solderdude
Grand Contributor
That depends on the regulators and how much headroom they have and the actual load current.
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Mains quality
- Thread starter audio_tony
- Start date
I am surprised to see that 2% distortion is so visible on the waveform!
Hi
There is truth to power quality affecting some components. As in anything in commercial endeavors, companies will take this opportunity to sell you an entire category of unneeded equipment.
I fell for these claims of PQ affecting the operation of components , blindly, even at the professional level, yes. I work these days in the renewable sector. I had to acquire a Power Quality Analyzer, these are not cheap. Fluke remains the leader in price and quality as per its usual, but the Chinese are having their Topping and SMSL in this sector as well , with models from MeatRol (what a name!) or Unit-T... being a fraction of the price and being as good (or almost) ... Through measurements, the better Power Quality I have seen are from inverters, the better (not necessarily the most expensive) inverters provide a cleaner, lower distortion than most mains and generators, this under full load .. but most inverters, just bypass the mains: IOW, the AC line (mains) power when present, is simply transferred to the loads, as is ...My office is off-grid with a sad , loud and high distortion generator (20%), barely able to maintain the nominal 60 Hz it is purported to offer.. 52 to 70 Hz is the wildly fluctuating output... yes,, in spite of that .. Systems sound the same as when unedr the high quality power that comes from the inverter (verified though FLuke) from the desk office system (THX AAA + He6 headphones) or the PC (IEM, TCZ Red or Blue) or the Sonos ERA speakers... Nothing! No buzz , no dimming anything .. Everything just work, including the Split AC, fridge and everything else, TV, Apple TV, PC chargers.. Laser PRinters, scanner .. office equipment.. lights ...
Power quality is a real issue: sags, low and high voltages, spikes are real .. Still in most instances, PQ issues are barely noticeable.
There is truth to power quality affecting some components. As in anything in commercial endeavors, companies will take this opportunity to sell you an entire category of unneeded equipment.
I fell for these claims of PQ affecting the operation of components , blindly, even at the professional level, yes. I work these days in the renewable sector. I had to acquire a Power Quality Analyzer, these are not cheap. Fluke remains the leader in price and quality as per its usual, but the Chinese are having their Topping and SMSL in this sector as well , with models from MeatRol (what a name!) or Unit-T... being a fraction of the price and being as good (or almost) ... Through measurements, the better Power Quality I have seen are from inverters, the better (not necessarily the most expensive) inverters provide a cleaner, lower distortion than most mains and generators, this under full load .. but most inverters, just bypass the mains: IOW, the AC line (mains) power when present, is simply transferred to the loads, as is ...My office is off-grid with a sad , loud and high distortion generator (20%), barely able to maintain the nominal 60 Hz it is purported to offer.. 52 to 70 Hz is the wildly fluctuating output... yes,, in spite of that .. Systems sound the same as when unedr the high quality power that comes from the inverter (verified though FLuke) from the desk office system (THX AAA + He6 headphones) or the PC (IEM, TCZ Red or Blue) or the Sonos ERA speakers... Nothing! No buzz , no dimming anything .. Everything just work, including the Split AC, fridge and everything else, TV, Apple TV, PC chargers.. Laser PRinters, scanner .. office equipment.. lights ...
Power quality is a real issue: sags, low and high voltages, spikes are real .. Still in most instances, PQ issues are barely noticeable.
pollock0424
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2022
- Messages
- 280
- Likes
- 134
Mains power quality becomes an issue if you're using a turntable with a synchronous motor.. I'm about to find out how bad it is for me.
Speedskater
Major Contributor
AC mains power frequency, when it is part of a large grid system is always very close to 50 or 60 Hz. There is too much rotating mass in the many connected generators to change frequency in any meaningful (to turntables) way.
But the change can be measured and tracked.
* * * * * * * * * *
The European grids often varies between 49.98 and 50.02 Hz.
But the change can be measured and tracked.
* * * * * * * * * *
The European grids often varies between 49.98 and 50.02 Hz.
Last edited:
solderdude
Grand Contributor
At least in the old days the number of cycles a day was also respected and governed.
This was because mains connected clocks would be accurate over a day.
(So I was told)
This was because mains connected clocks would be accurate over a day.
(So I was told)
Yes, at least in Europe. The overall average frequency is exactly 50Hz, but they use a lower and a higher frequency to signal demand and request issues, which will cause them to temporarily diverge from the 50Hz. Overall, this leads to an accuracy better than +/-20 seconds at any given time, but the daily accuracy is much, much better.
Your old alarm clock, or oven clocks, used to be (,and some still are,) synced up this way. It's much more accurate than an RTC crystal.
Online-measurement of the mains frequency
Measurement of the utility frequency (line/grid frequency) of the european grid
mainsfrequency.com
Speedskater
Major Contributor
If the clock only counts power line zero crossing, then yes it will be accurate. But many clocks are also sensitive to noise pulses.
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