uninterruptible power supply (UPS)

[Khan]

Do you have one?

If so, can you recommend a brand or type?

 

[Texas Proud]

I have one for my computer and one for my TV / VCR / DVD group...

We have a lot of one second blimp (or less than one second)... is havac on the computer and other electronics..

SO, bought one for the computer to protect it from the outages... then got tired of missing a show I wanted to record, so bought another to keep the VCR going and also protect the TV...

Bought both cheap... one is IIRC 550, the other 350... I think they were $45 to $50 and $30 ish.. look for a sale...

 

[Anansi]

APC is probably the brand you will see the most and would be a safe option. They make good equipment and have models for whatever size system you are dealing with.

 

[Outtahere]

APC is the brand we use at work and what I have at home. They make a good, reliable product.

 

[kathyet]

I use APC, with Power Suite Personal Edition that monitors the computer constantly. I have replaced the APC once. I have seen them at, Best Buy, Office Max, and Office Depot. I got ours from the computer people that built the computer. I think it was a few hundred dollars maybe less it has been a few years now and I can't remember what I paid for it I think they have a few different ones.

 

[TromboneAl]

I used APC for years. Worked fine, had to replace the batteries twice, but that is expected.

But my advice is: get a laptop.

 

[Goonie]

I used APC for years. Worked fine, had to replace the batteries twice, but that is expected.

But my advice is: get a laptop.

I've used APC and Tripp Lite UPS's. Both are good brands, and both have worked good for me.

With the DSL modem and the router plugged into the UPS, we can use our laptop to get online and check the status of power outages and also check the weather/radar. That relieves a bit of the household stress during stormy night.

Been thinking of getting another UPS to plug the satellite box into, so we can hook up the portable, battery-operated TV....so we don't miss any of that crap on "quality" TV.

 

[Brat]

We've had a UPC off a ship for years, replaced the battery once, love it. We regularly have power outages and drops in the winter, keep the computer system plugged into it.

We need to either replace it or the battery in it soon.

 

[MikeD]

I was an early (read expensive) user of UPSs. I had a Best brand (defunct) UPS for about 20 years. It finally stopped working but it was too late - I was addicted. I switched to an APC Back-UPS ES 750 for my computer stuff and am very happy with it. It was only about $85.00 including shipping. I found it by using Froogle.

I am thinking of getting a smaller one from APC for my TiVo so I don't miss shows and it doesn't get fried.

Mike D.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

One thing to look out for is being able to disable the "power out alarm". Most of these start shrieking when the power goes out, which pretty much sucks at 2am. A surprising number of them dont allow you to disable the feature for home/home theater use.

One APC model said it did, and had a dip switch for the function, but still shrieked until I got at it with a soldering gun and removed the beepers.

I have a couple of cyberpowers I got at staples with a bunch of coupons for a decent price. They all let you turn off the alarm, and they also have an internal logging feature that lets you hook up a laptop and see all the outages, overvolts, undervolts, etc by the past week, month and so forth. Many others have good logging, but some require that the PC be connected to it and running all the time to give you a detailed historical log.

Aside from those details, one that supports an undervoltage condition is very helpful for some electronics that get a little 'sick' below 110v but dont necessarily crap out. My old series one tivo's used to do weird stuff if they saw anything under 90 volts, but wouldnt reboot until the power went well below that.

 

[Insanity]

I used to work with computers (programmer/telecommunications) and have bought UPS systems for several different work sites and for home use. I wouldn't recomend off-brands: I've had too many problems with them. Stick with APC and Tripp-Lite.

Currently we have a laptop, a desktop, and my son has his own computer (for which he is responsible), and a LAN/telecommunocations panel where our cable modem, router and a network drive (for online backups) live. The laptop doesn't need a UPS; the LAN panel (in the garage) has a 350VA APC UPS, the desktop a 750VA UPS.

If you like to leave your desktop computer up and running you should look a UPS with a USB connection & software that will tell your computer that the power has failed and the batteries are low batteries, so please hybernate or shut down. If you generally sit at your computer when it is turned on you'll probably know the power has failed, and can turn the thing off yourself.

--Peter

 

[TromboneAl]

Most of these start shrieking when the power goes out, which pretty much sucks at 2am.

Glad I'm not the only one who notices this type of thing. I had a home alarm that did this, and it took a lot to convince the alarm company that I didn't need to be awakened for every momentary power loss.