Will@cup.portal.com (Will E Estes) (11/14/89)
Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day? Thanks, Will (sun!portal!cup.portal.com!Will)
j_parsons@csc32.enet.dec.com (11/14/89)
In article <24043@cup.portal.com>, Will@cup.portal.com (Will E Estes) writes... >Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day? > >Thanks, >Will (sun!portal!cup.portal.com!Will) I've run my 2000 on a 24x7 basis for the last 3 or 4 months; during that time I've powered the machine down maybe 3 times total. Of course, I do live in an area where the power is exceptionally stable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jack Parsons Digital Customer Support Center All Ryches Reserved! Colorado Springs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) (11/15/89)
in article <24043@cup.portal.com>, Will@cup.portal.com (Will E Estes) says: > Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day? Well, the one here in my office has been on almost constantly (occasionally powered down to add new toys) since around June of 1987. Never had any problems with it other than a bad hard disk a year or so ago. > Will (sun!portal!cup.portal.com!Will) -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Systems Engineering) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy Too much of everything is just enough
Classic_-_Concepts@cup.portal.com (11/15/89)
Can you use a 2000 24 hours a day?
I don't see why not. My 1000 has been running almost nonstop since the day
I got it (just been off to move and to update the operating system) which
is almost 4 years now.
Lots and lots of bulletin boards run on Amigas, Pee Cees, Apples, TRS-80s
and they are all on 24 hours a day, year after year.
The only real problem is in areas with hot climates and no air conditioning.
You might need an extra fan. Keep the screen off, or use POPCLI or a similar
screen saver, because a monitor should not be on 24 hours (you'll get
'burn in'). But the computer isn't a problem, as long as your fan keeps
ticking along. Oh, a GOOD quality surge protector is a good idea. The
more the computer is on, the more chance of it getting zapped by power
spikes and surges.
Julie (LadyHawke)magik@sorinc.PacBell.COM (Darrin A. Hyrup) (11/16/89)
In article <6113@shlump.nac.dec.com> j_parsons@csc32.enet.dec.com (Jack Parsons) writes: >In article <24043@cup.portal.com>, Will@cup.portal.com (Will E Estes) writes... >>Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day? >> >>Thanks, >>Will (sun!portal!cup.portal.com!Will) > >I've run my 2000 on a 24x7 basis for the last 3 or 4 months; during that time >I've powered the machine down maybe 3 times total. Of course, I do live in an >area where the power is exceptionally stable. I like Jack here have also been running my 2000 constantly for a good 6-7 months with no detrimental effects. Electrical Engineers tell us that it is always better to leave an electrical appliance on rather than turn it on and off constantly. Saves power, and wear and tear on the equipment. (A good percentage of the power consumption of an electrical device is during the power-up phase. This is why lights usually burn out when you turn them on, rather than burn out while they are going.) In any case, I haven't heard of any problems with this, and folks who run BBS's (myself included back in the old days), have been doing it for years. >Jack Parsons Darrin Hyrup -- Darrin A. Hyrup // AMIGA Enthusiast rencon!esfenn!dah magik@sorinc.PacBell.COM \X/ & Software Developer pacbell!sorinc!magik ========================================================================== "Speak little and well, if you wish to be considered as possessing merit."
drues@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu (Michael E. Drues) (11/16/89)
j_parsons@csc32.enet.dec.com writes: >>Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day? >I've run my 2000 on a 24x7 basis for the last 3 or 4 months; during that time >I've powered the machine down maybe 3 times total. Of course, I do live in an >area where the power is exceptionally stable. For that matter, anyone know about the A1000 being left on 24hr/day??? Mike +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Michael Drues | | \X/ Internet: drues@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu | | Bitnet: v2.med@isumvs.bitnet | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
MJB@cup.portal.com (Martin J Brown-Jr) (11/16/89)
Will,
Leave it on, electronics like a stable state and you avoid electric
surges when turning on. Just make sure you don't over heat it. As LadyH said,
a powersurge protector is a good idea. I've got a DataShield that not only
protects against surges, but also cuts off power, if it falls too low. This
is good when power is fluctuating (on the low side) up and down (or off and o
causing the computer to power up and down (as in brownouts and storms).
