New Sequoia and Tahoe power supplies

Jan Pfoff
22. 2. 2023

At the end of last year, California-based programmable power supply manufacturer AMETEK Programmable Power introduced the long-awaited successors to its high-power MX and RS series, the high-end Sequoia series, complemented by a more economical Tahoe variant - both under the established California Instruments brand. The names of the two series are meant to evoke not only an affiliation with the country of origin, but also, in a figurative sense, the best that the world's fourth most powerful economy has to offer. You can judge for yourself whether these new power supplies can truly stand up to comparison with California's natural treasures.

Sequoia

Sequoia can be considered the Rolls-Royce of AMETEK Programmable Power. It is a combination of an AC/DC power supply of up to 1MVA and an optional programmable RLC electronic load. Regenerative operation to reduce testing costs and eliminate dissipated heat. Arbitrary output voltage waveform generator both via freeware Virtual Panels and directly from the power supply front panel. Optional HW extensions for pre-compliance testing to IEC 61000-4-11 and -13 or modules for testing to Airbus/Boeing standards. 500μs resolution for transients. These are just some of the basic features of this series. Models from 15 to 90kVA/kW (in one chassis) are available in a basic configuration with two voltage ranges (low 0-166V L-N / high 0-333V L-N) or with an optional output transformer up to 0-442V (L-N), i.e. Of course, independent detailed programming of the waveform of each phase separately, DC offset setting or optional input for an external analogue signal, which makes the power supply a very powerful amplifier. More details about this series here.

Tahoe

The Tahoe is a more economical variant of the Sequoia series, but built on the same SiC-based technology. Here, the customer can save on the fact that these power supplies allow only basic unidirectional operation (i.e. power) and not bidirectional operation. This is also linked to the lack of an optional extension to include a programmable electronic load function. More details on this range here.