[Hallicrafters] BA's at Field Day

[anchor at ec.rr.com]

HI folks,
  Yes, it would be nice to know what size gen it was, Mike.  I know the smaller, 1 & 2kw "Japanese" units are actually a LV, 12v maybe, DC generator, and use an invertor to go to 120vac.  Thus the waveform could be absolutely terrible for transformer operated equipment. 
73,
Al, W8UT
  (from remote, intermittent, access for a few days)

---- Charlie <pincon at erols.com> wrote: 
> Hello Mike.
> 
> There are many different series of Honda generators.  I'd be very curious to 
> know the model number of the one you were using.   If you don't know, what 
> is it's approximate output rating and age?  I have an older 6500 watt Honda 
> I use for the whole house where the waveform looks OK.  I do get a little 
> output variation when the load on one side of the 120 V line gets too 
> unbalanced.   Some of the newer designs actually have a sine wave generator 
> output.  Their regulation,  both frequency and Voltage is supposed to be 
> quite good.
> 
> 73' Charlie k3ICH
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Everette" <radiocompass at yahoo.com>
> To: "List Boatanchors" <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>; "List Hallicrafters" 
> <hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>; "Mark K3MSB" <mark.k3msb at gmail.com>
> Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 12:29 PM
> Subject: Re: [Hallicrafters] BA's at Field Day
> 
> 
> >I took my recently-restored National HRO receiver and a WRL Globe Scout 
> >65A/Heathkit VF-1 combo to work CW on 80 and 40 meters.
> >
> > And I learned a valuable lesson.
> >
> > BE CAREFUL with BA's around generators.
> >
> > The generator we used had some sort of problem.  Nobody had a line 
> > frequency meter and I suspect the gen-set could have been running slow. 
> > The voltage output was OK, but the frequency could have been off.  Or, it 
> > may have had a some kind of phase problem.  That is, it nay have been 
> > generating more than one waveform resulting in a much higher peak voltage 
> > output.  My AC voltmeter (never leave home without it) "said" 125 volts 
> > was coming down the #12 gauge line, but I'm not so sure that was a true 
> > reading.
> >
> > SOMETHING was REAL wrong.
> >
> > At any rate, I came real close to cooking off the power transformer in the 
> > HRO, as well as that in the transmitter, after a couple of hours in 
> > operation.  The HRO power supply case was EXTREMELY hot and remained so 
> > for
> > several hours after shut-down; fortunately this was a mil-spec supply 
> > instead of the usual "doghouse" unit which would have never survived.  I 
> > don't think the transmitter was damaged, but am not yet sure.
> >
> > The other guys with the super-zot-ray SDR Ikensu rice-burner gear 
> > attributed their power-supply heating to the 97-degree ambient 
> > temperature.  Uh-huh....
> >
> > I shut my stuff completely down after discovering this and didn't get back 
> > on the air, much to the disappointment of a number of folks in the club 
> > who were looking for me to "make" their club's score on CW -- there are no 
> > other CW ops in this crowd (!!!) though several claim to "want to learn 
> > code."
> >
> > I have been told that Honda generators are nototious for phase problems. 
> > One of the generators we had was a Honda; I'm not sure what the other one 
> > was.
> >
> > BE WARNED.
> >
> > 73
> >
> > Mike
> > WA4DLF
> >