- MJB -
P.S. Jerry Pournelle had a recent article, where he wrote that a car accident
down the street shorted a power line and blew out every electronic device in
his hi-tech mansion that wasn't on a surge protector.gilham@csl.sri.com (Fred Gilham) (11/17/89)
drues@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu (Michael E. Drues) asks For that matter, anyone know about the A1000 being left on 24hr/day??? I leave my A1000 on for months at a time. -Fred Gilham gilham@csl.sri.com
dales@teksce.SCE.TEK.COM (Dale Snell) (11/17/89)
In article <1957@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu> drues@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu writes: |j_parsons@csc32.enet.dec.com writes: |>>Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day? | |>I've run my 2000 on a 24x7 basis for the last 3 or 4 months; during that time |>I've powered the machine down maybe 3 times total. Of course, I do live in an |>area where the power is exceptionally stable. | |For that matter, anyone know about the A1000 being left on 24hr/day??? || // Michael Drues | || \X/ Internet: drues@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu | || Bitnet: v2.med@isumvs.bitnet | The NAG (Northwest Amiga Group) BBS is run on an A1000. The board runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. So far as I know, the only times the board goes down is when it gets a power glitch, then it has to be restarted. Other than that, it works just fine. I don't think that there's a UPS or power conditioner for the BBS. However, such a thing would be a wise investment for anyone thinking about running any computer continuously. Especially if the power is noisy or unstable. (Like in the town I live in. The lights flicker daily. Does terrible things to computers, vcrs, etc.) --dds Big Whorls Have Little Whorls | Dale D. Snell BIX: ddsnell Which Feed On Their Velocity | UseNet: dales@teksce.SCE.TEK.COM And Little Whorls have Littler Whorls | CompuServe: 74756.666@compuserv.COM And So On To Viscosity. | Disclaimer: My opinions, not Tek's.
jg77@umd5.umd.edu (Rusty Haddock) (11/17/89)
In article <GILHAM.89Nov16092230@cassius.csl.sri.com> gilham@csl.sri.com (Fred Gilham) writes: >For that matter, anyone know about the A1000 being left on 24hr/day??? > >I leave my A1000 on for months at a time. And other than two moves and various electrical problems (thunderstorms, electric company messing with power, etc) and hardware tinkering/expansion my expanded A1000 has been on for almost continuously since the day I bought it --- FOUR YEARS AGO! I'm never had a problem with either it nor the Sony CDP1201 that sits on top of it nor my "old" Turbo Amiga from CSA. OK, enough of 'rn' for now. I gotta project that needs finishing. -Rusty-
okay@tafs.mitre.org (Okay, S J) (11/17/89)
None at all.....its the preferred method of existence for models with a hard
drive.
I keep my 2000 on 24 hrs a day with no probs at all...so does a guy down the
hall from me here. His 1000 never sleeps.
To put a finer point on it: I've had my 2000 since August and its only been
Physically shutdown for more than 10 minutes 3 times, and one of those was
because Hugo was passing through...
Hope this helps...
