Re: Power Distro units
1 Whats it used for ?
Power distro is used to take one large source of current and distribute it to multiple smaller branches of current. While you may have different voltages at each branch, a power distro does not CHANGE the voltage from what's available from the source.
2 How to use it ?
That's an open question. In short, connect source power to the input, then connect your devices to each of the outputs. It gets more tricky if you are dealing with multiple phases of power, and knowing how to wire it up. If someone does that for you, it's plug and play.
3 when do i use it?
Generally, you can find 20 amp power sources at the venue. If your system needs more than 20 amps, you can find multiple 20 amp circuits and divide your load across those circuits, or you can find one larger source of power and create your own distro. Eg, if you have 3 13 amp loads, you would need to find 3 20 amp circuits, or you could have one 40 amp circuit and distribute that load to each of the 3 circuits.
4 How to know if i got the right one for my system?
You'll know it's right if you have enough power for all of your gear to operate.
To your original question, no a power distro is nothing like a generator. A generator turns fuel into electricity. A battery and a generator are similar in that fact. Once you're out of fuel, you're out of power.
A power distro does not create power, nor does it regulate the voltage. What you are looking for is a voltage regulator. Voltage regulators examine the incoming voltage and then boost or buck the voltage so the result is your desired voltage. When the voltage is boosted, this is accomplished by increasing the load on the line, so the result could be breakers blowing sooner than you could expect. True high current voltage regulators are very expensive and heavy.
In the US, the standard service voltage is 120V, +- 5%. This means any voltage reading between 114 and 126 volts is considered completely normal. Short term and unusual spec tolerance is -8.3% to +5.8%. There is no solid definition of what short term or unusual are, but using that spec, an outlet that provides between 110 and 127 volts is considered operating within tolerance. That is the US national standard, but different regions may have differing standards.
Keep in mind that this is the service voltage. The NEC specifies that under load, a voltage drop of 5% is acceptable. That means that a source of 110 volts under load could read as low as 104.5 volts and still be considered within spec. When you get near the edges of spec, poorly designed gear may start to fail, so keep that in mind. Non static loads, such as amplifiers can put short term loads on a circuit that may be hard to meter, but the high load could create a voltage drop to below spec, causing other gear to shut down or fail. You can reduce voltage drop with high current by using heavier gauge cable.
