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What size 220 service for SB-220
- Thread starter capt205
- Start date
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
breakers are made to protect the circuit/home . id get the highest amperage building codes will allow for your home . it will vary.......
no offense.....but if you have to ask these questions you shouldnt be instaling it yourself.....you put your home and your family at risk . its just not worth the several hundered bucks youll save .
no offense.....but if you have to ask these questions you shouldnt be instaling it yourself.....you put your home and your family at risk . its just not worth the several hundered bucks youll save .
Standard 12 gauge house wire,the red stuff not the 14 gauge white stuff,that is meant for normal 220 volt circuits is all you need. Wire it up to a 20 amp double pole breaker and you are good to go.It will not draw anywhere near 20 amps unless there is a major problem but try and find a smaller breaker for a 220 v circuit. :?
lords
Active Member
the amplifier’s power supply can be wired for either a 120 VAC or 240 VAC line voltage. if wired for 120 VAC, the amplifier must be powered by a dedicated 120 VAC circuit rated for 20 A. at 240 VAC the dedicated breaker would be 10 A. also note that the amplifier requires at least 6 inches of space above its cabinet to ensure proper cooling.
one other thing. do not operate the SB-220 in AM or FM modes—it is not designed for these modes and using them will significantly exceed the amplifier’s ratings and surely cause excessive damage.
one other thing. do not operate the SB-220 in AM or FM modes—it is not designed for these modes and using them will significantly exceed the amplifier’s ratings and surely cause excessive damage.
lords
Active Member
one other thing. do not operate the SB-220 in AM modes—it is not designed for these modes and using them will significantly exceed the amplifier’s ratings and surely cause excessive damage.
WRONG!!!!!!lol tell that to a guy that ran it 2 years straight on AM and sideband(made a nice swing machine and with the load backed up a bit saved on the tubes)...next book read..lol
WRONG!!!!!!lol tell that to a guy that ran it 2 years straight on AM and sideband(made a nice swing machine and with the load backed up a bit saved on the tubes)...next book read..lol
Before the arrival of the SB-220, there was a popular notion that a legal-limit SSB amplifier needed a heavy-duty power-supply that required two grown men to move it about. Heath engineers knew that this idea was based more on amateur radio folklore than on sound electrical engineering principles. They also knew that the average duty-cycle of a human voice was only about 15% when no carrier was present, as is the case for SSB operation. So, why build a 100% duty-cycle, AM, "lock-to-talk" power supply when one was not required? Thus, they designed a power-supply that would competently do the job that was needed. This resulted in a considerable size, weight and cost savings, which they happily passed along to the buyers of their product. At first, some people in the ham community had negative comments about the SB-220's "wimpy" power supply. With the passage of on-the-air time, it became apparent that the power supply would do the job, and do so with a low failure-rate and with no detectable on-the-air ripple. This was no accident. Heath engineers had wisely specified a HV-transformer design that had an exceptionally low secondary-resistance of only 12.2-ohms. This minimized the voltage drop under full load in the capacitor-filter fullwave-voltage-doubler rectifier circuit. Such circuits have an extremely high peak-current to average output-current ratio. So, minimizing the transformer winding resistance is essential for good voltage regulation and to minimize the I2R heat loss in the transformer's windings.
Many hams initially labeled as "inferior" the capacitor-filter fullwave-voltage-doubler rectifier circuit. They did not realize that this circuit has some advantages over the traditional, fullwave-bridge rectifier circuit. These advantages are:
1. Low ripple-voltage. This is due to the fact that, as one capacitor bank is charging, the other capacitor bank is simultaneously discharging, thus, cancelling each other's 180º out-of-phase, sawtooth waveforms.
2. It allows the transformer to have only half as many secondary turns which yields a more efficient transformer design. Here's why: Since a layer of insulating-paper is required between each layer of wires, fewer turns means fewer layers of paper. This allows the transformer to use less paper and more copper. The net result is a transformer that has a high ratio of copper to paper. This makes for a very capable transformer.
3. Excellent voltage-regulation during current-transients, due to the fact that no swinging-inductance filter is used. This is exactly what's needed for CW and SSB modes of operation.
the SB-220 was designed primarily for SSB/CW use ONLY! a cursory read of the high voltage power supply specifications bears this out. the warning against AM/FM operation comes straight from the manufacturer.
"I operate my SB-220 in AM mode and I have never had a problem either".
and you do so at your own risk.
Many hams initially labeled as "inferior" the capacitor-filter fullwave-voltage-doubler rectifier circuit. They did not realize that this circuit has some advantages over the traditional, fullwave-bridge rectifier circuit. These advantages are:
1. Low ripple-voltage. This is due to the fact that, as one capacitor bank is charging, the other capacitor bank is simultaneously discharging, thus, cancelling each other's 180º out-of-phase, sawtooth waveforms.
2. It allows the transformer to have only half as many secondary turns which yields a more efficient transformer design. Here's why: Since a layer of insulating-paper is required between each layer of wires, fewer turns means fewer layers of paper. This allows the transformer to use less paper and more copper. The net result is a transformer that has a high ratio of copper to paper. This makes for a very capable transformer.
3. Excellent voltage-regulation during current-transients, due to the fact that no swinging-inductance filter is used. This is exactly what's needed for CW and SSB modes of operation.
the SB-220 was designed primarily for SSB/CW use ONLY! a cursory read of the high voltage power supply specifications bears this out. the warning against AM/FM operation comes straight from the manufacturer.
