Summary: Today George Starcher and I talk about power management and my disaster that provided the lesson I needed. Tonight’s show is brought to you by: SmileOnMyMac and Drobo TMUP Drobo Deals Help Victor and the show by purchasing items at the Typical Mac User Amazon Store Show Notes Wikipedia UPS APC 1500VA Battery Backup with LCD $175.00 Monster MP PRO 1000 with Clean Power Stage 2, 2775 Joule Surge Protection shutdown -u Manual Page Radio Toupe article on how to do shutdown -u script What to look for in modern ups units regardless of manufacturer: 1. Information display on front. Shows capacity remaining, load etc .2. Does it talk to your computer EVEN Mac via USB? 3. When was the last time they updated their control software for Mac? And can the software tell the Mac to shutdown in power loss mode? 4. Do they use clever plug enhancements such as right angle or rotating plugs? 5. Pay attention to total number of outlets vs surge/battery outlet distribution. 6. What type of insurance level does the unit provide? 7. Can you control the alarm beeping? 3am beeping will drive you nuts. 8. Does the unit have surge outlets for network cables?9. Does the unit provide network based management instead of USB?Rule of Thumb Run Times:In my experience with a 21” approx iMac, minor peripherals with an external hard drive.Capacity Run Time Approx Cost 550VA5-7 mins$601000VA15-20 mins$1301200VA30 mins$1701500VA45 mins$200What does ups unit distribution look like in George’s house?1. Cable Modem + Router with attached hard drive. UPS 1000VA (this can run an hour on this UPS)2. 21” iMac with two external drives, UPS 1100VA auto shutdown configured. (I will get more like 30 mins if display is asleep)3. 42” TV with Mac Mini and Xbox 360, UPS 1000VA; only mac mini is usually on.4. Living room TV and Direct TV receiver, UPS 1500VA 5. Bedroom alarm clock, Cordless phone base station 550VA UPS Maintenance: You should change out your batteries every two years. There are different options.1. APC is good about sending you a recall box to recycle old batteries if you order new ones.2. Maybe you have something like a Batteries+ store nearby and they will recycle your old ones.3. Have a good grounded outlet.4. DO NOT use a UPS if you think the unit has taken a significant electrical hit. I have a UPS that blew up a new TV because the UPS was damaged and sending out bad power levels.5. Check your UPS units at least every month or two for temperature. If they are damaged and cause over heating charging you could have a fire. I have only seen this once ever. But it could have been bad. I also place UPS units on a piece of floor tile which is on my carpet to keep the UPS from being insulated by the carpet. APC Battery Near Disaster Photo:
