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Why I have a backup power supply

1726 Views 23 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  rexa, 
phrelin
I know that not everyone has a backup power supply on their ViP system. But I really can't overstate what one can save in grief. This morning I was transferring about 5 hours of programming to my external hard drive when about half way through the process we had a 2 second power outage. I can't image what a mess I would have had if both the 722 and the EHD were not on a backup power supply.
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phrelin said:
I know that not everyone has a backup power supply on their ViP system. But I really can't overstate what one can save in grief. This morning I was transferring about 5 hours of programming to my external hard drive when about half way through the process we had a 2 second power outage. I can't image what a mess I would have had if both the 722 and the EHD were not on a backup power supply.
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Ditto. I have a UPS on each of my Vip622's. I also have all of my high end electronics on UPS. Brownout = No problem :)
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J
I have UPS's on both my receivers (with their respective EHDs), my TV (Rear Projection), my PS3 (Hard Drive in it) and my server and workstation (the power injector for the DPP44 is in the same room as the server so it's also backed up). I can technically keep watching TV for several minutes if the power goes out. :)

If someone wants a cheap way to get into it, Costco has (or had last time I was in) some 500VA units for like $40. It's not very powerful but if you only have your receiver on it that should be fine for a short power-outage.

The only downside to UPS/PowerSurge equipment is that they usually interfere with DishComm functionality, but I don't use it so it wasn't an issue for me. The benefits definately outway that one problem IMHO. :)
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R
Yeah, I put my 722 and 622(along with their respective TV's) on the $50 UPS' you can get from SAM's or Costco. I have my computer and server on a more expensive unit, but my rule of thumb is anything over ~$500 or that has a hard disk in it gets a UPS. For 10% of the cost, it's just worth it. I first started doing that a few years ago when we had an ice storm and the power kept blipping every 5 minutes for a good hour or so. I didn't care too much at the time because I had a Charter box and I really didn't care if it zapped that box. But now that I have boxes I actually own and my TV's are all HD big screen's, I can't see how I didn't do it sooner.
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S
My 625 with TV preamp, distribution device , primary desktop, and all internet network gear are all on UPS power. The wife uses laptops so she's covered.
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M
AMEN!!! The best thing I ever did was getting an API UPS when I got a 622 to replace a long line of 921's & a 942. My power service is crappy, we get those 1 second flash outs about once a week. Those brownouts/blackouts can't be good for any DVR (let alone the rest of AV gear and my appliances).
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J
When you go to install a new one or add equipment to an existing UPS just make sure you test it out to make sure it can hold it all up. It won't do any good if it craps out because you have too much stuff plugged into it. :)
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phrelin
JackDobiash said:
When you go to install a new one or add equipment to an existing UPS just make sure you test it out to make sure it can hold it all up. It won't do any good if it craps out because you have too much stuff plugged into it. :)
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Actually, I have two on my "theater" system, one "large one" for the two Dish boxes and one smaller one for the rest of the system. Gives me time to shut down everything in a power outage, but still leaves the Dish equipment running to give me time to get my generator running. We have alot of outages over 30 minutes. Most of the day it doesn't matter, but during prime time, have to get those recordings done!:sure:
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H
So what size would you recommend if you just wanted to hold the DVR up?
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S
I've got like a 300 VA and it holds for 30 minutes, load or no-load. Bigger will usually get you more time. How much do you want to spend ? I got mine mostly for the rare but still annoying dropouts blips, since it takes 5 minutes for the thing to reboot.
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phrelin said:
Actually, I have two on my "theater" system, one "large one" for the two Dish boxes and one smaller one for the rest of the system. Gives me time to shut down everything in a power outage, but still leaves the Dish equipment running to give me time to get my generator running. We have alot of outages over 30 minutes. Most of the day it doesn't matter, but during prime time, have to get those recordings done!:sure:
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Nice :)

BTW, for anyone wondering, when I say 'test' it out, for some UPSs that means actually just pulling the plug on it and making sure it holds the equipment up for more than 3 seconds. The more expensive units may even have a test button on them which will effectively do the same without having to unplug it.
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G
After getting power outages that would kill my 622 for up to 10 minutes with re downloading info I finally bought a UPS. Mine has the 622, 42" plasma, EHD, stereo and DVD players all plugged into it. I can continue watching TV for maybe 15 minutes with no power but it will keep the 622 alone going for a very long time and this way I won't lose any recordings. It is one of the best investments I made, plus it keeps the power supply clean to the electronics. I plan on adding a second to just put the TV and 622 on. Mine is a 2000VA FWIW
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JackDobiash said:
Nice :)

