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Re: alien bees with gas generator???
Old 03-06-2006, 11:15 PM   #4 (permalink)
n5wd
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Actually, you don't need to call the folks at Buff... you need to look in the manual that comes with your generator.

As has been said before, the Bees (and others that use similar power supplies) want a sine wave and not a square wave.

It's all in how the electricity is generated and regulated, so check in the manual where they're talking about regulation and if it doesn't say that it's a sine wave (I know that Honda produces consumer generators that are sine wave and I'm sure others do as well), I wouldn't plug 'em in there.

For example, from the Honda web site:

[ QUOTE ]
The Honda Inverter Technology makes this generator ideally suited for use with sensitive electronics (e.g., computer, printer, and other sensitive electronic equipment) because the generator produces a clean sine wave of energy that prevents surging.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your wall plug delivers sine waves at 60 cycles every second, so that's what you're looking for in a generator that'll be driving electronics (like my ham radios or your strobes).

G'luck!

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