[vcf-midatlantic] [Off Topic] - Vintage computers and UPSes

[Sentrytv]

Personally I just leave the devices unplugged from the AC power until I'm ready to use them.
Then I have no worries about power spikes or even lightning strikes.

But if you must leave them on constant power, then yes a UPS would be a very good idea.
But before plugging anything of value into the UPS, hook up a load to capacity of the UPS to see how long it lasts on battery and if the batteries are still good.
 Of course you could do a battery test from the UPS menu as well.

Mike R.

Sent from:
My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

> On Aug 20, 2019, at 12:27 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
> 
>> 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