doug@wiley.UUCP (Doug Rudoff) (03/16/89)
I have a problem in my apartment with my lights dimming (meaning a
voltage drop) when ever I use a high-wattage appliance. How will a Mac
respond to this? What about a hard disk? If there are problems, any
easy solutions? Right now I'm thinking of buying a used Mac Plus.
I'd prefer replies by e-mail, if possible.
Thanks.
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Doug RUDOFF TRW Inc, Redondo Beach, CA {cit-vax,uunet}!wiley!doug
H: (213) 318-9218 W: (213) 812-2768 wiley!doug@csvax.caltech.edu
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall) (03/16/89)
In article <4240@wiley.UUCP> doug@.UUCP () writes: >I have a problem in my apartment with my lights dimming (meaning a >voltage drop) when ever I use a high-wattage appliance. How will a Mac >respond to this? What about a hard disk? If there are problems, any >easy solutions? Right now I'm thinking of buying a used Mac Plus. > The SE responds to dips in power pretty doggone well. Last week I had a sudden (momentary) brown-out during an ice storm that cycled my stereo, television, alarm clock, VCR and about everything else around. But I guess my Mac can run on its capacitors for a few tenths of a second ... -- v v sssss|| joseph hall || 201-1D Hampton Lee Court v v s s || jnh@ece-csc.ncsu.edu (Internet) || Cary, NC 27511 v sss || the opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of my -----------|| employer, north carolina state university . . . . . . . . . . .
ostroff@oswego.Oswego.EDU (Boyd Ostroff) (03/17/89)
In article <3960@ece-csc.UUCP> jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall) writes: >In article <4240@wiley.UUCP> doug@.UUCP () writes: >>I have a problem in my apartment with my lights dimming (meaning a >>voltage drop) when ever I use a high-wattage appliance. How will a Mac >>respond to this? >> >The SE responds to dips in power pretty doggone well. Last week I had >a sudden (momentary) brown-out during an ice storm that cycled my stereo, >television, alarm clock, VCR and about everything else around. But I guess >my Mac can run on its capacitors for a few tenths of a second ... > I have had similar experiences. I live in a *very* rural area, and weekly (or even daily) power outages, brown outs, etc. are the rule. I often find the same things happening - the VCR, clock and my AT&T 3B1 all get zapped, but my Mac 512E cruises right through it, as does my (old) Apple HD-20. Even when I do have a blackout, for the last three years the hard disk has always come back up ok after a bit of "thinking". I used to have similar problems with lights (and the Mac) "dimming" when the air conditioner, furnace or water pump cut in. I ran a separate circuit to the breaker panel *just* for the computer. This cured the in-house voltage drop problem, and now I have a circuit which I'm sure is properly grounded too, which can be a problem in an old house like mine. If this is possible, I'd strongly urge you to do the same for protection from spikes and voltage drops. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: Boyd Ostroff, Technical Director :::::: System Operator, "The CallBoard" ::: :::: Dept of Theatre, SUNY Oswego ::::::: (315) 947-6414 300/1200/2400 baud ::: ::::: ostroff@oswego.Oswego.EDU :::::::: rutgers!sunybcs!oswego!cboard!sysop :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
tvsnsr@nmtsun.nmt.edu (Todd Vogelei) (03/17/89)
In article <1154@oswego.Oswego.EDU> ostroff@oswego.oswego.edu.Oswego.EDU (Boyd Ostroff) writes: )In article <3960@ece-csc.UUCP) jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall) writes: ))In article <4240@wiley.UUCP) doug@.UUCP () writes: )))I have a problem in my apartment with my lights dimming (meaning a )))voltage drop) when ever I use a high-wattage appliance. How will a Mac )))respond to this? ))) Stuff Removed )the air conditioner, furnace or water pump cut in. I ran a separate circuit )to the breaker panel *just* for the computer. This cured the in-house )voltage drop problem, and now I have a circuit which I'm sure is properly )grounded too, which can be a problem in an old house like mine. If this )is possible, I'd strongly urge you to do the same for protection from spikes )and voltage drops. ) Yep, my macII went poof the other day (just like a burned out litebulb in mid-post) I took it to my local computerland store--They replaced the power supply and main logic board (next day service, no hassle, very cool). My mac had 4 days left on the warranty. Cost if I had to pay for it? Around $450.00. Personally I suspect the local coop of feeding it too much electricity. I got a big surge protector now. Todd Vogelei
koenig@tdb.uu.se (Karl-K|nig K|nigsson) (03/17/89)
