A/V Noise or Damage by UPS......? (1 Viewer)

[Vader]

Hi all,

Until recently, I had a 1050AV UPS running my HT. I was under the (wrong) impression that I was protecting it against "dirty power", but HTF Administrator Bob McElfresh peaked my curiosity and I did a little research (which I should have done in the first place). I found that what I thought I was protecting my equipment from was actually being caused by the UPS itself. I removed the UPS from my system immediately. However, I am concerned about any cumulative damage that the PWM sine wave or "trickle-charger" may have caused to the electronics. I think that the AC power, in what ever form it may take, is changed to DC power in the onboard power supply, so would any damage be done there? Since the voltages were correct, just the waveform was off, would this have just introduced noise, but no component damage? Thanks for any insight anyone can offer (so I can sleep well at night again... )

Peace... Derek

 

[Matt_Smi]

If you dont mind, I would like to ask are UPS's also bad for computers as well? I am trying to decide if I should get a UPS or decent surge protector for my computer.

 

[Vader]

Matt,

I have both of my computers on separate UPS systems, and have never had a problem with either. If fact, they have saved me a great deal of grief on several occations. Both of my UPS units were designed for PCs anyway, but my concern was using them for HT. There are UPS units out there specifically designed for AV, but mine do not fall into that category. For me, having UPS protection on both computers has paid for itself many times over. Most UPS units also have surge protection as well (but not in the same class as stand-alone surge protectors), so it really depends on the electrical environment you are in (ie. lost of power failures vs surges).

Peace... Derek