"I operate my SB-220 in AM mode and I have never had a problem either".
and you do so at your own risk.
lords
Active Member
so freecell, what is my risk after running it on a 220 line(2-10amp circuit breakers)with a low load load keying at 500 swing around 1800 or more AFTER 2 YEARS...what the transformer(can't be that its still working up to par ,thanks heathkit 
) the TUBES (can't be that there still showing full output...weird as the amp is still running full boat after 2 years of everyday use and about 3 or more hours per day ...)
everything has a risk...but its the ones that own the item and have run the item to tell about there experiences(sometimes flawless) is what counts..and sometimes that is what the only thing some wants to hear...what you posted is all over the net and in the operating manual..just like anything we buy. being the builder,seller and or owner of the company they do this to cover there own asses and have to post safety cautions! USE AT AT YOUR OWN RISK...thats common in all electronics...amongst other stuff we buy
most of the time its risks or mistakes that make the changes/updates in the world.
) the TUBES (can't be that there still showing full output...weird as the amp is still running full boat after 2 years of everyday use and about 3 or more hours per day ...)everything has a risk...but its the ones that own the item and have run the item to tell about there experiences(sometimes flawless) is what counts..and sometimes that is what the only thing some wants to hear...what you posted is all over the net and in the operating manual..just like anything we buy. being the builder,seller and or owner of the company they do this to cover there own asses and have to post safety cautions! USE AT AT YOUR OWN RISK...thats common in all electronics...amongst other stuff we buy
most of the time its risks or mistakes that make the changes/updates in the world.
lords,
That "keying at 500 swing around 1800 or more" implies AM mode. If so, then you do not have an SB-220. You can certainly have a modified SB-220, but it is not even close to being stock by any stretch of the imagination. Or, those numbers are not exactly correct.
That 1800 watts output is also an exaggeration if you're talking about SSB. There is just no way a stock SB-220 will ever do 1800 watts output.
That's not just my 'opinion', it's a fact.
- 'Doc
That "keying at 500 swing around 1800 or more" implies AM mode. If so, then you do not have an SB-220. You can certainly have a modified SB-220, but it is not even close to being stock by any stretch of the imagination. Or, those numbers are not exactly correct.
That 1800 watts output is also an exaggeration if you're talking about SSB. There is just no way a stock SB-220 will ever do 1800 watts output.
That's not just my 'opinion', it's a fact.
- 'Doc
lords
Active Member
really Doc thats weird there rated for 2000 watts...hmm you did read up on the X's factor on the tubes right? why would you think that AM can't do this on 220AC(STOCK)? 1 tube can be driven with 150 watts without a problem...pretty good thats 2 years of testing and without 1 problem STOCK..
...did you or do you own one?
Thanks a 2 year fact not a book reading...Fact!
on a CD meter with a 2500 watt bird slug 1600 watts (PEP)AM next..
...did you or do you own one?
Thanks a 2 year fact not a book reading...Fact!
on a CD meter with a 2500 watt bird slug 1600 watts (PEP)AM next..
lords,
I think you might re-read the advertisement. Those were not 'output' ratings, but 'input' ratings. Big difference. Yes, I've owned more than one SB-220, and been familiar with several that had been modified. One or two of those 'modified' '220s were extremely 'modified' and would get upwards of 1500 watts output (very easily). They certainly couldn't be considered 'stock' by any means (better have a back-brace before trying to move the transformers).
- 'Doc
I think you might re-read the advertisement. Those were not 'output' ratings, but 'input' ratings. Big difference. Yes, I've owned more than one SB-220, and been familiar with several that had been modified. One or two of those 'modified' '220s were extremely 'modified' and would get upwards of 1500 watts output (very easily). They certainly couldn't be considered 'stock' by any means (better have a back-brace before trying to move the transformers
).- 'Doc
lords
Active Member
Talking about this, i have some doubts. :?
I know that if a linear amplifier (in this case the SB-220) is rated for 2000 w PEP INPUT, mean that the output power should be the half. Well, i don't have a SB-220, but i have its little brother, the sb-200, that is rated for 1200 w PEP INPUT, and that is correct, because the output power is exactly the 50 % about this - 600 w PEP (inclusively I have seen near 700 watts, depending on the band and the input). But, here comes the interesting thing: If each 3-500Z is rated for 750 w PEP output (approximately), two of them should be 1500 w easily. Then, why manufactures like Heathkit, Drake or Swan rated its linears with two 3-500Z for 2000 w PEP INPUT, if they can generate more power output? Why a Ameritron, like the AL-80B, with single 3-500Z is rated for 1000 w PEP OUTPUT from factory? :shock:
I don't understand, how a small SB-200 could have the 60 % input power (1200 w) from a SB-220, if one 3-500Z tube is stronger than two 572B. :?
I know that if a linear amplifier (in this case the SB-220) is rated for 2000 w PEP INPUT, mean that the output power should be the half. Well, i don't have a SB-220, but i have its little brother, the sb-200, that is rated for 1200 w PEP INPUT, and that is correct, because the output power is exactly the 50 % about this - 600 w PEP (inclusively I have seen near 700 watts, depending on the band and the input). But, here comes the interesting thing: If each 3-500Z is rated for 750 w PEP output (approximately), two of them should be 1500 w easily. Then, why manufactures like Heathkit, Drake or Swan rated its linears with two 3-500Z for 2000 w PEP INPUT, if they can generate more power output? Why a Ameritron, like the AL-80B, with single 3-500Z is rated for 1000 w PEP OUTPUT from factory? :shock:
I don't understand, how a small SB-200 could have the 60 % input power (1200 w) from a SB-220, if one 3-500Z tube is stronger than two 572B. :?
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