TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WV ARES BULLETIN NR 09.21 DATE: May 24, 2009
SUBJECT: CHECK YOUR POWER SOURCE
Most instruction manuals give you ideas of what to look for when your electronic equipment, such as radios, computers, telephones, etc., aren't working properly. One of the first suggestions in the manual is to check your power source, whether it is Alternating Current (AC), Direct Current (DC), or batteries.
High voltage can damage your electronic equipment to the point where it will be expensive to get repaired, where as low voltage won't do much, if any damage, but MAY still cause you a lot of money. IF you send your equipment back to have repaired, and there's nothing wrong with it, they will charge you as if it had to be repaired.
Even though you may be powering other electronic equipment from the same source it's not a good indication the power source is the right voltage. Some electronic equipment can tolerate a high or low voltage better than others.
If one piece of electronic equipment is not working properly, check the voltage of your power source. When checking the voltage of the power source, remember to check it with the same equipment which is indicating a problem. If the equipment that is being powered seems to work okay when it's receiving, but doesn't work properly when transmitting, then check the voltage when there's a heavier load such as in the transmit mode.
You can check the voltage source when no equipment is connected to it, but it may give you a false indication. Most Volt Meters will give you a good voltage reading with no electronic equipment connected, but will show a much lower voltage when the equipment is connected, and turned on.
The bottom line is to check your supply voltage before returning any electronic equipment for repair, only to find out there was nothing wrong with it in the first place, just a voltage problem that was powering it.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
Wood County WV
WV ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
WV ARES District 3 Emergency Coordinator