---Steve
--------------
Stephen Okay
OKAY@TAFS.MITRE.ORG
"Live a life you love, worship a god you trust,
and don't take it all so seriously..."--Love&Rockets
Disclaimer:I'm very greedy with my opinions, so nobody else has them...bmacintyre@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Blair MacIntyre) (11/17/89)
drues@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu writes: >j_parsons@csc32.enet.dec.com writes: >>>Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day? > >>I've run my 2000 on a 24x7 basis for the last 3 or 4 months; during that time >>I've powered the machine down maybe 3 times total. Of course, I do live in an >>area where the power is exceptionally stable. > >For that matter, anyone know about the A1000 being left on 24hr/day??? Sure do. I use mine as a terminal and leave it on all the time. I decided to start leaving it on when I got my new hard drive and ( due to numerous suggestions ) wanted to leave it on. Right now it has a LUCAS/FRANCES combo in it and has been on like that for 4 days. My only beefs with my system are: - I have a CDC Wren III drive, which is running hideously slow due to a non-DMA Controller ( Comspec A1000 ) I mean, we're talking a diskperf of 180K/sec as the biggest number diskperf spit out!!! ( with LUCAS/FRANCES, that went up into the 300ish range ) - my LUCAS/FRANCES only runs at 12MHz. Any electrically minded people have any suggestions? The symptoms are simple: at 16 or 20 Mhz, it give random GURUs after random ( in the range of 1-5 minutes ) amounts of time. At 12 MHz it's solid. Of course, if the A2024 will work with all this, I will be a happy camper when it comes out! ( remember, my main use is as a terminal ) -- -- Blair MacIntyre, Professional Leech on Society ( aka CS Graduate Student ) -- bmacintyre@{watcgl, watdragon, violet}.{waterloo.edu, UWaterloo.ca}
pa1158@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Viet Ho) (11/18/89)
The problem is, my roommate gets ticked off me leaving the
machine raytracing all nights of the week (he has a whimpy
A500---hey a servor!). He wished for a muffler for the hard
card. Is there such a thing?
There's also a problem with dust build
up on the floppy disk inserts. But hey, my machine has been
chugging along ever since last december. Anyone planning to
leave their Amy trace while away for the holidays?
-Vietplav@cup.portal.com (Rick M Plavnicky) (11/19/89)
drues@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu (Michael E. Drues) wrote:
% j_parsons@csc32.enet.dec.com writes:
% >>Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day?
%
% For that matter, anyone know about the A1000 being left on 24hr/day???
%
% Mike
I've had mine powered up almost constantly since I bought it back in '85
without a problem. In fact, I do that with all the computers I either
have now or have had in the past. The only one that I ever had any
related porblems with was an old Apple II Plus, which cooked two power
supplies during its lifetime. WRT the Amiga's power supplies, here's an
old note that Dave Haynie mailed me ages ago during a similar discussion.
Dave wrote:
DH> Just for reference, the A1000 supply generates something like 8Amps at
DH> +5V. The motherboard draws less than three, and they specify the
DH> expansion port at 1 amp, but it's really capable of more. I used to
DH> power a Los Gatos backplane card and the (very power hungry) A2052 on
DH> my A1000. Ran it like this for over a year, right up until the time I
DH> got my 2000. Also had a total of 1 meg installed in the thing. The
DH> +12V supply isn't quite as hefty, but it's just about as over-speced,
DH> percentage wise (can't recall just how much juice, but unless you're
DH> hooking up a 5.25" hard disk or something, don't worry). And when you
DH> think about it, have you EVER heard of anyone having an A1000 power
DH> supply problem? I suspect it might have happened somewhere, but I have
DH> yet to hear of such a problem. A2000s generally have more than enough
DH> power, since most folks don't even come close to loading up their 20
DH> Amps @ +5VDC and 8 Amps @ +12VDC. The A500 -- well, 2 out of 3 ain't
DH> bad...
DH>
DH> -Dave
Rick Plavnicky
{...}!sun!cup.portal.com!plav
"I've got a bunch of bananas, and a bottle of bleach..."gmd@ubbs-nh.MV.COM (George MacDonald) (11/20/89)
In article <24043@cup.portal.com> Will@cup.portal.com (Will E Estes) writes: >Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day? > My 2500 has been running almost constantly since since Jan 6th 1989. I shut it down, to install a hard drive once and occasionally when storms are in the area. The only problems I can forsee is the amount of dust that gets sucked into the thing over time, makes an awful expensive air filter 8-).
