Furman Sound AR-1215J manual Definitions, Extreme Voltage Protection, Fuses and Circuit Breakers

AR - 1215 AC LINE VOLTAGE REGULATOR

drawing 40 to 50 watts total.

DEFINITIONS

VOLTAGE REGULATION: The AC line voltage is a number indicating the nominal electrical potential that has been adopted in a region for powering electrical equipment of all kinds. In most of North America it is 117 volts AC; in Japan, 100 volts; and in many other countries 220, 230, or 240 volts. The actual voltage can fall below or rise above this nomi- nal level due to brownouts, power cutbacks, use of substandard wiring, and other causes. These devia- tions can cause poor performance or a malfunction. A regulator is a device which, through use of a trans- former, corrects the voltage deviation by stepping it up or down so that it is as close as possible to the nominal level.

SPIKE: A pulse of energy on the power line. Spikes can have voltages as high as 6000 volts. Though they are usually of very short duration, the energy they contain can be considerable, enough to dam- age sensitive solid-state components in audio and computer equipment. Spikes can also foul switch contacts and degrade wiring insulation. They are an unavoidable component of electric power. They are caused unpredictably by electric motors switch- ing on or off (on the premises or outside), utility company maintenance operations, nearby lightning strikes, and other factors. Spikes (also called surges or transients) are absorbed by special components called MOV’s in the AR-series to provide safe volt- age levels to protect your equipment.

RFI/EMI INTERFERENCE: Noise from RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) or EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) involves lower voltages and less energy than is found in spikes, but it is continuous rather than transient in nature. It is not likely to cause physical damage, but it can certainly be annoying, producing static in audio circuits, “snow” on video screens, or garbled data in computers. Noise can be introduced into AC lines by nearby radio transmitters, certain kinds of lighting, electric motors, and others.

Because noise occurs at higher frequencies than the 50 or 60 Hz AC line, it can be effectively reduced through use of low-pass fi ltering.

EXTREME VOLTAGE PROTECTION

The AR-Series includes special circuitry to sense over- and under-voltages and positively shut down the output before possible damage is done. See the Specifi cations on the back page for the exact voltages at which shutdown occurs. When the input voltage exceeds the limit, the power will cut off. It will come back on automatically when the overvoltage is removed as long as the voltage has not exceeded 300V [all models]. The red LED labelled EXTREME VOLTAGE SHUTDOWN indicates the shutdown condition. The output is also shut down for extremely low input voltages.

To provide protection against a catastrophic error in AC mains wiring, dangerously high voltages (those over approximately 300V) will cause an internal fuse to blow, but equipment plugged into the Voltage Regulator will not be damaged.

FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS

There is one fuse and one circuit breaker in the AR-Series. In the event that the unit appears to be completely dead (neither the Power switch nor any LED’s light up), unplug the power cord and the load and check the breaker. If the circuit breaker is tripped, a white button will pop up. Push it back in to reset it. The purposes of these circuit protection devices are:

1.A fast-blow 15 amp [6 amp] circuit breaker is accessible at the rear panel without removing the unit from the rack. This breaker will trip if the unit’s 15 amp [6 amp] capacity is exceeded at any time.

2.A fast-blow 1/4 amp fuse is located inside the unit. This fuse will blow if the unit has been connected to a voltage that is above the range

4