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24v to 13.8v DC/DC converter

My friend has a 500 watt pure sine wave inverter and i have a 400 watt modified sine wave inveter i am going to play around and try to run my megawatt off them and see what happends.
I dont think ill have any truble with the modified sine wave inverter as the secent stage after filtring is rectifing the 120v AC in to 120V DC any way... Ill try to recored amp draw and see if it is worth it.
 
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KD2GOE said:
My friend has a 500 watt pure sine wave inverter and i have a 400 watt modified sine wave inveter i am going to play around and try to run my megawatt off them and see what happends.
I dont think ill have any truble with the modified sine wave inverter as the secent stage after filtring is rectifing the 120v AC in to 120V DC any way... Ill try to recored amp draw and see if it is worth it.
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Wait a minute.......you are going to power an inverter from a 12 volt source to generate 120 volts and then take that 120 volts and convert it back down to 12 volts with the megawatt power supply? that is about the most inefficient way to do it. You are better off with using the 12 volts directly.....WAAAAAY better off.
 
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Captain Kilowatt said:
Wait a minute.......you are going to power an inverter from a 12 volt source to generate 120 volts and then take that 120 volts and convert it back down to 12 volts with the megawatt power supply? that is about the most inefficient way to do it. You are better off with using the 12 volts directly.....WAAAAAY better off.
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Lol i know how it sounds But if it works i was going to try a 24v inveter
I am more concerned with stable voltage Then how long the battery lasts..
So keep in mined this is an exparament..
And we can run some other stuff it i guess maybe..

Thes mall generator is still on the table just no $ for it this year
 
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KD2GOE said:
Lol i know how it sounds But if it works i was going to try a 24v inveter
I am more concerned with stable voltage Then how long the battery lasts..
So keep in mined this is an exparament..
And we can run some other stuff it i guess maybe..

Thes mall generator is still on the table just no $ for it this year
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Also bear in mind that the inverter will have it's own drop out point where it will no longer provide decent power or voltage when the input drops too low. Even with a 24 volt inverter you will still have the same issue however you will be drawing half the current than you would from a 12 volt system. Bottom line is you will still have a very inefficient system and it is my belief that powering straight from the 12 volt bank or with two 12 volt batteries in parallel will be more reliable.
 
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Captain Kilowatt said:
Also bear in mind that the inverter will have it's own drop out point where it will no longer provide decent power or voltage when the input drops too low. Even with a 24 volt inverter you will still have the same issue however you will be drawing half the current than you would from a 12 volt system. Bottom line is you will still have a very inefficient system and it is my belief that powering straight from the 12 volt bank or with two 12 volt batteries in parallel will be more reliable.
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i think it is 10v on it 12volt system and 20 Volts on a 24volt system.
 
A set of good batteries should hold voltage. Might want to think about having your alternator beefed up or seeing if they make an alternator that's similar that has more amperage. The more stuff inline to go bad is not good. Keep it as simple as possible. I would think 2 good batts that are like 100AH each should hold voltage fine. I beleive batteries plus and also Sears carries deka batteries. Maybe go check a couple of the larger ones with denser cores in them. Made to handle heavy load draw. JMO. Good day.
 
Batteries should be the deep cycle RV or marine type and not normal starting batteries. There is a significant difference in their performance when drawing power for extended times and also how far they can be discharged and recharged without causing damage to them. Starting type batteries are designed for a very short period of high current draw followed by immediate recharging while deep cycle types are designed to tolerate a prolonged period of moderate discharge to a much deeper level and then be recharged time and time again.
 
Singularity35 said:
Would solar panels and a single deep cycle batt work for the OP's purpose?
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This answer requires some calculations. You need to weigh the expected operating time, taking TX and RX as well as power output and duty cycle into account, versus the battery reserve and the size and capability of the solar panel. the answer is YES it CAN but it depends on what is used and how it is used.
 
222DBFL said:
A set of good batteries should hold voltage. Might want to think about having your alternator beefed up or seeing if they make an alternator that's similar that has more amperage. The more stuff inline to go bad is not good. Keep it as simple as possible. I would think 2 good batts that are like 100AH each should hold voltage fine. I beleive batteries plus and also Sears carries deka batteries. Maybe go check a couple of the larger ones with denser cores in them. Made to handle heavy load draw. JMO. Good day.
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Also upgrade the cable from the alternator to battery as well.
Field day 4 years ago we ran 4 stations each on 100AH battery from my windmill. All at 100 watts and they lasted better than we did. The battery was the AGM deep cell.
 
The alternator is not the issue as the OP does not want to run the vehicle while operating. He stated that was not an option. It sounds like he wants a separate power source dedicated to the radio gear. Unless camping in the boonies where there is no serviced camping areas I would get a lot that has AC power and operate that way. If camping off grid a generator is definitely the way to go because it can be used for so many other things.
 
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Not 100% sure here but I vaguely remember seeing 12v to 13.8v transformers made just for this purpose, typing different variations of 12v-13.8v transformer/converter/booster into google should bring up more info.

Added on edit: Did some looking around myself, check out the "MFJ-4416B" and see if it would help you out.
 
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No such thing as a free lunch and those battery boosters simply rob current to make up the voltage difference. Not sure i would want to deplete a battery down to the point the booster would not function. Batteries don't like that deep of a discharge.
 
StrangeBrew said:
Not 100% sure here but I vaguely remember seeing 12v to 13.8v transformers made just for this purpose, typing different variations of 12v-13.8v transformer/converter/booster into google should bring up more info.

Added on edit: Did some looking around myself, check out the "MFJ-4416B" and see if it would help you out.
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Interesting device.
 

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