I just moved to Ireland with my U.S. music equipment in tow, and after doing a little googling I’m still having trouble getting the answers I’m looking for. So here goes:
I bought a converter which has a transformer in it that is capable of handling 50W, as well as a “solid state power converter for non-electronics” that can handle 2000W.
Here is my question: what about the solid state power converter makes it incapable of being used for electronics? Is it the waveform shape? Power is power, right, so if it can output a certain current at the standard U.S. 120VAC, why is it unusable with electronics? It seems to me the only thing that could possibly distinguish a 1500 watt load from a ceramic heater and a 1500 watt load from 10 guitar amps is changes in power factor due to capactive/inductive effects…what am I missing? Could I possibly hurt anything besides the converter by trying to drive my equipment with it?
Also, can anyone explain to me or point me to a schematic of this mysterious ‘solid state power converter’? Is it just some sort of switching supply topology?
Your guesses are probably correct… a lot of cheaper solid-state power converters don’t output a smooth sine wave; they just rectify the incoming AC, then divide or multiply it for voltage change, and chop that to get a rough waveform that will power an accepting load like a resistive heater or a motor. It is of course possible to simply use a transformer for the AC voltage change, but that adds bulk and weight, and you can’t change the frequency like you can when rectifying to DC then inverting. If you want a smooth non-noisy output wavefore, that adds expense for filtering.
power supplies in electronics can require a higher quality of AC input. some inverters produce a quality of output where the electronics power supply will not work well or may work but shorten the life of the electronics power supply.
No voltage isn’t voltage. There are several ways to measure AC voltage. Peak, average, RMS, etc. Heating loads respond to the RMS value, most electronics are sensitive to the peak value.
The power converter is a triac circuit. Basically a light dimmer turned up half way. It turns on at the peak, so the load only sees 2/4 of each cycle. The problem is that the peak voltage is unchanged. Most electronics rectify the incoming waveform as a first step, which peak detects it.
Using the power converter with electronics will expose them to the full incoming line voltage.