BTW, for anyone wondering, when I say 'test' it out, for some UPSs that means actually just pulling the plug on it and making sure it holds the equipment up for more than 3 seconds. The more expensive units may even have a test button on them which will effectively do the same without having to unplug it.
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Pulling the plug to test your UPS is actually not a very good idea. By pulling the plug you've destroyed the ground reference for the equipment - bad for any electronics! It can also create a shock hazard.
The best way to test is to throw the circuit breaker, or if the UPS is not on an isolated circuit, have a GFI installed. Push the test button to cut power.

Just a friendly public service announcement!
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J
bheil said:
Pulling the plug to test your UPS is actually not a very good idea. By pulling the plug you've destroyed the ground reference for the equipment - bad for any electronics! It can also create a shock hazard.
The best way to test is to throw the circuit breaker, or if the UPS is not on an isolated circuit, have a GFI installed. Push the test button to cut power.

Just a friendly public service announcement!
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Cool, thx for the tip :)
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E
The big problem I have with UPS' is that they all beep when the power goes out. So, I'm upstairs sleeping and their is a half hour brownout and every bleeding UPS in the house starts beeping. Drives me insane!
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phrelin
E91 said:
The big problem I have with UPS' is that they all beep when the power goes out. So, I'm upstairs sleeping and their is a half hour brownout and every bleeding UPS in the house starts beeping. Drives me insane!
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That is a problem. But at least you can get up and reset the clocks.:sure:
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James Long
E91 said:
The big problem I have with UPS' is that they all beep when the power goes out. So, I'm upstairs sleeping and their is a half hour brownout and every bleeding UPS in the house starts beeping. Drives me insane!
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You may be able to disable the alarm on the UPSs. Some alarms can be disabled with a dip switch ... other UPSs require connecting to a PC to have the alarm disabled.
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James Long said:
You may be able to disable the alarm on the UPSs. Some alarms can be disabled with a dip switch ... other UPSs require connecting to a PC to have the alarm disabled.
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After I wrote that, I did a google search on the issue. Apparently, the new APC UPS' allow you to do this via software. So, I just ordered one on Amazon.com.
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H
Thought I'd dredge this one up again.

OK, so Santa brought me a shiny new UPS for Christmas. Of course, the thing is made for holding computer equipment up, not DVRs, flat screens, and storage drives. So is it recommended that I set up the user configurations using a laptop and the supplied software, or just plug it in and go? Ordinarily, this UPS signals the PC to power down in an orderly fashion after a given amount of time. I guess I'm looking for setup recommendations when using it with the the DVR. Also I'm planning on putting the monitor behind the UPS as well to protect it from line voltage anomolies caused by noise, and lightning. Do you guys do the same thing?
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rdopso
Hardin Thicke said:
Thought I'd dredge this one up again.

OK, so Santa brought me a shiny new UPS for Christmas. Of course, the thing is made for holding computer equipment up, not DVRs, flat screens, and storage drives. So is it recommended that I set up the user configurations using a laptop and the supplied software, or just plug it in and go? Ordinarily, this UPS signals the PC to power down in an orderly fashion after a given amount of time. I guess I'm looking for setup recommendations when using it with the the DVR. Also I'm planning on putting the monitor behind the UPS as well to protect it from line voltage anomolies caused by noise, and lightning. Do you guys do the same thing?
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Simply plug in the UPS and do not configure it with a computer for a home theater or a DVR system. It will not work when setup with a computer because the operating systems of the computer and DVR are different. I actually have all my individual home theater compontents plugged into their own 1000 watt UPS to maximize battery backup time for each. That may be a bit of over kill, but all my individual home theater components are rather expensive -- and all are of course very sensitive to power surges common when power comes back on or when lightning strikes near by. Large screen TVs and high power A/V receivers take a lot of power and will drain a UPS pretty quickly -- DVRs much less so. One should quickly turn off these components (but not the DVR) when anything other that a very short power outage occures -- this is especially important for large-screen TVs with halogen bulbs because those very hot bulbs must go through a cool down cycle otherwise they can be damaged so you don't want to cut power to the TV before the built-in cool down cycle is complete.
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