In
some case when you want to operate your ATLAS210 in the
countryside away from any power line most of the hams are using engine
generator fuelded with gazoline .Another way to power your
favorite transceiver is to use a hand power electric generator.The
energy is coming from the food you eat , the overall efficiency
is much greater and it is your (modest) contribution to
reduce the green house effect .It is still quite easy to
find this type of generator .Unfortunatly they do not deliver the
right voltage needed for ATLAS210 (12 to 14 volt continuous)
.Generally the hand generators that are easy to find at a very decent
price give 2 types of voltage : a low voltage (around the
6/12 volts range) and a high voltage (continuous
voltage) in the 200-350 volts range .In the old ages when these
equipments were in operation most of the rigs were
using vaccum tubes . The low voltage was used to feed the
filament and the high voltage to power the plates .Thanks to the
ability to find for almost free switching power supply you will
be able to change the high voltage (either AC or DC ) delivered into
the continuous one needed by the ATLAS210 . |
THE SCHEMATIC It is quite simple .You only have to hook the high voltage output of the hand generator to the AC input of the PC power supply .If you use an unmodified PC power supply you will get 12 volt output , to rise the voltage to 13.8 volt you will have to modified it as it is shown elsewhere on this site (see how to modify.) |
HOW TO USE IT You only have to rotate the cranck of the generator .The 13.8 volt is regulated by the PC power supply .As you will see it is not always easy to supply the electric energy needed by the ATLAS working full power (about 200 watt input) and to speak to your fellow ham for a long time .You have the choice to reduce the output or to put a battery to buffer the output of the PC power supply .WHen you receive signals the consumption being much lower you have the ability to load the battery . Depending of the hand generator used you can be bothered by some noise generated by the generator .In this case you will have to filter the high voltage output of the hand generator using a combination of ferrite choke and capacitors (being recovered from a junk pc power supply ) |