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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

  • John K3MA
    John K3MA Member ✭✭✭

    Mike

    I will do that, but I have never gotten any replies from the past couple of communications directly with 4O3A. Does Flex not have replacement fans in stock, and might provide the information faster? Seems a reasonable request since I purchased the Amplifier directly from Flex and paid the invoice to Flex. From a customer perspective, it does not seem fair to sell a product with the Flex name on it and then pass the buck when there is a simple request, such that the customer has to deal directly with a foreign based manufacturer. If it were something more of a technical nature, I would feel otherwise, but how difficult can it be to provide a replacement fan source or specs for an amplifier that is sent back to Texas for service.

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

    Hi John

    I'm sorry for the frustration this has caused. To address your question directly: we don't currently stock replacement fans for the PGXL. Because amplifiers like this represent a relatively low failure-rate item, we've made the difficult decision to keep our parts inventory lean rather than tie up significant capital in components that may sit on the shelf for years. It's a real operational challenge we wrestle with, and I recognize that explanation doesn't make your situation any easier.

    73

  • WX7Y
    WX7Y Member ✭✭✭✭

    John,

    why don't you just pop the cover and see what fans are in the AMP.

  • John K3MA
    John K3MA Member ✭✭✭

    Bret, most likely I will end up having to do that. If the PGXL were on the desktop, it would be a quicker exercise, but being rack-mounted it becomes a bit more of a chore. Also, if I remember the last time I had a cover off a PGXL it was when they first started shipping and if I remember correctly the inside is made up of several metal shielded compartments, and the fan(s) are not accessible without removing and opening some of these shielded modules. Hence, the inquiry to see if that could be avoided with a question and a quick answer. I will keep my fingers crossed that, should I have to do that, I do not fine fans without clear labels.

    On a separate note, I find it somewhat frustrating that we as customers are caught in the middle of 4O3A and Flex. I would have thought that the PGXl amplifier would have circuit schematics and parts lists that Flex would be able to use when troubleshooting and doing any repairs. I understand the policy of not wanting to share schematics with customers but frankly, how long would it take to look up the part number and specs of a fan to help a customer?

  • WX7Y
    WX7Y Member ✭✭✭✭

    Yes, I have the same situation with it being Rack Mounted and if it were on the bench I would bop the covers and check the fans out.

    I also agree with your thoughts on we as customers are caught in the middle because of SOME internal issues between Flex and 4O3A, we should be supported by both companies, makes me think about what happened between Palomar and Kessler Engineering on the ATAuto Antenna Tuner, at least Kessler's treat customers VERY WELL and support is great, 4O3A on the other hand won't even answer emails and Flex's lack of customer support DOESN'T stack up to Flex's track record for their normal great support for the Genius equipment they sold us.

    73 John

  • Erik Carling EI4KF
    Erik Carling EI4KF Member ✭✭✭✭

    Re 4O3A, you might have done this so excuse me if of no use: I have found that emails to 4O3A go unanswered. But, having registered on their website, opening a Ticket on their support system always gets a reply.

  • Bill AB7AA
    Bill AB7AA Member ✭✭✭

    Erick,

    Thanks for the tip posting a ticket on the 4o3A website.

    For others out there; there are a lot of us that have embedded our PGXL's in equipment racks and not in a good position to dig them out and open them up to find out this information. If someone finds themselves opening up their PGXL for some reason could you please take a look at the fans and post their make/model on the community website.

    Thanks,

    Bill AB7AA

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