ostroff@Oswego.EDU (Boyd Ostroff) (06/13/90)
In article <19664.2670c5cf@oregon.uoregon.edu> slee@oregon.uoregon.edu writes: >I'm moving to a place that's pretty susceptible to summer thunder storms >and power outages. What's your learned opinion of uninteruptible power >systems (UPS)? I don't have one on my mac at this time, but have one on my AT&T 3B1 unix box. I definintely wouldn't run a unix machine without one (from experience). I live out in the "middle of nowhere" and have lots of power problems. Since I got my UPS I can keep my system up for months at a time without problems. They tend to be pretty pricey, Kensington for instance >sells them for $270-$950. I have a Tripp-Lite BC-325, which can handle 325 watts (should be enough for most macs). I paid $300 for it a year ago from Jameco, but if you want the best deal, pick up a copy of Computer Shopper Magazine and look through the ads - I've seen this model for ~$250 there. >What's the difference between brands and >sizes on these things? I'd suggest doing what I did. Fill out the "reader service card" from a computer magazine (like Byte) for all the companies which advertise these things. I ended up with tons of brochures and specs. I picked the Tripp-Lite for the cost vs. features ratio. The main differences are in the transfer time, the type of wave (square vs. synchronized steps) the battery capacity (amp-hours) and the wattage rating. Don't confuse the last two - the wattage rating just determines how big an inverter the unit has and how much load you can connect to it - it doesn't necessarily reflect on how long it will operate your computer. I doubt that transfer time will be a problem with the typical mac power supply. Actually the term "UPS" (uninterruptable power supply) is probably not accurate. Mine is technically called a BBS (battery backup system). This means that normally your computer is running of the AC line while the battery is trickle-charged. In the event of a power failure, power is transferred to the battery/inverter in a couple milliseconds. This is the most common setup; there are also full-time UPS'es which always power the computer off the battery/inverter. This requires a much beefier setup and is very expensive, but you don't have any transfer time problems and your power is always filtered with the battery as a buffer. >Any opinions, experiences, or references to >articles reviewing UPSs? Byte Magazine did a very good article on "PC Power Protection" about 2 years ago - sorry I don't have it handy. >I just want it for a single computer, so it >seems likely that the smallest model would be appropriate. True? Probably; depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you just want to protect against quick brownouts, or want to have a few minutes to do a shutdown during a blackout that should be fine. Just to give you an idea, my 3B1 is MC68010-based micro with 2 MB RAM, a 67MB miniscribe disk, fan, monitor and external 2400 baud modem - should be similar to a Mac II in its power requirements. I was very surprised to get 3 hours of backup time during a power outage recently. For a $300 UPS, I'm quite pleased! If you just have a Mac Plus or SE, a 200-watt model would probably be sufficient and might save you $50 or $60, but I'd go for the 300 watt unit anyway in case your needs change in the future.... >How >about the cheapest? Are they pretty much a generic good? Just like anything else, there are good ones and bad ones. Do a little research and take your best shot. Good luck! ||| Boyd Ostroff - Tech Director - Dept of Theatre - SUNY Oswego ||| Sys Admin - "The CallBoard" - (315) 947-6414 - 1200/2400 baud ||| ostroff@oswego.oswego.edu - cboard!ostroff@oswego.oswego.edu