Would Fitting A Ups , Be Of Any Advantage

[Mumbo Jumbo]

ive just moved into a new house out in the sticks , once or twice ive noticed the room lights flickering but not going off, So i put a volt meter on the supply and found the voltage is going up and down a few volts. asking around the village it seem's every house is getting the same thing and some say its caused by the power demand of a near by factory. now I am about ready to connect my computer to the power mains of the house, I am wondering if this voltage fluctations will effect my computer in any way..? and would fitting a UPS , be of any advantage, if its YES , could some one outline which type of UPS to install as Ive not got a clue ..?

.Thanks ............ Mumbo

[Tywais]

Absolutely should install a UPS. Last week with all the winds and rain the lights were flickering on and off regularly but my computer didn't skip a beat. Could hear it beeping and clicking and doing it's job to protect both my data and hardware.

I consider APC one of the best and for the average computer 500VA should be enough to protect your system. Price around 4000 Baht. Example here: http://www.shop4thai.com/en/product/?pid=7521

[francois]

hi'

in the situation you are it is required!!

I lived in Isaan where the electricity is far to be stable, use a ups for 2 reasons but the main one is that some ups(not all) have a voltage stabilizer and this is the most important, a stable voltage, electonics don't like electric fluctuation

you can get one with a stabilizer and let's say 5 to 10mn alive in case of power down, wich allow you to look for a candle and close everything properly or even on some lucky shot, you're about to shutdown and the power comes back, in anyway your computer is safe

some have a com linh to the computer, you may use this as you may know

the shape of batteries and power stuffs, look in control panel/display/properties/and sub menu ups.

francois

ps; it's quite cheap compared to the full price of your com

I do think that you may get one for a few thousand baths (avoid

Lemel name)

Edited April 5, 2006 by francois

[Tywais]

This is the technical data for the APC 500VA I mentioned above.

http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techsp...base_sku=BR500I

[britmaveric]

Yes grab one - electricity is rather dodgey and hate a spike to fry the old computer.

[monty]

Absolutely,

Had once a UPS blow up right in front of me when a lightning strike hit the powerlines right outside my door.

The poor UPS died on the spot but saved all my equipment behind it.

That same lightning blew my TV up, a fridge and lots of lightbulbs...

[JSixpack]

Absolutely should install a UPS. Last week with all the winds and rain the lights were flickering on and off regularly but my computer didn't skip a beat. Could hear it beeping and clicking and doing it's job to protect both my data and hardware.

I consider APC one of the best and for the average computer 500VA should be enough to protect your system. Price around 4000 Baht. Example here: http://www.shop4thai.com/en/product/?pid=7521

I heartily concur. My APC has saved my computer more times than I can count. I'm on my second battery too.

A good UPS is totally necessary. It's surprising how many users are too cheap to buy one. But I understand--I had to learn the hard way myself . It only took once . . . .

[Mumbo Jumbo]

Thanks to all for the info, going stright down the IT mall to get a UPS ...!!!

Thanks ................ MUMBO

[meadish_sweetball]

The UPS I bought seems to have malfunctioned during the storm as I now have issues with my main hard drive. Perhaps do some more research on exactly what type you need to get - both what brands are good (tywais suggestion sounds good) and what equipment you will be connecting to it. I am not sure whether I have connected too much stuff to mine, and this then caused the malfunctioning, or if I simply bought a crap brand (it's a MatriX) and should be spanked for not doing my home work.

Either way, shame about 250 GB of data.

[tjo o tjim]

While there is nothing wrong with installing a UPS (with voltage regulator), to answer the original question this graph shows what "acceptable" power fluctuations are for computer equipment.

The blue line is the current guideline (ITIC), and the red is the old one (CBEMA). You want your voltage to between the two blue lines.

Quick summary is that your computer can support a sustained over/under voltage of 15%, and sags/swells of 20% which last a few cycles up to a few seconds. No voltage can be tolerated for about 10ms. So, if you see your voltage is dropping down to 200V, technically it shouldn't be a problem for the equipment.

[John_Betong]

Hi All,

Any whizz-kids or gurus out there that could enlighten me if a UPS would solve the following problem.

Problem:

My mate's girlfriend plugged her Ipod into the computer's USB port and blew the motherboard. The motherboard was replaced and a month later it happened to my very careful, computer hardware/software literate mate!

Possible cause:

I reckon the problem is that the case is at neutral potential but it is not earthed. Nowhere in the apartment is there an earth point!

Possible solution, but don't try this at home:

Establish which is the neutral and run a wire from the neutral to a home-made earth. If on the off-chance the apartment/s has one of these new fangled earth leakage trip devices, would the imbalance cause the breaker to trip?

