?cheap backup for brief power outages?

[jah732]

Soory if this is a duplicate post, I was having trouble submitting.

I need some advice about a cheap way to deal with numerous but brief power outages. The power in my community is less than stable and I often come home to a blinking VCR where all my programming has been erased by a millisecond power outage. The outages are never long, and I dont really need to be able to watch TV or listen to the stereo during a longer power failure.

I have considered getting a UPS, but I heard computer ones are not good near AV equipment (??too loud or cause intereference or other usch problems??). I do NOT want to spend big bucks (i.e. >$200) for an audiophile quality power conditioner/UPS like the APC S15. My AV system is not really expensive, and I already have reasonable surge protectors for my home theatre/cable/telephone lines/stereo system/computer/etc.

Are there any relatively cheap alternatives that I can put near my stereo that will not cause interference? Are there UPS systems that are not expensive but will work near AV equipment without causing trouble? I've read some suggestions for refurbished APC SmartPower 700s that indicate this might work but I am have not heard enough consensus on that matter.

I am not a true audiophile, so as long as the alternative does not really mess up the sound from my stereo or hugely diminish the output of the receiver, I would be satisfied. I don't actually need to plug the receiver, CD player, tape desk, turntable, etc into the backup. I only need to plug in things like my VCR, DVD recorder (not yet purchased but I thinking of a Panny DMR-E95H), etc. that have programming that is lost each time the power goes out. It needs only to give a few seconds backup, and because I heard you are not supposed to plug a UPS into a surge protector, (though I am unsure why that should be so), it would need to provide some sort of surge protection -- I don't care if my VCR gets fried, but I expect my DVD-recorder to be somewhat pricey.

Am I doomed to having to re-program my VCR and DVD-recorder every week or two if I don't want to pay big bucks for an audiophile quality power conditioner? What are my alternatives?

Thaks for any insight

 

[WndrBr3d]

Well, your biggest problem is going to be powering your equipment.

What you should do is get an amperage meter and measure the current draw on your home theatre to get a good estimate on what kind of UPS you'll need.

Using Watts = Volts * Amps you can calculate how much power your home theatre draws.

Unfortunately, what you'll find is that your receiver draws ~500w -> 900w during normal use alone! This means your standard home theatre will draw over 1,200 watts during operation (with monitor, receiver, DVD, everything powered).

The type of UPS you'd need to handle this load would be anything >= 1500VA. An example of this level of UPS would be the APC Smart-UPS XL 1500VA 120v Rack mount/Tower, which would unfortunately cost you over $1,000.

This is the reason you normally don't see UPS units on Home Theatre systems. The best you can do is spend some money on decent power conditioning and surge protection and hope for the best.

 

[JohnA]

The Tripp Lite HT1500UPS

http://www.tripplite.com/products/product.cfm?productID=2802

This should work for you just fine, I have one for my HTPC and Tivo unit, works great. if you buy one just make sure it is from an authorized dealer. There are tons of places that are low balling it but are not authorized.

Use this link to find a dealer:

http://www.tripplite.com/wheretobuy/index.cfm

Hope that helps

 

[MBauer]

Ups

Unless you purchased a very cheaply made and poorly designed UPS you shouldn't have any difficulty with one designed for a computer. How do I know this? Well I use an APC 725 on my HT setup. I have 3 in all, for my computers and my HT. I have a backup generator so in the short time I have to have uninterrupted power for these circuits the UPS will do fine. Without the generator they would last about 25 minutes or so. I have my 2 Set top boxes (both with DVR's) and my Sony RPTV on the UPS side. They units (and others) also have the advantage of offering surge protection.

If you are getting your advice against a computer UPS from a salesperson ask them their qualifications and/or source(s) of information. It will most likely be hearsay or the advice from a company that sells very expensive UPS "designed" for HT use.

 

[WndrBr3d]

It will most likely be hearsay or the advice from a company that sells very expensive UPS "designed" for HT use.

To say all UPS' are created equally would be a false statement.

Most consumer grade UPS' simulate an AC current by using a inverter to generate a square sine wave from the DC source. This is why you cannot plug one UPS into another.

High End UPS systems and 'Audiophile' grade UPS systems have added components to create a MSW (modified sine wave) which is a sort of "octagonal wave", thus "smoothing" the rise and fall of the sine wave and creating a signal that is more closely resembling a true AC sine wave.

Although I agree a lot of "High End" UPS', or items you'd find in consumer stores are all the same, not all audiophile UPS units are snake oil.