question Clansman Power

Hi

Is there anyway that you can get power from an AC Adaptor to a 3-way Power Distribution Box?

And

How do you get the power from the 2 batteries in the back of a Land Rover to the power distribution box?

Thanks, Jak

Answering your questions in reverse.

Power comes from the 28v generator and control panel to the rear mounted batteries via heavy steel braided cables. It is then transferred from the batteries to two insulated screw top terminals on the rear bulkhead. the Power distribution box is connected to the terminals via 2 ? shaped hooks and the screws tightened to hold them in place. there is no reason why a stabilised 24v supply cannot be connected to the PDB leads once disconnected from the insulated terminals.

:laugh:

j

So if I were to switch the two hooks on the PDBs wire to a 2-pin power cable would that work maybe?

Jak

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Hi

 

<snipped>

How do you get the power from the 2 batteries in the back of a Land Rover to the power distribution box?

 

Thanks, Jak

TWO batteries?? There are FOUR in the back of mine - dirty great big things!! :wow:

So do the Land Rover 110s have 4 12 volt batteries? I thought they only had 2!

Jak

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A suitable 2 pin plug could be used to supply 24v to the PDB. The number of batteries depends on the mounting, allegedly the army isn't allowed to lift two big batteries for Health and Safety anymore so uses four small ones?

:eek:

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This might be a stupid idea but would it work if I were to get a 24volt generator to power an AC Adaptor then use a suitable 2-pin power cable to the PDB then a 2-pin power cable to the 353 and DCCU

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Jak

That should work - I imagine it is similar to what was done for generator powered installations with a 353/DMU communications fit (such as the Vampire DF station). There are at least four options for power feeds

1) The big 15 way LT box which was powered from the batteries in an FFR which were usually 4 x 12V (2 strings of 2 in parallel making 24V and 2x the amp-hours of a single battery) float charged from the 24V aalternator

2) A 4 way LT distribution box connected to the vehicle system with a heavy 5 pin cable (2 big and 3 small but only the big ones connected inside the LT box)

3) The 3-way box connected to the vehicle supply as discussed above

4) There is a small 2-way box which I think is normally used in GS vehicles to power 1 or 2 DCCUs from a 12V supply - I havent seen an EMER describing its installation so someone may correct me

Additionally there are two mains PSUs - the 10 Amp Widney Aish one was intended for battery chargers and isn't quite up to running a 353 on full power and the 50A Thorn one (the one with the weight warning label) which has a special 2-pin connector to match the 322 HF 300W amplifier. I used to use a 50A PSU with a modified cable feeding a 15-way LT box before I moved house. The main problem is finding the 2 pin plugs for the 50A PSU output They do have surprisingly small pins for the rated current and I think I would replace the connector with a drop lead through a gland and use something like an Anderson SB connector instead if I built that setup again.

It would be useful to find out from someone with a 101 Vampire or a BATES/BMETS what was used to power the 353/DMU set in their vehicle as it may give some insight into the right way to do it - but ultimately anything that delivers 24-28V at more than 12A with the correct polarity and reasonably well smoothed will be acceptable to the radio !

Regards

Iain

Hi

I have a BMETs fitted RB44 with three sets connected. The four batteries (connected as Iain says) run to a main fuse panel which has take offs for the penthouse light, cabin fan and lighting and which feeds a second panel which has mainly the 2 pin power sockets seen on Clansman and which are protected by press button circuit breakers. I take the set/control harness feeds from these.

There is no direct feed from outside to the radios - the batteries can be charged via the 24 volt alternator fitted in addition to the 12 volt vehicle alternator or by an external 28 volt generator. I assume that this is to maintain a clean supply to the radios or to remove the need for a pure sine wave inverter within the system. My vehicle was pretty complete when I bought it and the racking and wiring were still in place, and there was nothing there to suggest that anything was powered at anything other that 24/28 volts.

