[Elecraft] 120V vs 240V

[David Christ]

A story I heard which I wish I could confirm is that a number of 
states outlawed 24 volt systems in autos after people bought surplus 
aircraft landing lights which were super bright but also wide beam. 
They blinded oncoming drivers.

David K0LUM

At 4:45 PM -0800 2/16/11, Lew Phelps K6LMP wrote:
>
>Someone raised the question why the auto industry didn't just go to 
>24 volts.  The answer is battery size.  Trucks, boats, and planes 
>are mostly 24 volts, but they mostly have more room "under the hood" 
>than most autos.  There were only a couple of standard cell sizes 
>available in lead acid batteries, and scaling up to 24VDC even with 
>the smallest of them required dedicating a lot of space to 
>batteries. Those older vehicle engines were not very compact or 
>efficient, by today's standards. There's room under the hood of my 
>Hudson for a 12 volt battery, but not for twice that volume. Most 
>vehicles that have 24VDC systems get there by strapping a pair of 12 
>volt batteries in series, rather than by employing a single (and 
>more compact) 24 volt battery. That's the situation with a military 
>surplus vehicle I also own, a 1975 Pinzgauer, which serves as a 
>great platform for my VHF/UHF rover contesting station (which is 
>based on my K3, and thus qualifies this post not OT...;-)  )
>
>Lew K6LMP