# How do you "protect" your equipment?



## Garlu (Jun 14, 2010)

Hi everybody,

I have just moved to LA. I found an apartment that I thought I could be nice to work on, and I have to start thinking on putting my home studio together here. 

Well, I was wondering... how do you protect your systems from energy issues? I have heard they are some type of "batteries", that you plug your stuff in, and if the energy drops, you have like 5-10 min to save everything and you make sure the equiptment is not damaged. I have seen other ones that are "energy saver"...

I am kind of confused... and also, being from a non english speaking country, ir doesn´t help at all! Sorry for my english!

Hope you could help me out. What are you using in your studios?

Thanks,

Garlu.


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## wst3 (Jun 14, 2010)

you need to worry about a couple of things - 

1) Loss of power - this is when you get that 15 minute window to close everything down gracefully, save files, etc. The only way to accomplish this is via an Uninterpretable Power Source (UPS). It is, more-or-less, a battery, an inverter, and a battery charger. How they are arranged can make a big difference! If you get one (and you should), and you plan to have any audio gear connected to it, then get one that puts out a sine wave or something very close to a sine wave. Many UPS devices are designed to power computers, and they do emit quit a bit of noise. Avoid them!

2) Surges, spikes, and other power line problems - these sorts of issues can damage equipment, or create noise problems, or both. To avoid these you need filters. The most common form is a Metal Oxide Varistor, you'll find these in all the inexpensive power strip surge protectors. The problem with these is that when they fail they can cause real damage to your equipment!

I seldom name names, but in this case I'll make an exception. Until recently the only product I trusted was SurgeX. Recently Middle Atlantic Products has come out with a line of power protection devices, and they look interesting. Juice Goose is another one that has brought out new designs recently. All deserve at least a look.

Ironically, you could let the UPS act as the protective device - it's nothing more than a huge capacitor really, but that's a pretty expensive device to sacrifice.

Talk to a trustworthy local system integrator or designer for more details and some suggestions.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jun 14, 2010)

The UPS should offer some protection against surges too, but what equipment do you have?

I have a UPS for my main computer and an isolation transformer for my audio equipment, and everything else is just on standard power strips. But what you need depends on what you have.


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## synergy543 (Jun 14, 2010)

Is the LA power that bad?

I live in a lovely forest and our power goes out quite often (squirrels fry on the power lines and mimes knock down trees) so I rely on a few ACP SmartUPS 1500s (largest unit without requiring special AC wiring) to keep the computer and hard drives running during short glitches and just long enough to turn machines off during a major outage.

One reason I'm using the Smart UPS is that they give off a cleaner sine wave than the cheaper units (even from APC) which output more of a square wave. This isn't a problem with computers (as the power supply filters are very good) however, it may have been the cause of a wall wart power supply failure on one of my external hard drives. And this was enough of a problem not to mess around with the lesser units.

I've been running very smoothy for several years now and feel very smug and proud when the power goes out for a few seconds and I'm still humming along.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jun 14, 2010)

The power in LA is generally good, but there can be drops - especially in the Valley in the summer when everyone is using their air conditioning at the same time. And of course you can be in a building with suspect wiring.


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## José Herring (Jun 14, 2010)

Nick Batzdorf @ Mon Jun 14 said:


> The power in LA is generally good, but there can be drops - especially in the Valley in the summer when everyone is using their air conditioning at the same time. And of course you can be in a building with suspect wiring.



Yeah got a few drops today. But the APC performed just beautifully.

Here's a link:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... &CatId=234


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## synthetic (Jun 14, 2010)

LA power is pretty good compared to the rest of the country. No thunderstorms or downed lines to worry about compared to, say, South Carolina. 

I would invest in a Furman PL-8 if you're concerned, they're kind of the standard for this sort of thing. A step up would be their P1800PFR, which has a big capacitor inside for extra protection and instant power availability.


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## synergy543 (Jun 14, 2010)

Oh, and one more thing about protecting your gear...(for you guys/gals in LA who just had a big earthquake).

I used to live in Tokyo and tied all of my equipment down to wall studs. Payed off many times.

Yeah, I know its hindsight, but better late than never. Hope everyone's OK.


