AMERITRON ALS-600 - Grounding; Power Requirements

service. Do not obstruct the air inlets at the rear of the power supply and the outlet air
holes on the upper right corner of the power supply cabinet.
Caution: The choke in the ALS-600PS power supply emits strong magnetic fields.
Never place magnetic tapes, computer disks or other magnetic sensitive
devices within 18 inches of the cabinet of the ALS-600PS.
Grounding
The station ground buss should be connected to a good earth and RF ground. Use the
heaviest and shortest connections possible. The best ground leads are smooth and have a
large surface area. Braiding (including standard coaxial cable shield) has a higher RF
resistance and should be avoided unless the lead needs to be flexible. The best
conductors for ground connections are copper flashing or copper foil. Solid copper wire
can be used and will closely approximate copper flashing if multiple ground leads are
used and separated at least a few inches. Water pipes can be used for an earth connection
if the plumbing is composed of all metallic pipes. The water meter or any other
insulated junction should be bypassed with a jumper wire clamped to the pipe at both
sides of the meter.
Multiple ground connections are superior to a single ground connection. Ameritron has a
technical information sheet with additional suggestions for grounding. No grounding
terminal is provided for the power supply since it does not generate any RF signals. A
safety ground is provided by the power line neutral ground through the line cord and
plug.
Warning: Never remove or defeat the electrical safety ground connection on the
power supply plug or a shock hazard may develop.
Power Requirements
Caution: The ALS-600 is not designed for operation from a 12 VDC power source.
The ALS-600PS/SPS power supplies are designed to match the ALS-600 amplifier.
They provides 50 volts DC at 25 amperes along with 12 volts positive and negative at
low current for the control and bias circuits of the amplifier.
The ALS-600PS linear power supply requires less than 12 amps at 120 VAC, or less than
6 amps for 240 VAC. The output voltage of the ALS-600PS supply should be kept
below 65 VDC at no load for maximum component life. If the no load output voltage of
the ALS-600PS exceeds 65 VDC, you must change the input line voltage of the ALS-
600PS. Refer to the "Line Voltage Modifications" section in this manual. The ALS-
600SPS switching power supply requires less than 15 amps at 120VAC, or less than 8
amps at 240 VAC. The ALS-600SPS no-load voltage should stay within one-volt of 50
volts.
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