below 160m).
I use them to power up several dynamotor powered surplus radios, like the ART-13, GRC-19. 
It'll also power up the AN/MRC-95 system I'm reassembling, which includes the Collins 618T- 3 400 watt HF transceiver.
Your aircraft inverter can be run from a switching supply I mentioned. Now what can you power up with the inverter?
The Collins 618T-1 (notice it's the -1 version),
which is actually run from 115VAC 400Hz at around 1200 KVA is a good candidate - the 618T is an awesome transceiver, with LSB/USB/AM/CW modes, 400 W PEP. It'll also need 24-28 VDC at 150 VA to run some subsystems in it. Because of the power requirement of the 115 VAC 400 HZ at high power, this version of the transceiver can be found very inexpensively.

Just a little idea what to use your inverter for, and how to power it up.

73, Meir WF2U
Landrum, SC

⁣

On Feb 11, 2022, 9:56 PM, at 9:56 PM, Charles via Boatanchors <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>At a junk store the other day, I picked up a vintage 400 Hz rotary 
>inverter for cheap. Bendix Red Bank model 1518-1-H. The only manuals I 
>could find online costs far more than I paid for the unit... and has a 
>copyright date of 1949! The unit was serviced by "Aerolectric" some 
>unreadable time ago from the paper tag, and the brushes look brand-new 
>when I removed the end caps. It's really clean inside, as is the 
>primitive regulation system inside the box. The sealed ball bearings 
>feel gummy, but they're inexpensive so I ordered replacements. $4 for 
>"Koyo" made-in-Japan at the Big Bearing Store.com... I didn't want to 
>invest $25-30 each in Timkens, and I knew better than to buy the $1.87 
>Chinese ones
>
>It's capable of 115 volts at a healthy 1500 VA single phase, or 2000 VA
>
>three phase. Of course, as with most vintage motor-generators like
>this, 
>the efficiency is at best 55% at full load from what little info I
>could 
>find online. So that requires 27.5 VDC at 115 amps! Don't know what the
>
>no-load input current is, but nonzero I'm guessing at least 20 amps
>with 
>a horrendous inrush current. Anyhow... I would need to build one BFPS 
>(Big Power Supply) to run this 38 lb. beast under load. Wouldn't be 
>cheap, or lightweight if a linear supply. Or, two hefty 12-volt 
>batteries in series, and charge them offline. Also not cheap these
>days.
>
>I've already got a static inverter I bought years ago from Fair Radio 
>and repaired with new power transistors, that converts 115/60 to
>115/400 
>at 1 KVA. And I don't even use it! When I was a kid, 400 Hz military 
>gear was relatively plentiful and cheap because no one wanted it 
>(lacking a power source)... once I finally had it, the surplus gear had
>
>all dried up, probably parted out or scrapped.
>
>So, I'm just rambling... I don't really have a use for it, but wanted
>to 
>save it from the eventual scrapper or rust-in-place. Any thoughts?
>
>-Charles
>
>
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