[GotNoRice]

I’m going to be on a houseboat for a week soon, I would love to take my Little Dot II+ with me. I notice that it seems somewhat particular about what power it is plugged into (interference from other devices can be audible at times if plugged into a circuit with many other devices).

Should I be concerned about running it off of generator power? Would it help to run it through one of those small backup power supplies instead of directly from the generator?

 

[Negatron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GotNoRice I’m going to be on a houseboat for a week soon, I would love to take my Little Dot II+ with me. I notice that it seems somewhat particular about what power it is plugged into (interference from other devices can be audible at times if plugged into a circuit with many other devices). Should I be concerned about running it off of generator power? Would it help to run it through one of those small backup power supplies instead of directly from the generator?

It depends on the municipality but you may find that generator power is cleaner than what you get at home. Apartment complexes, office buildings and manufacturing concerns all dump large quantities of back EMF into the lines plus all the power lines are antenae for RF interference. Get an moderately priced power filter and enjoy.

 

[Epoch]

Generator power is quite dirty, and the voltages can fluctuate a fair bit, you would need some sort of power conditioning device, like an APC Line-R, and if its really dirty, another device like a small UPS plugged into the Line-R unit.
This might not all be necessary depending on the actual generator, as some might have built in components to do such tasks, while others have no such protection.

I have tried plugging in a UPS to a generator I had lying around, just a small gas powered unit without anything but the basics and the UPS would not accept the power from it and run from it. So if a UPS doesn't like the power your amplifier really might not like it.

 

[Negatron]

I would agree that home generators available at Home Improvement centers, WalMart, etc. Are quite eratic in output. It was my assumption that power would be provided by a Marine Generator Such as Kohler or Onan to name the more common. Output is usually highly regulated, the speed electronicly governed. The power is more than clean enough to run sensitive digital navigation gear and other computer circuits commonly found onboard nowdays. Harmonic content is also fairly low. The amp will have no problem whatsoever with such power. I am retired but I still hold a Merchant Marine Engineer card as well as a degree in electronics. Enjoy your vacation.