Power conditioner vs UPS for brownouts, power surges and line noise

[dylanmitchell]

For brownouts, power surges, and line noise what will offer the most protection for a modem and router? Looking at the Tripp Lite LC1200 vs Furman AC-215 vs UPS back up like Tripp Lite line-interactive SMART1500LCDT. Know LC1200 and AC215A don't have back up power, I'm mainly interested in protecting from dirty power and also, don't like that 1500LCDT isn't true sine wave. Like to stay under $200, power conditioner and line-interactive UPS are affordable. Stepping up to online double conversion UPS like SU750XL starts at $500.

Equipment I want to protect. I use Isobar and Furman for other devices but the modem and mounter want very clean power.

Arris SB8200 Modem

AC Input : 120 VAC 60Hz
DC Output : 12vDC 2.0 A

ASUS AX88U Router 12vDc

AC Input : 120 VAC 60Hz
DC Output : 19 vDC 2.37 A

[David Hess]

If they both run on 12 volts DC, which seems to be the case, then a 12 volt output uninterrupted power supply (DC UPS) is the least expensive effective option:

https://www.amazon.com/DC-UPS/s?k=DC+UPS

I have an older Belkin one which uses a standard 12 volt 7 amp-hour lead-acid battery and they are commonly found on Ebay used:

https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-BATTERY-BACKUP-REVISION-BU3DC001-12V/dp/B004RRFY5I

[jfiresto]

If you have severe line noise and critical equipment to protect, a constant voltage transformer, like this one, will make anything else look fragile - if you can live with its heat and noise, which is probably why few think of them these days.

[innkeeper]

it really depends on your use case ...

if it is mission-critical, then an online ups is the only way to go. however, it is a failure point in and of itself.

if your looking to get over the occasional sag and line noise then a CVT - constant voltage transformer is a good choice. this is what is used in many "line conditioners" you can use them in conjunction with an offline ups, but do not place these after a ups.

for power loss, i find though, in most cases, the use of standby ups that will trip in brownouts are more than capable. most modern electronics can sustain most line noise and the switchover time of standby ups and many small ones include some lightning protection.

i find though that there's no point in putting ups on the cable modem and router because if you lose power locally you also usually lose your cable connection as the equipment down the line uses the same power..  might be worth it if you want to keep your local network up until the standby power kicks in for example.

a note about dirty power, in most cases the power supply used in modern electronics will absorb most dirty power conditions. remember it goes either through a transformer or a switching supply and then filtered. if it's a switching supply many have a very wide voltage range and will handle brownouts pretty well even.

this is also why modified sine wave ups's are fine for most electronics, they simply don't need that pure sign wave to work.

sometimes there are solutions chasing a problem, so just don't get caught up in that is all I am cautioning about.