AC Power Generators VS Voltage & Equipment

[mafiouso]

Hello all,
This topic is regarding petrol generators and the power they produce to be used with computers etc.
My background is in DC automotive so AC and this project is my hobby to learn something new. (i understand AC but have not put it to practice)

i have a Rigol DS1052E Digital Oscilloscope, before i do anything stupid ill ask, can this be used to probe wall socket? if so can some one give me a rundown on how. thanks

the project:
i want to compare the power a petrol power generator will make vs. wall sockets. then work out a way to filter/clean it to use on more sensitive devices. done on a domestic level.

use:
if i was to go camping or working in the field etc and needed my pc sensitive equipment and a safe way to power it with a dirty little gen.

example:
#use of power inverters dc\ac (via generators DC output)
#use ups to filter power before pc or device
#use of surge protectors in line

i would like to hear the theory and advice from all you gurus out there on how you would approach it.


thanks look forward to the replies.   
 

[tbscope]

The manual says:

IEC Measurement Category I. The input terminals may be connected to circuit terminal in IEC Category I installations for voltages up to 300 VAC. To avoid the danger of electric shock, do not connect the inputs to circuit’s voltages above 300 VAC. Transient overvoltage is also present on circuits that are isolated from mains. The DS1000E, DS1000D series Digital Oscilloscopes is designed to safely withstand occasional transient overvoltage up to 1000Vpk. Do not use this equipment to measure circuits where transient overvoltage could exceed this level.

So, no, do not use it to measure the wall socket.
And certainly not a generator as there can be serious transients.

[Mr J]

When we use generator for field day (ham radio) we use laptops with a small ups/surge and a start up procedure. My Genset run a bit hot at 130V but most laptop SMPS can go from 100 to 240V, we start the generator and run for a couple of minutes then flip the main breakers on. I've measure mine with a hand held scope and it's pretty clean (better than my wall outlets). If we accidentally run out of gas the ups kicks in during brown out then after the ups dies the laptop battery kicks in. It's kind of over kill but we run a server.

I use a hand held scope to keep things isolated and easy.

Be careful with regular plug in scopes measuring mains, ground is really ground (earth).

[mafiouso]

thanks for the replies guys, Mr J what genset specs are you running? are you worried about small surges say we are 230-240v maybe a 260-270 volt surge on start up or load changes? say some one plugs in a tv and turns it on. i guess with the scope i have i cant see the wave form, best i can do is watch with a multimeter atm.

the plug in surge prot. have specs like
- Max surge current: 144,000 amps
- Clamping voltage: 710V
- Max spike voltage: 6000V

i was wondering on the effects of the smaller spikes and unclean waves going into laptop transformers etc.

thanks again