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?I don't like the voltage drop when using a Powergate.

If you simply use a design from the commercial/public safety and microwave folks use... Float the power supply directly across the batteries. With the proper fusing of course. No losses that way.
Large switching (RF quiet in the VHF/UHF bands) power supplies are commonplace these days. Just be sure you can have voltage across the power supply terminals (from the battery) when the power supply has no AC power.

The Astron RS line of power supplies you cant do that without modifications. The RS series of supplies are quickly becoming obsolete anyway.

73, Jim W7RY

Our amateur radio club has three separate repeaters plus a packet node running at a single site located in the woods on a mountaintop.? The building has AC utility company power.? There is also an automatic residential backup generator supplied by a 320 gallon propane tank.? Each repeater has a separate power supply.? Two are linear and two are digital.? Two of the repeaters have 105 amp-hour AGM backup batteries and automatic battery switches (PWRgate).

The batteries were our only source of backup power before the generator was installed.? Both batteries have now reached the end of their useful lives.

It would be nice to have backup power for all four repeaters, if we can afford it.

We are considering the following options:

1. Eliminate the batteries entirely and assume that the generator will always start and have sufficient fuel.? (cost = $0)
2. Replace the two existing batteries.? (cost = $700+)
3. Reconfigure the equipment to create a single DC power system with redundant power supplies and multiple batteries and use it to power all four repeaters.? (cost = $1000+)
4. Buy a backup battery and 2 more PWRgates so that every system has its own backup battery.? (cost = $1700+)

I recently spoke with someone who said that a local commercial tower site has a single power system for all of its repeaters. (i.e. option #3 above)

We are depending on our repeaters for emergency communications, so it seems to me that option #4 would provide the greatest degree of reliability.? If one repeater malfunctions and draws a lot of power, the other repeaters aren't affected because they have their own, separate batteries.? But since funding is limited, I could also make a case for "pooling" those batteries so the total energy in the bank can go to where it is needed.

Here's my question:? How do other people handle this?? Is option #4 overkill?? Is option #3 the most common approach?

Thanks.

Bob Snyder KC3KVS