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John4536
@203.217.170.x

John4536

Anon

[Electrical] Avs voltage regulators

Beach bar I'm working on has a low voltage problem. Long cable run ( 100mtrs apprx with 8mm cable off a dodgy overloaded supply post) At 7pm I got a reading of 180v on a 230v supply!
The customer bought a 3kw fero resonant for 65 USD. I'm trying to decide if I should wire his 20 amp connection to it, or just the points circuits. It is Vietnamese so I don't think the winding's wire is of high quality. Normally I would try to under stress a component to make it last longer if its been cheaply made- say draw only 1kw through a 3kw AVR.

However: I was reading about them, and I think, if I understood correctly that, you should choose the AVR for peak consumption but that they are very inefficient when they're not at peak loading. I read that 60 per cent was not uncommon . Sounds very expensive.

Also the main reason the customer wants 230v is that his new mixer and decks aren't getting enough voltage and also his amp is suffering on the bass ( distortion). I think that his slew rate for the bass will suffer.
Does anyone have knowledge of a fero resonant on a 200w or greater music amp?
What are the downsides?
Will it sort his problem do you think?
Should I downgrade it to a 1kw one instead and just wire the amp, mixer and decks into it?

Thanks in advance
John

Thespis
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.
Premium Member
join:2004-08-03
Keller, TX

Thespis

Premium Member

How about ask the power company why his voltage is so low?

Tursiops_G
Technoid
MVM
join:2002-02-06
Brooksville, FL

Tursiops_G

MVM

The OP's I.P. Address resolves to a provider in Cambodia.
Probably not much the local POCO can/will do...

PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD

PSWired to John4536

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to John4536
Does your voltage regulator need to handle transients or just an overall low voltage condition? Would a conventional multitap transformer based AVR do the trick?
iknow_t
join:2012-05-03

iknow_t to John4536

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to John4536
if your lights dim with the music, use a fero resonant.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6 to John4536

Premium Member

to John4536
First thing that needs to happen is to figure out why the voltage is far lower than the normal drop for that distance and conductor size.
lutful
... of ideas
Premium Member
join:2005-06-16
Ottawa, ON

lutful to John4536

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to John4536
said by John4536 :

Also the main reason the customer wants 230v is that his new mixer and decks aren't getting enough voltage and also his amp is suffering on the bass ( distortion).

There are some decent quality solid-state AVRs from India - used widely in South Asia for voltage/noise sensitive applications. Perhaps there is a local electric shop which could start importing them.

Just one example which works quite well:
»www.purevoltindia.com/se ··· r-2.html
TheMG
Premium Member
join:2007-09-04
Canada
MikroTik RB450G
Cisco DPC3008
Cisco SPA112

TheMG to John4536

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If the main concern is the audio gear (as opposed to regulating the power to the entire building), you might consider a good quality double-conversion UPS of sufficient capacity.

Many good double-conversion UPS will operate with as little as 50% of the nominal input voltage without drawing from the batteries, and still maintain steady voltage on the output.

However, one must also keep in mind that the UPS ability to operate at such low voltages depends on its maximum allowable input current (as voltage goes down, current goes up as the power remains constant). As such, if the UPS is loaded close to its maximum, it will actually switch to battery operation much sooner than with a 50% load for instance.

Such UPS, of course, aren't cheap, depending on the load requirement, you'd be looking at $2000 or more. However, more efficient than a fero.
lutful
... of ideas
Premium Member
join:2005-06-16
Ottawa, ON

lutful to John Galt6

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to John Galt6
said by John Galt6:

First thing that needs to happen is to figure out why the voltage is far lower than the normal drop for that distance and conductor size.

Assuming he is in Cambodia, the root cause is often a small power plant struggling to meet peak current demand. Next step is arbitrary load shedding.
iknow_t
join:2012-05-03

iknow_t to lutful

Member

to lutful
said by lutful:

said by John4536 :

Also the main reason the customer wants 230v is that his new mixer and decks aren't getting enough voltage and also his amp is suffering on the bass ( distortion).

There are some decent quality solid-state AVRs from India - used widely in South Asia for voltage/noise sensitive applications. Perhaps there is a local electric shop which could start importing them.

Just one example which works quite well:
»www.purevoltindia.com/se ··· r-2.html

it's probably thousands of dollars for that.

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor to John4536

Member

to John4536
said by John4536 :

Does anyone have knowledge of a fero resonant on a 200w or greater music amp?
What are the downsides?
Will it sort his problem do you think?
Should I downgrade it to a 1kw one instead and just wire the amp, mixer and decks into it?

Never used one for a music amp, but I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work. They're simple, robust, can tolerate overload and also offer quite a bit of protection against spikes and surges.

But yes, efficiency is the Achilles heel of ferro -- you want to run it at 50% or more load, so going with the "right" size would be preferable.

»www.ustpower.com/compari ··· antages/

Tursiops_G
Technoid
MVM
join:2002-02-06
Brooksville, FL
ARRIS TM1602

Tursiops_G to lutful

MVM

to lutful
said by lutful:

Assuming he is in Cambodia, the root cause is often a small power plant struggling to meet peak current demand. Next step is arbitrary load shedding.

IF that is indeed the case, then an Auxiliary power source would be the answer.
A 230V Generator of sufficient size for the Critical loads, either Gasoline, Diesel, Nat. Gas, etc. depending on fuel availability/price...

-Tursiops_G.
iknow_t
join:2012-05-03

iknow_t to John4536

Member

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another option could be an electric motor driving a generator with pulleys sized to give the right frequency. with a tolerance band of 510% the electric motor can handle the voltage swings, yet you'll get good efficiency and no voltage droop from the generator. use which ever way is cheapest for you.