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| Why aren't computers designed to handle power failure? |
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| bd139:
Hahaha probably right. Buy it after all the stuff made on a Friday afternoon has blown up :-DD |
| tkamiya:
There was once a UNIX server computer that came with an UPS built-in. It was made by either NCR or AT&T, I don't remember. It was time when network scheme was proprietary. (no Ethernet) Unit was quite heavy but I thought it was quite innovative. Problem was, it was very hard to move, and very difficult to get to the battery. Pop-open door it was not! While I agree with OP that it would be nice. Perhaps super capacitor scheme or something to hold it up for 5 second or so. Personally, I'd like to have UPS external. Batteries die predictably, and I really don't want to take computers apart to deal with it. I have more than 10 running here. 2KVA external UPS works nicely. Easy maintenance. |
| John B:
--- Quote from: SilverSolder on June 14, 2020, 04:32:48 pm ---I have an ancient APC UPS (with a fresh battery!) under the desk, it is able to keep everything on the desk alive for about an hour after a power failure (i.e. the PC, test equipment, etc.). It can communicate with the PC so it can shut itself down safely. You could even write a program that shuts other things down safely, if the PC can be made to communicate with those things. --- End quote --- Not a SmartUPS 2200/3000XL or something perhaps? Here's inside the guts of a 2200XL aka "old faithful". The oldest date code in there is 2001. The current batteries in there are 9 years old! I'm only using it for very light duty stuff, and the frequency of running on the batteries is very low around here. It has a pure sine wave output, much cleaner than the grid. Between the 2 transformers, heatsinks, and the batteries, this thing weighs like 90lbs. Also have to be careful around those heatsinks, they're connected to the battery. Shorting out 55V at 100's of amps could get spicy. |
| SilverSolder:
--- Quote from: John B on June 21, 2020, 10:17:43 pm --- --- Quote from: SilverSolder on June 14, 2020, 04:32:48 pm ---I have an ancient APC UPS (with a fresh battery!) under the desk, it is able to keep everything on the desk alive for about an hour after a power failure (i.e. the PC, test equipment, etc.). It can communicate with the PC so it can shut itself down safely. You could even write a program that shuts other things down safely, if the PC can be made to communicate with those things. --- End quote --- Not a SmartUPS 2200/3000XL or something perhaps? Here's inside the guts of a 2200XL aka "old faithful". The oldest date code in there is 2001. The current batteries in there are 9 years old! I'm only using it for very light duty stuff, and the frequency of running on the batteries is very low around here. It has a pure sine wave output, much cleaner than the grid. Between the 2 transformers, heatsinks, and the batteries, this thing weighs like 90lbs. Also have to be careful around those heatsinks, they're connected to the battery. Shorting out 55V at 100's of amps could get spicy. --- End quote --- I have a baby one compared to yours, but it still weighs in at a noticeable 27lbs! I believe it is from the late 90's and looks like this (not the exact unit): Mine has a brand new battery... the old one died a quiet and dignified death! The unit is very strong and like yours, gives beautiful clean output. They don't mak'em like this etc.! :D The software for these units is hopelessly outdated, that's the only real issue with them. There is an open-source project that supports them with power-down daemons, but I haven't had a play with that yet (I did manage to find one of the special serial cables needed...). What software do you use, if any? |
| John B:
There's d-sub com port on the back, but I never even thought to try and connect it. I haven't needed to change any of the settings. From the documentation it just has the usual, like turn on and off delays, low battery shutdown %, sensitivity to mains voltage high or low conditions etc. I'm currently also refurbishing an eaton ex 2200, which is maybe 10 years old, and still it was difficult to track down the software. Haven't got it working yet. I get the feeling the moment that a UPS manufacturer moves to the next model, the old ones and all support are buried in tombs. I figure that the business models demand that they push out new models constantly. This is reinforced by the fact that all my UPS units are salvaged - they were all destined for the garbage dump. Companies and workplaces replace the batteries maybe once, then turf the whole unit even though nothing else is wrong with them. |
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