Equipment locations in relation to my radio equipment

[n4zi]

   Gentlemen and Ladies,

   I am just getting started and have been purchasing the gear a little at a time. I am curious how much physical
noise and then RFI noise will be generated, by my equipment. The XW6048 showed up yesterday with the control
box. I will have 3 midnite classic 150 that will be mounted right next to the inverter in an area 37 x 36 inches. I
have a choice of locating the equipment in close proximity to my ham radio gear, but could locate it across the room
also. I plan a grid tie with battery backup - batteries are ( 185xc hc 220ah 12v batteries which will give me (2) 48vdc
battery banks. So roughly 48vdc 440ah. I plan to run 12 - 250 watt sharp panels (X2) 2 midnites 3kw ea. The last
midnite 150 will only have 10 - 100 watt panels feeding it(1kw). My shop is separate from the house and I can isolate
it with breakers at the house panel and 100 amp shop panel. So again question is on noise generated etc. Am I on
the right track? 1 - 6kw dual phase inverter and 3 midnite classic 150 - anyone have a wiring diagram for a configuration
like this. Finally got some time off - plan to review the NEC requirements closely and size all my breakers, wiring etc.

Thanks and 73,

   Bill N4ZI

[boB]

Hi Bill...

If you have the choice, I would mount the controllers and inverter farther away from the ham radio than
closer to it.   The battery lines and PV input lines are normally what does the radiating and gets into
the amateur radio antenna.

I would take a bit more care in twisting the PV wires if possible or maybe even putting them in
metal conduit to help shield any EMI getting into those wires on their way to the PV array.

You may also want to add a ferrite toroid (Fair-Rite #31 material or equivalent) near the Classics
or E-Panel PV wire exit or. if using conduit, inside the E-Panel or Classic wiring compartment.

The Classics are pretty good and mileage does vary for different installations but they all emit
some RFI and we can only try to minimize it.

I would also try to place the PV array away from the antennas so that they have less chance of
radiating any EMI that way.

If you have a metal battery box, that's good too.  The E-Panel or whatever BOS you are using will
usually have a conduit-pipe of a few inches down to the battery box.  Since battery cables can
also radiate RF, that will want to be grounded.

You may have to play with the grounding a bit of that box and balance of systems BOS panel
for best results.

This is pretty generic information but there may be additional things to check like, making sure that
remote control cables are not radiating too.  Those are usually pretty easy to filter with a toroid
near the equipment and sometimes even at the remote control end  since its data transmitter might
also try to put RFI garbage on the line back to the inverter or whatever.

When troubleshooting EMI problems, you will want to try unplugging as many things as possible to
see where the EMI is coming from.  Battery side ?  Auxiliary power supply in the equipment ?  PV ?
AC power output or input ?   etc...  If it is an auxiliary power supply in the equipment, then they will
normally make some noise when the inverter is not inverting/charging or if the controller is not
converting PV input to battery charging output power.

[n4zi]

Bob,

  What about physical audible noise from the equipment? Is that inverter noisy - guess I could build a small outbuilding
8 x 8 to house the equipment, but then I would have concerns with keeping it cool? I have a lot of questions perhaps
it would be possible to talk to you on phone about them.

Thanks and 73,

  Bill  N4ZI

[Halfcrazy]

The XW will have some pretty good audible transformer noise, The Classics will have some fan noise. Not terrible but it will be plenty audible

Ryan

[vtmaps]

My shop is separate from the house and I can

Can you put your battery & electronics in the shop?   (That's what I did)  I would not be happy with battery & electronics in my house.

--vtMaps

[Vic]

Hi Bill,

My approach for off-grid Hammie radio sites has been to place all of the power electronics in Sea-going Cargo containers,  use metal conduit (mostly EMT) for all above-ground cable runs,  and to place all power feeders in conduit,  underground.

Inverters CAN emit quite a lot of RFI.   Think that Schneider claims FCC B for the XW line of Inverters.  FCC B should help reduce emissions,  compared to non B inverters.  Common-Mode chokes on the AC ins and outs of the inverter/s should help.  Have used Type 31 2.4" cores,  stacked three-high,  with as many turns of #6 AWG THHN bifilar-wound on these cores.

As boB noted,  Type 31 cores close to the CC/s also bifilar wound with the PV input cables,  and  also, on the output of the CC (wouldn't hurt).  These should be close to the CC,  ideally,  in a metal box,  connected with metal conduit.  Twisting wires does help,  although doing so with 4/0 battery cables can be difficult,  and requires larger conduit,  often.

Separation of the PV array from all antennas is a very good way to reduce RFI.  All switchers generate some noise,  so it is a balancing act.

Solutions that work in one situation may work poorly in another.

Have fun with the new system.    73,    Vic   Kilo Six Italy Charlie

[dbcollen]

Thanks and 73,

  Bill  N4ZI

73 is the twenty-first prime number. Its mirror, 37, is the twelfth and its mirror, 21, is the product of multiplying (hang on to your hats) 7 and 3…. In binary, 73 is a palindrome: 1-0-0-1-0-0-1, which backwards is 1-0-0-1-0-0-1

Best regards