By their nature ‘Hop’** sites can be remote and often have no local mains power supply. To this end, HGI have developed a number of unique solutions to power these sites.

These consist of small LPG or diesel sets, either running alone or in conjunction with wind turbines and back-up batteries. These solutions are very fuel efficient resulting in reduced fuelling and service visits. This is a major advantage where sites are remote and difficult to access as it reduces operational costs considerably.

The LPG unit utilises a Briggs and Stratton Vanguard 570cc V-twin engine and the diesel a Kubota EB300 single cylinder water cooled unit.

These are coupled to a custom 6-phase 5kW alternator which in turn supplies a dedicated control system that provides 48V DC at extremely low ripple (0.05%) with very close voltage regulation.

The output is used to charge a 48V battery bank on a cyclic regime. Typical cycle times can be as low as 4 hours running per week with a site load of around 100W.

The above system, when coupled to a small (3kW) wind turbine can provide an integrated secure power supply with the turbine providing the bulk of the power. The generator will then only run in prolonged periods without wind. This further reduces the number of site visits required and lowers the whole life cost of the site.

The control system can be fitted with full telemetry to provide useful information regarding running, fuel levels and battery voltages.

** ‘Hop’ sites are small sites that provide a link between major radio sites where the signal literally ‘hops’ from one site to another.