Cheers,

John_Betong

[astral]

Hi All,

Any whizz-kids or gurus out there that could enlighten me if a UPS would solve the following problem.

Problem:

My mate's girlfriend plugged her Ipod into the computer's USB port and blew the motherboard. The motherboard was replaced and a month later it happened to my very careful, computer hardware/software literate mate!

Possible cause:

I reckon the problem is that the case is at neutral potential but it is not earthed. Nowhere in the apartment is there an earth point!

Possible solution, but don't try this at home:

Establish which is the neutral and run a wire from the neutral to a home-made earth. If on the off-chance the apartment/s has one of these new fangled earth leakage trip devices, would the imbalance cause the breaker to trip?

Cheers,

John_Betong

I am not sure why a handheld device like an IPOD could fry the motherboard. Was it connected

to the mains as well?

You should NOT try connecting the Neutral wire to the Earth as they are not necessarily at the same

potential, particularly in Thailand. However earthing the case of any electrical device is

a good idea. You can create your own earth my hammering a metal stake into the ground

at a convenient location, then running a cable to the room where your computer is located.

If the computer case is at neutral, as you surmise, you will have to make sure you put the

mains plug in the right way round.

My Thai house is wired with an earth on all sockets. I would strongly recommend this to

anyone who has their own place.

[Wallalai]

ps; it's quite cheap compared to the full price of your com

I do think that you may get one for a few thousand baths (avoid

Lemel name)

Right, I bought one "ATLANTA 800VA" in Panthip Chiangmai for only 2400 bahts.

[Thaising]

Have anyone heard of this UPS brand " Legend " the prices for 800VA is 1,600 baht at Zeer Rangsit IT Centre. It this a good buy? Any good advise.

[tjo o tjim]

John-Betong--

Never heard of the iPod problem, but what could be happening is that you are holding the ipod, or it is sitting on something grounded, and you get current flow through the USB cable. You could try setting the computer and the iPod off the floor with styrofoam or mouse-pads.

What you really need is a ground, and the only safe way to create one is to put in a grounded isolation transformer. Make sure to plug your computer and any peripherals into the isolation transformer.

SOME UPS models have built-in isolation transformers, but they still need a ground point, which is usually assumed to be the incoming power line's ground pin.

The next problem is where the hel_l can you find "ground" in an apartment building...

[billd766]

My 4 year old UPS turned up its toes and died on me last week so I will have to get another one next time I go into the big city.

It was during some heavy rainstorms and it just died. However the power to the house didn't crash.

[Guest endure]

If you're going to buy a UPS make sure you get one with PC connectivity and monitoring software. Not only can you see what your power is doing but it will also shut your PC down properly if you have a power failure. APC supply the very good Powerchute with many of their models.

[sting01]

Hi All,

Any whizz-kids or gurus out there that could enlighten me if a UPS would solve the following problem.

Problem:

My mate's girlfriend plugged her Ipod into the computer's USB port and blew the motherboard. The motherboard was replaced and a month later it happened to my very careful, computer hardware/software literate mate!

Possible cause:

I reckon the problem is that the case is at neutral potential but it is not earthed. Nowhere in the apartment is there an earth point!

Possible solution, but don't try this at home:

Establish which is the neutral and run a wire from the neutral to a home-made earth. If on the off-chance the apartment/s has one of these new fangled earth leakage trip devices, would the imbalance cause the breaker to trip?

Cheers,

John_Betong

I STRONGLY ADVICE TO NOT DO THAT.

it's very dangerous , and it's misinterpretation of some industrial normes, not electrical laws.

Basically Neutral and ground are similar yes, in some transfo the neutral is create from the ground.

BUT, the potential is not the same, and I have nt see already much of differential disjonteur 30 mA in Thailand. So doing that, you will have a neutral with a potential, and a ground with another potential, so electric choc.

Now what you are saying, is a trick used in industrial maintenance in case of not possibility to stop a machine (like a press for aluminium).

In industrial, we consider any machine have 2 electrical powers : 1 for the work 380 V with huge A, one for the command that iscomparable to the home 220 v 15 A. If there is an electrical problem with the command, and if the electrical problem 'in fine' make the disjoncteur reset, then the trick is to disconnect the ground (obviously there is a potential difference btw the ground and the neutral), the using create a new ground from the neutral with a fuse (to make them seperate). the trick is 'acceptable' if you are least N2P3 (international qualification for the electrician meaning you are abilitate to work while electricty is working, and meaning also you have knowledge of electricity basis). It simply allow a production site to continue to run WHILE you are investigated the problem. You can not leave the site before to have found, fixed and reinstall a normal ground that allow protection for the personnal.

So please do not do that, it's trully dangerous and useless at home. Better to contact the local handyman, or better a competent professional than to play with something you are obviously numb wiht

Cheers