In article <4240@wiley.UUCP>, doug@wiley.UUCP (Doug Rudoff) writes: > I have a problem in my apartment with my lights dimming (meaning a > voltage drop) when ever I use a high-wattage appliance. How will a Mac > respond to this? What about a hard disk? If there are problems, any > easy solutions? Right now I'm thinking of buying a used Mac Plus. > During my christmas vacation last year, my father brought his Mac home. One night the lightning struck, and two (or one and a half: it came and went) phazees of the AC went. This made some lights totally gone; some came and went; and still some were changing from dimmed to very dimmed and back again. The Mac was connected to an outlet of the last kind and worked properly until the power eventually went for good. During these surges it accessed the disk and doing things in general (i.e. playing continuum - great game) without any problems. This story might probably be of little or no use to you since your power supply differs remarkably from mine (we have 220V/50Hz) but it shows what a great machine the Mac is and might be of some interest to others... ;-) Your last question concerning hard disks is harder to answer since I have none of the kind. Maybe somebody else might help? Karl-K|nig K|nigsson -- +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Home: S:t Johannesg. 19 |Email:(internet) Koenig@tdb.uu.se | | S-752 25 UPPSALA | (internet) Syskoenig@kemist.uu.se| | SWEDEN |Voice: +46 - (0)18 - 13 55 66| +------------------------------+---------------------------------------+ |"Why stop now, just when I'm hating it" -- Marvin the Paranoid Android| +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
kucharsk@uts.amdahl.com (William Kucharski) (03/18/89)
If I remember correctly, the power supply on a Mac is designed to work
on anything down to 90VAC, 50/60hz, so I don't believe momentary drops in
line voltage are any _real_ problem with the Mac...
--
William Kucharski
ARPA: kucharsk@uts.amdahl.com
UUCP: ...!{ames,decwrl,sun,uunet}!amdahl!kucharsk
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are my own, and may not agree with
those of any other sentient being, not to mention those of my
employer. So there.folta@tove.umd.edu (Wayne Folta) (03/18/89)
I was surprised when we had some power drops hit my house: my modem recycled itself, but the Mac SE kept going. I have been saving for an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)--which has zero switching time--as I have been told that switching time would kill a computer, but maybe a less expensive backup power supply--with a small switching time--would suffice? Wayne Folta (folta@tove.umd.edu 128.8.128.42)
pepke@loligo.uucp (Eric Pepke) (03/21/89)
My mailer is messed up, so I have to post, not reply. There are no guarantees, of course, but here is an anecdote. I used to have a 512K which I used in a house that had very poor power and frequent brown outs. There was once an interruption in power that made all the lights shut off for a moment and caused my Imagewriter I to reset. The Mac, which was doing a write to floppy at the time, did not bat an eyelash. IMHO even the older Macintoshes are very good about tolerating bad power. The SE and later have even better power supplies. Eric Pepke (pepke@gw.scri.fsu.edu) Supercomputer Computations Research Institute Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052 Disclaimer: My employers seldom even LISTEN to my opinions. Meta-disclaimer: Any society that needs disclaimers has too many lawyers.
twakeman@hpcea.CE.HP.COM (Teriann Wakeman) (03/21/89)
I operated my Mac during a dark & stormy night that had repeated light dimmings until I came to my senses and shut down realzing the size of the spikes that could come down the line as a result of lightning. But during the hour or so I had it running while the lights were flickering, The Mac performed flawlessly. Where I kept running into problems was feet kicking the power cord disconnecting power. I picked up a $<400 uninteruptable power supply & have felt good ever since. Right after I got it, I pulled the plug a couple of times to make sure this new fangled thing would work, And low & behold it did!! Protection? It seems anything has surge protection. My power goes through a surge protected uninteruptable power supply, then through a surge protected switch box, then through the surge protection in the external cooling fan, then through the surge protection that Apple built into the Mac. What me worry?? Not when I have an uninteruptable power supply, 4 series connected surge protectors, and a turn of the century Aladin student kerosine lamp sitting next to my Mac to illuminate the keyboard!! TeriAnn