Supercomputers, fishing for information

[ethan at 757.org]

> All 370's ran off 415 Hz 3-phase power.  The mid-sized ones had the 
> motor-generator set built into the back of the machine.  The 415 Hz 
> (regulated) power was transformed to low voltage and run through an 
> inductor-input filter and then series pass regulated.  They had a circuit 
> they called an "electronic capacitor" that pulled extra current through the 
> inductor during the voltage peaks, so the inductor carried enough current 
> during the voltage valleys.  This reduced the ripple current on the capacitor 
> banks.
> The 360s ran off single-phase 120 V 2500 Hz power, produced by a 
> "converter-inverter" unit in the back, that converted utility 3-phase power 
> to DC, then inverted it with an SCR inverter.  This made the DC power 
> supplies in the machine quite small.  Since they ran off regulated 2500 Hz 
> power, they dropped only a very small voltage across the series-pass 
> transistor.
> Jon

Am I getting this right?

So they take AC turn it to DC then turn it back to high frequency AC 
then turn it back to DC to drop the need for larger capacitors to keep 
the DC clean?

Pretty wild.

Anyone run any of this stuff at home / light commercial clubhouses?



--
Ethan O'Toole