UPS purchasing

[radioguy80]

We are a local-based educational AAA looking for an UPS backup. We have a Radio Systems board and Dell Computer that would need to be on the UPS backup.

What are the minimum specs we would need on a UPS backup?

Anyone have any reasonably priced solutions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Les]

More questions than....

> We are a local-based educational AAA looking for an UPS
> backup. We have a Radio Systems board and Dell Computer that
> would need to be on the UPS backup.

You gotta consider lots of factors before going any further:

1. What are you trying to accomplish? Do you just want to keep
the computer and board alive so they will come back the way
you left 'em and not worry about staying on the air? Or, perhaps
if you have a remote transmitter site, maybe you need also to
keep your STL up and processing, etc.

2. Do you anticiate power hits longer than about 5-minutes?

3. Do you have a backup generator? If so, need to know a lot
more about it. Most generator installations will drive a UPS
nuts and you'll end up with a ping-pong power problem that'll
do more damage than good.

I've had a lot of experience with power in places where outages
are frequent and vary from a few seconds to several days and
would be happy to share it with you once I better understand
the above...<P ID="signature">______________
Appoint a special prosecutor NOW! For any imagined offense by anybody. The trial lawyers need the work; they multiply like rats!</P>

 

[SamBuca]

You need to calculate the wattage. W=V*A. Take the voltage, multiply by the maximum amperage, and add it up for everything you plan to power. Get that size unit as a minimum.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>

 

[tpt]

Re: More questions than....

You can probably find a good sized UPS at the usual suspects: Office Depot/Max/Staples, for around $100. (as the Miracles used to say, you gotta shop around)
We have a 1100 watt unit that cost us $120, I believe, runs console, Starguide rcvr and computer on it (our Auditronics 2500 looses the channel "on" positions if the power dips)

This will hold up the computer & console during those annoying dips and brownouts. Won't keep you on the air during a long power outage, of course. An external generator may be more practical for that purpose, if you have frequent power outages. We've priced an 11 Kw Onan LP gas genset at around $6K with transfer switch recently for one of our sites.

 

[DudeFan]

> We are a local-based educational AAA looking for an UPS
> backup. We have a Radio Systems board and Dell Computer that
> would need to be on the UPS backup.
>
> What are the minimum specs we would need on a UPS backup?
>
> Anyone have any reasonably priced solutions?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>

I think we got ours from Refurbups.com HUGE APC units for $250 a piece. We have one of the XMTR and one on the Studio... we can remain on the air 2 hours without AC.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Line-voltage monitoring

> You can probably find a good sized UPS at the usual
> suspects: Office Depot/Max/Staples, for around $100.

One thing you should absolutely insist on is power regulation. Most cheap UPS units are strictly battery backups - if power goes out, they react fast enough to keep your equipment running. They also provide high-level surge protection. They don't protect against transient low-voltage spikes or brownouts, which can lock up your system without actually taking it down.

Make sure your unit can monitor the incoming voltage, and supplement from the battery if necessary. That capability has several names - line voltage monitoring, automatic voltage regulation, etc. For example, the Tripplite Back-UPS series does NOT have that capability. The Back-UPS PRO series does.

A decent unit with line-voltage monitoring should allow you to power your studio from a back-up generator or other "dirty" power source without damaging your equipment.