bdb@becker.UUCP (Bruce Becker) (11/21/89)
In article <8911152235.AA07854@sorinc.PacBell.COM> magik@sorinc.PacBell.COM (Darrin A. Hyrup) writes: |[...] |I like Jack here have also been running my 2000 constantly for a good 6-7 |months with no detrimental effects. Electrical Engineers tell us that it is |always better to leave an electrical appliance on rather than turn it on |and off constantly. Saves power, and wear and tear on the equipment. (A |good percentage of the power consumption of an electrical device is during |the power-up phase. This is why lights usually burn out when you turn them |on, rather than burn out while they are going.) Although the advice about wear and tear is OK as far as it goes, I really must object to the explanation given in the example. The reason a light bulb burns out when you turn it on is due to the fact that Tungsten has a high positive coefficient of electrical resistance with respect to temperature. When the lamp filament is cold, it has a very low resistance, so many more electrons per second rush through it, producing a surge which, when the filament is weakened from much use, will eventually zap it. Power supplies for electronic devices also exhibit a current surge on startup due to the need to charge up the smoothing capacitors on the output. Switching power supplies are much less susceptible to this surge due to the smaller size of the filter required, but they are more susceptible to voltage transients on the AC line, which might or might not be associated with startup. Cheers, -- ^^ Bruce Becker Toronto, Ont. w \**/ Internet: bdb@becker.UUCP, bruce@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu `/v/-e BitNet: BECKER@HUMBER.BITNET _/ >_ Ceci n'est pas une | - Rene Macwrite
filbo@gorn.santa-cruz.ca.us (Bela Lubkin) (11/22/89)
In article <24043@cup.portal.com>, Will@cup.portal.com (Will E Estes) writes... >Are there any problems with leaving an Amiga 2000 on 24 hours a day? Just to add another data point: my A1000 has been on over 90% of the time -- probably over 99% -- since October 1985. This includes many periods of up to 6 months where it was never turned off even once. I use a cheap hardware-store type power strip that pretends to include a surge suppressor. I've had the machine chug right on through brownouts strong enough to cause the monitor to wink out and back on. It's an open question whether this has any relavance at all to A>2000<s (or A500s, for that matter)... Bela Lubkin santa-cruz.ca.us CI$: 73047,1112 (slow) @ * * // belal@sco.com ..ucbvax!ucscc!{gorn!filbo,sco!belal} R Pentomino * \X/ Filbo @ Pyrzqxgl +408-476-4633 and XBBS +408-476-4945
magik@sorinc.PacBell.COM (Darrin A. Hyrup) (11/25/89)
In article <1149@becker.UUCP> bdb@becker.UUCP (Bruce Becker) writes: >In article <8911152235.AA07854@sorinc.PacBell.COM> magik@sorinc.PacBell.COM (Darrin A. Hyrup) writes: >|[...] >|the power-up phase. This is why lights usually burn out when you turn them >|on, rather than burn out while they are going.) > > Although the advice about wear and tear is OK > as far as it goes, I really must object to the > explanation given in the example. The reason > a light bulb burns out when you turn it on is > due to the fact that Tungsten has a high positive > coefficient of electrical resistance with respect > to temperature. When the lamp filament is cold, > it has a very low resistance, so many more electrons > per second rush through it, producing a surge > which, when the filament is weakened from much use, > will eventually zap it. Sorry about that. It sounds like you are much more knowledgeable in this subject than I. The analogy given was the one given to me in first year electronics in school years ago, and although I know there is more to it than the simple definition I gave, it does help to illustrate the principle of current surge leading to possible equipment failure even if it isn't exactly correct. > Power supplies for electronic devices also exhibit > a current surge on startup due to the need to > charge up the smoothing capacitors on the output. > Switching power supplies are much less susceptible > to this surge due to the smaller size of the filter > required, but they are more susceptible to voltage > transients on the AC line, which might or might not > be associated with startup. Also very true. Its always best to run an AC regulator on the computer's power anyway to help protect against power fluctuations. In most cases they are pricey, but I have seen surge suppressors that include voltage regulators as well, which would make a good investment for computer owners. >Cheers, > ^^ Bruce Becker Toronto, Ont. Again, sorry for the misleading analogy. -- Darrin A. Hyrup // AMIGA Enthusiast rencon!esfenn!dah magik@sorinc.PacBell.COM \X/ & Software Developer pacbell!sorinc!magik ========================================================================== "Speak little and well, if you wish to be considered as possessing merit."