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Are the PGXL fans field replaceable?

Bill AB7AA
Bill AB7AA Member ✭✭✭
in Power Genius XL Amplifier

I ask this question because I find that I need to operate with the fans in Broadcast when I give marine weather forecasts of 10 minutes or more. When operating in B they sound like they are straining quite a bit and probably shorten their life. If they are field replaceable and won't be concerned to operate them more often in this mode.

Thanks,

73,

Bill AB7AA

Answers

  • Mike-VA3MW
    Mike-VA3MW Administrator, FlexRadio Employee, Community Manager, Super Elmer, Moderator admin

    When you operate in Broadcast mode, yes, they are working harder, but at 100%. The noise you hear is not the fan motor, but the disturbed air moving through the appliance.

    Joking: Have you ever heard of a powerful vacuum cleaner that is actually quiet! :)

    Most items are field replaceable if you comfortable working on electronics. That means you are ok with disassembling and dealing with funny connectors. It has been awhile since I had one opened, but I don't think it was a 10 minute job.

    Also, if you buy your own fan, they all look the same but the performance from make to make is HUGE. When RF Kit was picking fans in the early days, they must have tested over 100 fans. You can read about it if you google it. There was a lot of testing on fan efficiency (volume of air vs. RPM and sound pressure). It was actually very interesting.

  • Bill AB7AA
    Bill AB7AA Member ✭✭✭

    Thanks Mike!

  • John K3MA
    John K3MA Member ✭✭✭

    Might we get the important specs of the current fans so that we can find suitable replacements to have on the shelf?

  • Mike-VA3MW
    Mike-VA3MW Administrator, FlexRadio Employee, Community Manager, Super Elmer, Moderator admin

    Reach out to 4O3A for the specs. They are the manufacture of the PGXL.

  • Bill AB7AA
    Bill AB7AA Member ✭✭✭

    I find the fan setting to be important because I've already toasted one pair of LDMOS finals on this amp and another set on the previous. If upping the fan speed saves a set then I think it would be worth running at a higher setting. On my 10-15 minute WX reports I can see >10 degree C improvement over contest mode.

    I have 3 different make HF 1.5K amps and they all operate remotely in the garage. Fan noise is not an issue so I'll run them all on full fan. A concern is that on startup the bearings might be thin on **** so a jolt on might cause some wear. It would be nice if they slowly ramped up to speed. But at $1300 a set for finals I think that fans might be a little cheaper.

    Bill AB7AA

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