ABSTRACT
Outside Broadcast vehicles contain electrical equipment to carry out their function; this can be anything from basic lighting, stabilisation jacks, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning through to the specialist broadcast equipment itself. All this requires power to be generated, stored, converted
and switched by a vehicle subsystem called the auxiliary electrical power system. This area is often overlooked when specifying the vehicle but has the most profound consequences if it fails to perform – this will invariably happen during a major cup final or a critical news broadcast! The purpose of this chapter is to explore some of the key
points in understanding and specifying such a system. A major industry trend in the last 10 years has been a move
to more flexible broadcast platforms. The large rigid-bodied 24V truck broadcast unit was the staple vehicle to house the broadcast systems, though now vans, cars and even fly-away packs are commonplace – all require the same attention to the power system design.
