There is something that hasn't been addressed. Be sure
that the UPS is always in the circuit, not one that gets
switched in when AC mains fail. That would be OK for
lights, but not computers. Working in TV (2 stations)
corporate and local management do not want any failures, we
are putting a bunch of smaller ones in to cover us while we
plan the one that will be housed in a separate building to
power our whole tech center and all the computer network
servers. Somewhere around 500 kVA to 750 kVA. All have to
be series type.
73, Gerry K8GT
> Since so many people have responded privately with
questions, I thought I would
> share some additional information with everyone.
>
> How much capacity do I need in my UPS?
> You need to know how much power will be drawn when the
unit kickc in and the
> length of time you want the mains voltage to be available
to the equipment. APC
> provides a calculator to help you figure this out
> [http://www.apc.com/template/size/apc/].
>
> What else should I look for in UPS features?
> The only other thing that's nice is the "unattended server
shutdown" feature.
> This is a piece of software on your computer that connects
to the UPS over a
> serial port, and detects when the UPS has gone active. It
then gracefully shuts
> down the computer. Some UPSs and their software can handle
multiple computers.
> This is great if you are away from the shack when the
power fails.
>
> What companies sell these things?
> APC www.apc.com
> Tripplite
>
> How much should I pay for a UPS?
> As much as you want. You can buy low-power units at
Wallmart or Costco or BJ's
> for under $100. I bought a used commercial unit APC Smart
UPS 2200 RM3U on ebay
> [www.ebay.com] for $600. This unit is a 2200VA rack-mount
system. You can pay a
> lot more for more power. There are all kinds of deals on
ebay. Enter "APC UPS"
> in the search engine. The only thing you need to watch out
for is whether the
> batteries are dead. All you can do on ebay is ask
specifically and trust the
> seller. On the other hand, there is a strong secondary
market for good
> batteries. This is because some safety regulations
actually require scheduled
> battery replacement - whether the batteries are good or
bad.
>
> That's about all I know!
>
> 73,
>
> Jim Idelson K1IR
> email k1ir@designet.com
> web http://www.designet.com/k1ir
>
> ---------- Forwarded Message ----------
>
> FROM: Jim Idelson <k1ir@designet.com>
> TO: CQ-Contest Post <cq-contest@contesting.com>
> DATE: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 15:11:03 -0500
>
> RE: An ounce of prevention...
>
> While not everything was perfect for us during last
weekends ARRL DX SSB
> Contest, one thing went extremely well. Here's the
story...
>
> We were a casual M/2 operation. On Sunday morning, I was
operating 10m and W1VE
> was on the 15m station. We were running like crazy.
Suddenly, there was a power
> glitch in the house. The Acom amps turned off. All the
digital clocks in the
> house were blinking. The refrigerator went through its
self-test sequence.
> Except for having to restart the Acom amps, the entire
contest station -
> radios, computers, accessories - stayed on-the-air . We
didn't miss a beat.
> Why? A few months ago, after some disastrous brushes with
lightning, one of the
> protective measures I took was to buy a used 2kVA UPS on
eBay. The unit powers
> EVERY 110vac device in my office/shack. The UPS sustained
the power to
> everything through the glitch - eliminating what would
have been, at a minimum,
> a costly 30+ minute recovery process to get all the
computers, logs and radios
> back on-the-air. And, it could have been a lot worse than
that! ["Excuse me,
> ZF2MM, we had a little power failure up here. May I please
have my frequency
> back?" I don't think so.]
>
> Needless to say, I highly recommend a UPS for the
well-prepared contester's
> shack!
>
> 73,
>
> Jim Idelson K1IR
> email k1ir@designet.com
> web http://www.designet.com/k1ir
>
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