Lighting chokes are used to pass tower lighting voltages across the base insulator of a series-fed tower without appreciably altering the tower impedance. LBA TC-300 general purpose tower lighting chokes are provided for three wire 110/220 VAC circuits. Maximum current is 25 amps. These chokes are rated for peak base voltages to 10,000 volts, and present a typical reactance of +j5000 ohms at 530 kHz. Bypass capacitors are provided on each winding.
TC-300 lighting chokes should be protected from the weather. LBA Technology offers the TCC-1 outdoor system including TC-300 Choke, weatherproof cabinet and feed through insulator .
Providing an AC feed to strobe lighting systems on high power AM towers can be problematic. The ring-type chokes often u sed for tower light feeds on high voltage towers often do not function well under the low pulse loads of stroboscopic lighting systems. Traditional ligh ting chokes, such as the LBA TC-300 do not have a sufficiently high RF voltage rating.
The LBA Model BALC-20 high voltage lighting choke is specifically made to withstand 30 KV medium wave peak RF voltages. It is particularly suited for broadcast systems of 100KW and above. It provides a three wire 110/230 volt AC feed at a nominal maximum 1000 V/A. Equivalent shunt impedance is above 10,000 ohms.
The Model BALC-20 is intended for interior placement in the antenna tuning unit and coupling to the tower feed line as an AC conduit. It has multiple high voltage corona grading rings and robust mica RF bypass capacitors. Mounting is on a furnished floor base with overall height of 46”H x 14”D x 14”W. A special custom outdoor cabinet can be furnished if required.
Static drain chokes are employed to drain static charges from towers before they build up to levels that could damage equipment or harm personnel. Ungrounded towers should always be connected to a static drain choke, unless a tower lighting choke with ground is employed. They are designed for installation inside antenna tuning units and other equipment.
LBA offers the SD-1 for RF base voltages to 10 KV peak. The SD-2 is recommended for RF base voltages to 20 KV peak. Custom static chokes are available for higher voltage systems.
Model # | Description |
TC- 300 | Lighting choke, general purpose 3 wire 110/220VAC @3000 VA |
BALC-20 | Lighting choke, HV strobe 3 wire 110/230VAC @ 1000 VA |
SD-1 | Static drain choke, General purpose, 10 KV RF peak |
SD-2 | Static drain choke, High voltage, 20 KV RF peak |
TCC-1 | Outdoor cabinet with TC-300 or installed for tower lightning 18"WX10"Dx18"H (46x26x46cm) |
Where system design requires, LBA can furnish a complete line of leading toroidal ring transformers for all RF voltage and lighting current levels.
LBA has produced a number of special isolation systems for powering remote radio heads and other cellular hardware on AM towers. These RRH systems can accomodate multiple AC or DC power feeds for AM-Celluar colocation systems.
Contact LBA for a custom quote.
LBA Group companies serve technical infrastructure needs related to the broadcast, wireless, electromagnetic compatibility and safety sectors worldwide. We provide consulting, training and other telecommunications industry services. We also produce and market hardware for radio transmission, RF shielding, safety and testing.
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