Turtlerock Forum

How much variation is acceptable? Since we bought our voltage meter we have notice 10 -15 volts variation at one venue, while we only had one volt variation at another.

How low is too low?

So I suppose that could be considered close to the threshold of problems...

Australian mains voltage specified in AS 60038 is 230 V with a tolerance of +10% -6%, so that is from 216 to 253. Anything outside that is a problem.

I've never seen 216 reading on a power conditioner
but certainly wouldn't be surprised/ concerned by anything between 220 and 250
outside of that (whether its inside the standard or not) i think i would raise an eyebrow....

Also of interest. The 230V +10%, -6%, is the standard for what is delivered to the property boundary, it is technically allowable to have a 12 volt drop in your wiring, though most electricians wiring new properties would not allow more than 4 or 5 volts. The thing is that, with 216 at the boundary and a 12 volt wiring drop, you could technically have 204 volts at the equipment and be within spec, worst case scenario, of course. There are lots of pieces of equipment that just would not operate successfully at 204 volts.

and talking about standards that are unworkable.... see my other post about sydney city council and noise abatement.
;-)

Just spent some time playing with the rack, powered by domestic 240. Voltage was reading 263v.

What are the potential symptoms of too high voltage? I am assuming damage and smoke?

It really depends on the type of power supply. The older linear supplies don't like over-voltage and you could see a transformer or capacitors going south. The more modern PWM supplies seem to be able to handle over-voltage pretty well, within limits, of course.

Would It possibly cause irregular behaviour?

What sort of equipment is it? Overvoltage is more likely to cause a power supply failure than anything else. What do you mean by irregular behaviour?

Lexicon MPX 550. Equal output gain on both channels and then all of a sudden a dramatic loss of of gain from one side. I now have to pad the side to match gains coming back into the desk. Second MPX to go south in 2 weeks...

Whilst it is possible that this was caused by overvoltage, I would doubt it, since the power supply is common to both channels. If you are worried I would suggest that you put a UPS between the mains and your rack. That will prevent any voltage fluctuations from getting to your equipment.