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## Markus S (Jun 15, 2010)

I'm using 2 APC smart UPS 1000 units - you can put up to 8 DAW on one. I also have all other electric equipment on them.

looks something like that :

http://www.battery-direct.de/usv-akku/_ ... 01.01.html

They create a stable electricity flow, and even if the power cuts, you still have the time to save your arrangement and shut down all DAWs manually.


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## nikolas (Jun 15, 2010)

Yup, I also have a UPS (although a rather small enoug) which can power the computer, screen and 2 amps. It should last a full 15 minutes if the power goes out, but I NEVER let it die. When the power cuts, I just save and quit. Maybe spend a couple of minutes working if what I'm doing is extremely important to be forgotten but that's about it.

As far as I'm aware, the UPS will also protect from power surges and stuff and I've never really had a problem apart from a single equipment. The Grace Design m201 kept burning the 'bolts' (don't remember the name in English right now)... so I just decided to use it and then plug it out, and I've never ever had a problem...


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## wst3 (Jun 15, 2010)

just want to highlight a couple of minor points...

a UPS will protect equipment from surges and spikes in addition to providing power when the local utility isn't. BUT, if you do not put in something to protect the UPS you could be out a few bucks if the surge or spike destroys the UPS. Odds of that happening? I have no idea, but I would prefer to pay for a little insurance against such a problem.

IF you plan to shut down your system manually then you need to size you UPS to support the display devices. In the bad old days (think big CRTs) that was a bit tricky. Well, not so much tricky as expensive. Flat screen type devices typically require much less power, so sizing the UPS to support them is a no-brainer.

HOWEVER, most UPS devices are equipped with a serial port of some sort, and it's pretty simple to have the UPS signal the computer to save and close all files and shut down gracefully all by itself. I prefer this approach, YMMV.

Many (most?) outlet strips with MOV devices do not provide adequate protection for computer based devices. You really need to read up, and find out how the manufacturer selects and installs these devices.

If it were me I'd do the following:
1) Install a protection device at the service entrance or sub-panel - this is a "whole house" type device and they are designed to fail before an incoming surge sets your home or studio on fire.
2) Install one or more UPS devices to protect any equipment that uses a CPU of any kind. I would depend on these UPS devices to provide back up power and to filter out nasty spikes
3) Install an isolation transformer for the rest of the gear (provides some protection and some noise reduction.)
4) Install series mode protection devices - the exact configuration would depend on lots of factors, including loads and budget<G>!

All of this presumes (never a good idea) that this is a for-profit facility where down time is not an option. If this is a part time for-profit, or an 'only sometimes' for profit, or even a personal use facility then you have yet another optimization routine. What is the critical requirement: protecting the gear or protecting the data? For the later you can get away with UPS devices by themselves, with the realization that you may need to replace them.

Statistically, the odds of a power line disturbance destroying your equipment are very small. The odds of data loss from a power line disturbance are even smaller.

But, statistics and probability are just that... and even a "gold plated" solution is cheap insurance if it happens to you!


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## synthetic (Jun 15, 2010)

Some good info on this site. This guy seems great but he's not cheap. But if you're ever having spooky ground hum in a big studio I guess he's the guy to call. The Mix interview is very interesting. 

http://ground1.com/news.htm


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## midphase (Jun 15, 2010)

Sometimes this forum reminds me of that "How many engineers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" joke.


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## Guy Bacos (Jun 15, 2010)

midphase @ Tue Jun 15 said:


> Sometimes this forum reminds me of that "How many engineers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" joke.



Well? Are you going to tell us???


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## Thonex (Jun 15, 2010)

Guy Bacos @ Tue Jun 15 said:


> midphase @ Tue Jun 15 said:
> 
> 
> > Sometimes this forum reminds me of that "How many engineers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" joke.
> ...



10.

1 to do it... and the other nine to say " Mine would have sounded better..." :mrgreen:


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jun 15, 2010)

How many Freudians does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Two: one to turn the light bulb and one to hold the penis. Ladder, I mean ladder.


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## Garlu (Jun 28, 2010)

Thanks everybody for all your answers! :D 

I think I am gonna go finally for the UPS APC 1500 and a Furman PL-8 (yes, it has some light bulbs, hehe). 

I will let you know how it goes. 

Thanks!

Garlu


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