Hi Jasen,

On 29-Sep-03, Jasen Betts wrote to Greg Mayman:

 GM>> Yes, I still have one of those regulators. It was used on most DC
 GM>> generators. An early form of pulse width modulation of the
 GM>> generator field. I don't recall ever seeing it on alternators,
 GM>> but it could have been used -- it would work just as well on a
 GM>> rotating field as on a fixed one.

 JB> I use one here the built-in regulator on my altenator died,
 JB> twice.. and external reegulators are much cheaper.

And if installed correctly, usually better performing...
If you ever feel like building one I can help with the design.

 JB> they don't work quite as well though... the internal regulator
 JB> uses its own half-bridge to extract field current from the 3-phase
 JB> output windings the external can only use the battery for that...
 JB> so there's slightly less voltage available there when the
 JB> altenator's working hard

If the external regulator is done properly you should be able to use
the field supply from the alternator (the extra half bridge). All the
ones I worked on did...


George

--- Terminate 5.00/Pro