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write your own review of the ICE Model 338 240 v. filter and surge protector.
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KA7GKN
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 19, 2004 17:19
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protects $$$$ amplifiers
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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If you have an Acom 2000A or an other expensive high tech amplifier...well even if you have a brute force AL80 series amp YOU MUST GET THIS FILTER!!!
A recent storm here in Glendale Az. had a home a few miles from me get totaled by a lightning strike. My station was fine, but the amp had no power. The ICE 338 did its job and the fuse went due to a 240volt power hic-cup.
I replaced the fuse and all is running 100% the cost? 29 cents and a huge sigh of relief.
You need to install this as a dedicated line filter to protect your amps period.
They also sell various other filters for 120vac lines and lightning protection etc. All are made in USA and are priced where you have no excuse not to get them and use them! I have my antennas and rotator protected with ICE devices.
marty ka7gkn
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K5UJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 24, 2003 13:32
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One of a kind
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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It looked like it would be a pleasant cozy evening in the K5UJ shack the Thursday before the first 2002 Sweepstakes weekend. I was looking at a manual when I heard a "pop!" and looked around. Everything seemed okay, but then I realized I was no longer hearing the sound of the fan in my linear amp--it had been happily idling along on standby but was now dead. Murphy must have known I was thinking about one of those clean sweep mugs! One thing led to another and to make a long story short, I learned the hard way that unplugging the amp protects against current spikes--but not when operating! (The rigs were all on a Brickwall protector.) Once the amp was ready for service again I decided not to use it until I had some sort of surge protector in its ac line. I searched everywhere and found either cheap 5 amp TripLite protectors or units with the current capacity I needed that cost $2000, apparently intended for rock bands on tour. I was about to give up when I was pointed in the direction of ICE.
These guys make a reasonably priced point-of-service (meaning you use it at the appliance) protector that's perfect for amateur linear amplifiers. In addition, it actually is good looking! You get a brushed aluminum box, 2"x4"x4" with a single NEMA 6-20R socket to plug your appliance into, and a 3 wire cord about 6 feet long you can use to run to an outlet box. ICE supplies an unattached cord-end (plug) that matches the 6-20R socket, along with spare fuses (each hot line is fused). The bottom side of the box extends past two sides to make a mounting flange. There are holes punched in each of the four corners for nails or mounting screws to pass through.
As a ham, it was my duty to take this thing apart and see what was inside. My first impression was that it was well put together. All the soldering was very well done. The components all looked to be of high quality. Filtering is accomplished with torroidal chokes in series, one on each hot line and a third between the neutral safety line in the cord and the box which the socket neutral is connected to. MOVs are used to perform the surge protection. ICE recommends that this product be used by running a ground from the box (a lug for this is on one side below the power cord) to the shack ground for best performance but some protection and filtering is possible without doing this.
If you are looking for a high quality dedicated protector for your amp or anything else that draws a lot of current on a 240 v. line and is easy to install, this is it. ICE has really come through with an item that is needed.
Here are a few manufacturer specifications for the 338 taken from the manual. I forgot to include these in my review yesterday and I think they give a better idea of its design:
"The RFI/Noise portion of the circuit in the line filter uses very high permeability ferrite cores and high capacity non-inductive capacitors to both block and shunt signals to earth ground. Loss through the filter with no ground terminal connection is about 30 db (15 Mhz., 50 ohms). Loss through the filter increases to 60-80 db if a local earth ground is provided."
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