[vcf-midatlantic] [Off Topic] - Vintage computers and UPSes
Dave McGuire
mcguire at neurotica.com
Tue Aug 20 12:27:18 EDT 2019
On 8/20/19 12:23 PM, John Heritage via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> For longevity of vintage computers that are hooked up and powered on
> semi-frequently; I assume any kind of UPS is better than none to try to
> reduce power spikes, or reduce PSU fatigue from brownouts.
>
> I was curious what folks recommendations or thoughts are here? I have a
> couple of old (~ 15+ year) UPSes that i'm debating replacing the batteries
> on, and one of them would be for plugging in some vintage hardware.
That's not a bad idea; most UPSes have MOVs in them, and some have
decent line filters. Cheap consumer-grade ones typically don't, but
those should be in the garbage anyway.
A note about MOVs: I generally like MOVs, but they do have one evil
aspect: They fail silently, and you won't know that they're no longer
doing their jobs.
> Is there anything I should watch out for? Should I assume these are too
> old to effectively monitor/protect - or doesnt' that really matter? etc.
The UPSes? Many higher-end UPSes from even 20 years ago have serial
ports for monitoring.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
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