"Ed ke6bnl" wrote in message
oups.com...

Ed Huntress wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am the "lucky" owner of a number of older UPSes.

So what can a person build out of these?

The batteries are for the most part dead but the remainder of the
components seem to be in good condition.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

TMT

If you can get your hands on a copy of the 2005 ARRL Handbook, there are
several suggestions in there (radio-related, but you can improvise from
them), and some information about UPS's.

One is a charger for 12V storage batteries in general, including car
batteries. Another is an emergency power supply (you can just run two
wires
to your car battery, or a bank of deep-discharge batteries wired in
parallel
if you're so inclined). Depending on the model you have, you can get 160
W
to over 300 W of 120 VAC and/or 12VDC from them.

Mine (an APC Back-UPS 600) is now wired to an old car battery. It will
run
my computer for a lot longer than the old gel-cell that came with it.
Since
we're on the end of a power transmission line, it gets a fair amount of
use.

--
Ed Huntress

Ed from Ed I just picked up a apc bk500. I charged it most of the night
and the voltage only shows 98 volt on battery. The instructions on the
internet show some sort of cd disc for windows which I do not have with
a good battery can I just use it as it is for a usp for the computer.
no alarm led lights on and it appears to be working fine thanks Ed

I'm not aware of the inner workings of these things, Ed, nor have I put an
AC voltmeter on the output, running off the car battery, to see what actual
voltage I'm getting. The computer runs fine off of it but now you have my
curiosity going.

--
Ed Huntress

Ed from Ed I just picked up a apc bk500. I charged it most of the night
and the voltage only shows 98 volt on battery. The instructions on the
internet show some sort of cd disc for windows which I do not have with
a good battery can I just use it as it is for a usp for the computer.
no alarm led lights on and it appears to be working fine thanks Ed

I'm not aware of the inner workings of these things, Ed, nor have I put an
AC voltmeter on the output, running off the car battery, to see what actual
voltage I'm getting. The computer runs fine off of it but now you have my
curiosity going.

It might be worth re-checking the AC output voltage using a voltmeter
which reads "true RMS". Most inexpensive voltmeters actually read the
peak voltage, and display an RMS value calculated based on the
assumption that the waveform is sinusoidal.

A lot of backup power supplies use inverters that create a distinctly
non-sinusoidal waveform... it's sometimes a square wave, and sometimes
a "stepped" waveform which crudely approximates a sinusoid.

It's entirely possible that the APC BK500 creates a non-sinusoidal
waveform, whose RMS value is close to the nominal 120 VAC, but whose
peak voltage is lower than that of a true sinusoid having 120 VAC RMS.
This could cause most inexpensive voltmeters to read a value that's
too low.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

The APC BK500 has a step Output waveform that would be no problem for a
computer and monitor.
MGE UPS systems are a sinewave

"Dave Platt" wrote in message
...
Ed from Ed I just picked up a apc bk500. I charged it most of the night
and the voltage only shows 98 volt on battery. The instructions on the
internet show some sort of cd disc for windows which I do not have with
a good battery can I just use it as it is for a usp for the computer.
no alarm led lights on and it appears to be working fine thanks Ed

I'm not aware of the inner workings of these things, Ed, nor have I put an
AC voltmeter on the output, running off the car battery, to see what
actual
voltage I'm getting. The computer runs fine off of it but now you have my
curiosity going.

It might be worth re-checking the AC output voltage using a voltmeter
which reads "true RMS". Most inexpensive voltmeters actually read the
peak voltage, and display an RMS value calculated based on the
assumption that the waveform is sinusoidal.

A lot of backup power supplies use inverters that create a distinctly
non-sinusoidal waveform... it's sometimes a square wave, and sometimes
a "stepped" waveform which crudely approximates a sinusoid.

It's entirely possible that the APC BK500 creates a non-sinusoidal
waveform, whose RMS value is close to the nominal 120 VAC, but whose
peak voltage is lower than that of a true sinusoid having 120 VAC RMS.
This could cause most inexpensive voltmeters to read a value that's
too low.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...

Too_Many_Crossposts

I apoligize if I posted too widely....I posted to the groups that I
thought might have an interest and I would be revelant information
from.

And I suspect I am not the only one with an extra UPS laying around
looking for a second life.

TMT

Replace the batteries. We do it at work all the time.

Scott



Too_Many_Tools wrote:
I am the "lucky" owner of a number of older UPSes.

So what can a person build out of these?

The batteries are for the most part dead but the remainder of the
components seem to be in good condition.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

TMT

In article .com,
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote:

I am the "lucky" owner of a number of older UPSes.

So what can a person build out of these?

The batteries are for the most part dead but the remainder of the
components seem to be in good condition.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

TMT


I replace the batteries. I get them at the MIT flea market, two for 10
bucks. Yes, and they have a test load there so you can verify the
batteries are good. I have had not problem.

I have several free UPSs because clueless people have thrown them out at
our recycling center as they are "bad."

Al

Al wrote:

In article .com,
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote:

I am the "lucky" owner of a number of older UPSes.

So what can a person build out of these?

The batteries are for the most part dead but the remainder of the
components seem to be in good condition.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

TMT


I replace the batteries. I get them at the MIT flea market, two for 10
bucks. Yes, and they have a test load there so you can verify the
batteries are good. I have had not problem.

I have several free UPSs because clueless people have thrown them out at
our recycling center as they are "bad."

Al

Generally you can get new batteries from a local battery distributor at
very good prices and with local pickup no shipping costs. I used to use
Midstate Battery in Bloomfield, CT but there will be wholesale
distributors everywhere. With new batteries most UPSs will be good as
new.

Keep what you can use and sell the rest locally, donate a few to the
local senior center for a tax write off (yes seniors use computers these
days), etc.

Pete C.

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am the "lucky" owner of a number of older UPSes.

So what can a person build out of these?

The batteries are for the most part dead but the remainder of the
components seem to be in good condition.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

TMT


Time Machine!

On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 16:23:03 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:


"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
roups.com...
I am the "lucky" owner of a number of older UPSes.

So what can a person build out of these?

The batteries are for the most part dead but the remainder of the
components seem to be in good condition.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

TMT


Time Machine!

For that..you need a British phone both IRRC.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner