Description
DS3800DFXB1B1C Product Overview
The DS3800DFXB1B1C is a drive-interface and gate-drive board used inside GE Mark IV turbine and EX2000 exciter control racks. It plugs into the 6BA Euro-card file and serves as the analog “front end” between the 5 V CPU and the 480 V SCR/IGBT bridge: it converts logic-level fire pulses into ±15 V isolated gate signals, supplies the +24 Vdc field-contactor bus, and scales armature-voltage feedback down to ±10 V for the processor A/D converters. Because all copper layers are fully encapsulated in high-temperature epoxy, the board is treated as a line-replaceable module—any internal fault requires a complete card swap rather than component-level rework. Installation is plug-and-play: rack the old card, move the two 40-pin back-plane connectors and the 24 V lug, and the CPU acknowledges “DRIVE INTERFACE OK” on the next scan—no software download or calibration required.
The DS3800DFXB1B1C is a drive-interface and gate-drive board used inside GE Mark IV turbine and EX2000 exciter control racks. It plugs into the 6BA Euro-card file and serves as the analog “front end” between the 5 V CPU and the 480 V SCR/IGBT bridge: it converts logic-level fire pulses into ±15 V isolated gate signals, supplies the +24 Vdc field-contactor bus, and scales armature-voltage feedback down to ±10 V for the processor A/D converters. Because all copper layers are fully encapsulated in high-temperature epoxy, the board is treated as a line-replaceable module—any internal fault requires a complete card swap rather than component-level rework. Installation is plug-and-play: rack the old card, move the two 40-pin back-plane connectors and the 24 V lug, and the CPU acknowledges “DRIVE INTERFACE OK” on the next scan—no software download or calibration required.
DS3800DFXB1B1C
DS3800DFXB1B1C Technical Specifications
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Model Number: DS3800DFXB1B1C
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Manufacturer: General Electric
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Product Type: Drive Interface / SCR-IGBT Gate & Power Board
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Series: DS3800, Mark IV / EX2000 Speedtronic
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Form Factor: 6BA Euro-card (≈ 233 × 160 mm)
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Back-Plane Connector: Dual 40-pin header (J1/J2)
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Field Power Output: +24 Vdc @ 3 A (current-limited)
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Gate Drive Output: ±15 Vdc isolated, 2 A peak per bridge leg
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Surge Protection: 40 mm MOVs, 1 kJ pulse rating
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Isolation: 1500 Vdc input-to-logic; 2.5 kV optical on gate fibers
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Operating Temperature: 0 – 60 °C
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Weight: ≈ 1.0 lb (≈ 0.45 kg)
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Construction: Epoxy-sealed copper traces—non-repairable
Core Features & Customer Value
Integrated Power & Gate Drive: By combining 24 V field supply and ±15 V gate drive on one card, the module eliminates separate power supplies and gate amplifiers. For the maintenance crew this means fewer spare part numbers to stock and a single five-minute swap instead of troubleshooting three separate boards.
Epoxy-Sealed Construction: All internal copper is encapsulated in high-temperature epoxy. In environments with high humidity, dust, or conductive contamination the seal prevents trace-to-trace shorting that would otherwise cause random “DRIVE INTERFACE FAIL” alarms after ten-plus years of service. The trade-off is non-repairability—any internal fault requires a whole-card exchange—but this is offset by the reduced diagnostic time and the fact that plants stock one spare instead of maintaining a repair bench.
Wide AC Input Window: The board accepts 120–240 VAC directly from the control transformer. This allows the same part number to be used on 120 V or 240 V services without additional taps or selectors, simplifying spares inventory and reducing wiring errors during retrofit projects.
DS3800DFXB1B1C
Typical Applications
In combined-cycle power plants the board is installed in the Mark IV exciter cubicle where it provides the gate-drive interface for the six-pulse SCR bridge. During a black-start the card ramps the 24 V contactor bus and the ±15 V gate supply in sequence, preventing the bridge from firing into an un-powered CPU.
On mechanical-drive gas compressors the same module is used to fire the variable-speed drive IGBT stack. The on-board MOV string clamps lightning-induced surges on the 480 VAC feeder, while the scaled ±10 V feedback signals allow the CPU to compute firing angle without additional signal-conditioning hardware. Because the card is line-replaceable, a surge event that damages any internal layer is corrected with a five-minute swap rather than a half-shift re-cabling job.
