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Reviews For: PWRgate PG40

Category: Emergency/Portable Power: generators, solar, wind, thermal, etc

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Review Summary For : PWRgate PG40
Reviews: 9MSRP: 60$
Description:
Backup Power System
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.westmountainradio.com/PWRgate.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0094.6
K8OCL Rating: 2008-08-30
Failed When Most Needed Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had this unit online for more than a year and it passed all routine testing. Then during a test prior to an emergency, it failed to switch the back-up battery into the circuit. When the power actually failed we had to un-wire the PG-40, by-pass the unit, and wire the radios directly to the battery.

The re-designed system has the power supply set on 13.8 VDC / variable current and connected directly to the battery. The PS runs off a 1440 VA COMPAQ UPS. In addition, the output of the battery is in turn connected to a DC-DC converter to keep its output at 13.8 VDC until the actual battery voltage drops to 11 VDC, at which it switches off the connection to avoid damage to the battery. So far it seems to be working fine.

N5CSU Rating: 2008-01-04
Flawless performance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this running with their gell cell battery since it was first introduced (4 years ago?) and it has been flawless. I recently added their LED light so that when the power goes out, I also have light in the ham shack. A class act (like all West Mtn radio gear)
K5ADF Rating: 2006-08-02
Works great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I installed this in August 2004 in my home station to power my VHF/UHF radio (IC821H), packet station (IC207 and KamXL) and KLM 160 watt 2M amp in case of power outages. I installed the largest gel cell I could find in a plastic battery box with the PG40 mounted on top. It backs up an Astron RS50M power supply.

I have tested this setup in various ways many times to verify that the radios would not notice the change in power from the power supply to the gel cell. All tests have been successful. The real test is when the power grid fails and the battery is used for power. I have experienced several commercial power outages usually short in duration (15 - 120 minutes) without a problem with the radios. Unlike my HF, the VHF/UHF is on continually which is why I chose to put that part of the station on backup power.

Another test performed was to see how long the battery would hold up under commercial power loss and normal radio use. In my case it lasted well over 24 hours. Since I live in a large city with its own power generation, this is more than adequate.

The powerpoles were a nice addition allowing me to remove the battery/PG40 for field use with little work. The PG40 has performed as advertised without any problems. I also have a Rigblaster Pro without any problems. I have been pleased with West Mountain Radio and always visit their booth at Dayton to say hello.
KI5DR Rating: 2005-12-30
Simple, effective - does it's job perfectly. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've had mine just about 1 year now - it's done perfectly the entire time. Power outages do not phase it. It silently runs my VHF packet setup 24x7 and switches over to as 28Ah Gel Cell when primary power fails. Gel cell provides longer power duration than my computer UPS - need a larger UPS!

Scott, KI5DR
K3MEB Rating: 2005-04-05
Great Product! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Easy to hook up, does exactly what it's advertised to do. I can pull the plug on the AC, and all of my equipment instantly switches over to battery power with a hiccup. Keeps my gel cells fully charged and ready.
PA3DUV Rating: 2005-01-21
PWR Gate keeps Winlink rockin' Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Great gadget! I use 6 of them in my Winlink2000 PMBO. The PMBO serves hundreds of remote located hams by providing e-mail through the Winlink network. The PWRGates keep my station alive during outages. Each HF radio has its own dedicated PWRGAte, so has the router and the computer. Each PWRGate charges an 100 AH gell cell battery. The effect of a power outage is.... none. When I pull the plug all the equipment remains running due to the lightning fast switchover of the PWRGAte from mains to battery.
It interfaces beautiful with my completly powerpole equipped station DC wiring. One disadvantage: there is no possibility to lock the connector on the PWRGAte to the mating connectors on the battery, power supply and equipment.

Cheers, Dick Knol
PA3DUV
www.qsl.net/pa3duv
www.winlink.org
K3VV Rating: 2005-01-20
PG40 and associated W. Mtn gear is great -- brief test results Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Recently I bought (all from West Mtn) a PWRGate PG40, an Astro Flight Whattmeter, a 73 Ah MK gell cell with a battery box and associated fuses and cables.

I had bought a RigRunner 4012 a year ago and had set up a T/T Scout, a Heath HW-9 and six station accessories running through it.

It took about 1.5 hours to mount the PG40 and the Whattmeter to the panel where the 4012 was located and to make up the necessary fused cables to hook it all together properly.

The whole setup works flawlessly. Pulling the plug on the 7-amp T/T 937 power supply had the expected effect, that is, none!

All the following informal test measurements were read straight off the Whattmeter, given my individualized CW duty cycle.

The Scout and an external Logikey K3 keyer draws 650 ma key up and 5.73 amps key down at 25 watts RF output (CW).

Running off the battery and through the PWRGate, key-up voltage at the PG40's battery side is 12.91 and key-down voltage 12.61, a drop of 0.3 volts or about 2.3%.

A 17-minute "cookie-cutter" CW QSO with a detailed request to report chirping yielded a report of good, steady tone throughout. This report has been confirmed in other QSOs.

The QSO described used 0.451 Ah of battery power which works out to about 25-26 identical QSOs for a 10% nominal battery drawdown drawdown.

All in all, the PWRGate and its associated West Mtn equipment "carries the mail" perfectly at my rural QTH where power outages are relatively frequent.

Nice job, West Mountain! I have no affiliation with West Mountain except as a satisfied customer.
KY0D Rating: 2004-08-11
Works Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought it at a Ham Fest and have lost power 3 times do to storms, works great!!!! Never misses a beat
K4SHP Rating: 2004-06-07
AWESOME!!!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well it is about time that someone came out with this product. I know that most hams could build this circuit for less than half of the price charged by West Mountain Radio but who has the time.

The Good:
1- Instant power switching!
2- Small size.
3- Provides 1amp to keep batteries charged.
4- Excellent price.

The Bad:
1- It uses "power poles". (I like terminals)
2- If you don't keep an eye on the battery the
one amp provided during commercial power will
"boil" your battery.

Final Summery:
It's a GREAT product. I have one on my repeaters and am planning to purchase one for my shack!