Hi Guys I am wondering if I could run my CZE 7 watt transmitter from a 50ah battery in backup power scenarios. What do you guys use for backup power, I'm trying to avoid gensets as I have many of them but they don't output good power. Cheers Hilux184
i have not got any backup power yet but i am looking into getting a 5-10kW generator to run the studios and transmitters during power outages. i have capabilities to go from part 15 levels to 30 watts on fm and have full broadcast studios, police scanners, eas, and ham radio.
when i get a generator i will be fully ready for emergency comms and emergency information dissemination.
to answer your question. i am guessing that little 7 watt tx draws at most single digit amps. maybe about 4 so at 7 watts you should get plenty of running time out of that 50 amp hour battery and if you run the 7 watt tx at even lower power you should have less current draw and will get even more operating time.
two watts to a dipole will get you out a solid few miles from a good location. no reason you should need to run the full 7 watts unless you are in a crappy location.
JD
"The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."
Flush Rush, Pull your head out of Fox Boobs, tune in more C-Span, Norman Goldman, and Thom Hartmann, you might just surprise yourself and learn something!!!
I run one of those transmitters through a car power Inverter which I got for about €45 (Euro). Thats about $57 or £35.50. I use this with the transmitter, mixer and Laptop etc connected. This gives many hours of transmission without the battery going flat in the car. It also allows great mobility, as I can pick one of several mountain top destinations to broadcast from. I also used this set up to broadcast at a political activists camp in Wales in the UK on two occasions. It's not a solution which would allow around the clock broadcasting, but for guerilla broadcasting or as a temporary solution it works well. I do connect a surge protector for when I turn the engine on. I would also recommend a surge protector when using a generator as they do not run clean power.
The was also a station in the California area, if I remember correctly that had a set up on a mountain side with a solar panel connected to several batteries, which were in turn connected to a timer switch to turn the transmitter on. This worked well for a long time until the FCC tracked down the transmitter and snatched all the equipment. Of course if you live in a country like Ireland where I live you may forget the solar power as it's never sunny enough lol. There is always a small windmill as an idea as well.
"Lets see' we're on err 92 FM tonight, and it feels like a nice clean little band so far. No one else is using it. The price is right."
Mark Hunter - Pump Up The Volume.
One tip though if you are using one of those Chinese transmitters. Then for your own sake get yourself a Low Pass Filter. The Chinese transmitters can be very 'Dirty' and you may end up causing interference to other radio spectrum users, possibly and 'Allegedly' including the emergency services etc. It's always best not bring unwanted attention to yourself in that regard.
"Lets see' we're on err 92 FM tonight, and it feels like a nice clean little band so far. No one else is using it. The price is right."
Mark Hunter - Pump Up The Volume.