Power standards
A number of different power supplies are used around the station.
XLR-4 (4-core)
In February 2014, the umbilical power cables were replaced with 4-core cable. This was to allow both 12V and 8.7V on the same cable but different pins, avoiding the possibility of the wrong voltage being connected
Pin-out
- 1 = Ground (yellow/green)
- 2 = Unused (brown)
- 3 = 8.7V (black)
- 4 = 12V (grey)
Standardised devices
- Sony HVR-HD1000E (HD cameras) - 8.7V
- Sony DSR-PD150 (Ex-BBC cameras) - 8.7V
- Pretty much anything with 12V
Previous standards
These standards were once in service, but have since been removed or superseded.
XLR-4 12V
These are 12V supplies of different current ratings, all ended with female 4-pin XLR connectors. This was superseded by the above XLR-4 standard.
Pin-out
- 1 = Ground
- 2 = unconnected
- 3 = unconnected
- 4 = +12V
XLR-4 8.7V
Similar to the 12V XLR-4's, but only 8.7V on pin 4. They are used for powering the Sony HD cameras. This was superseded by the above XLR-4 standard.
Pin-out
- 1 = Ground
- 2 = unconnected
- 3 = unconnected
- 4 = +8.7V