Before I fitted the 353s to the truck, I tried to test them by connecting the power lead directly to a 24 volt battery charger. This failed miserably as the built in trip in the radio kicked in almost immediately. However, connecting two 12 volt batteries between the charger and the sets allowed them to power up perfectly.

I'm looking at mounting a laptop in the vehicle, which despite being a military set, is mains powered so I will need an inverter at some stage, although in my case to convert 24 volt DC to 240 volt AC.

Hope this helps

Richard

At the minute my land rover hasn't got the 24 volt alternator and the other components but I think I will do it the regular way (connected from the alternator to the batteries to the terminal box) but at the moment would I maybe be able to power everything from the AC Adapter just switching around the power cable from say 353 to DCCU, if that would work for now?

Iain, was it you that asked for the length of the GSA coaxes as I will be able to measure them tomorrow if you stiil need them?

Regards,

Jak

Yes it was me that wanted the GSA elevation kit cable lengths.

You can swap the AC Adapter output around if you only need to power one thing at a time, but I would have thought a LT distribution box connected to the output would be more convenient ?

Regards

Iain

73 de G0OZS

Iain

I will PM you the cable lengths later.

How would you get the power from the AC Adaptor the the LT box as it has the large 5 pin power cable?

Regards,

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Jak

Which AC Adapter do you have ? Do you have the 5 pin cable to fit the LT box ?

Regards

Iain

At the minute I have not got an AC Adaptor but I think I'll be getting one like this

And no I don't have the 5 pin cable at the minute

Regards,

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Jak

Those are the 10 amp ones meant to power a DCCU or the IBMU charger in a base environment - I tried when I first had the 321 and 353 and it isn't up to full power transmit on the 353 and marginal for the 321 - you would be better with a civilian switchmode PSU or the Clansman 50A PSU e.g. e-bay item 141216966518 for not much more money. The problem with the 50 way PSU is the DC output connector which has to date not been readily available - you will likely have to improvise if you get one. As I think I wrote previously if you are willing to open up the PSU I think the safest way is to replace the 50A connector with a gland providing a mechanically secure and waterproof cable entry and terminate the output cable inside the PSU.

The mains lead was also used by other things and is usually easy to find although there doesn't seem to be one on e-Bay today. Something to make sure is included when buying a PSU !

If you have the 4 way LT box FV2073007 then only the two big pins of the 5-pin connector are used (they are connected to metal bus bars inside the box) - if you have a connector and cable just cut the cable and fit a DC input plug to suit your PSU (or see above for the 50A PSU) - if not then remove the 5 pin connector from the LT box and terminate a 2 wire 50A red and black power cable on the bus bars inside.

Regards

Iain

How about eBay item 151152814354 is that the same thing?

Regards,

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Jak

Yes it is. I know both sellers in human form and you should get a good PSU either way

Regards

Iain

Iain so to get power to the LT box you would just have to remove the 5-pin connector and replace with red and black power cable? Also is this possible with the 3-way Power Distribution Box?

Jak

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Jak

Yes, although you lose the waterproofing by removing the connector unless you fill the insides with some kind of non-acidic sealant (anything that smells of vinegar is best avoided - Araldite is best)

The 3 way boxes which I have came with about 6 feet of heavy cable attached through a gland which is twin (blue and brown from memory) and had tags on the open ends so are ready to use - eBay item 310921940998 is typical. I actually standardised on green Anderson SBE 160 Amp connectors - see http://www.torberry.co.uk/pdf/sbe_assy.pdf - for my battery packs (2 x 12V deep cycle in a 81mm mortar box) and the ends of these leads in my own station.

Regards

Iain

So the 3 way boxes could be used straight away or would you still have to standardise them?

Jak

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Jak

They can be used as they come - just need to connect the wires at the end to a battery or PSU using whatever suits your purpose - I standardised because I made several battery packs and wanted to be able to do quick changes. From memory (someone please correct me if wrong!) the brown is positive and blue is negative but it would be best to check polarity with a voltmeter before connecting a radio !

Regards

Iain

Ok thanks for the help :-D

Regards,