Recommend a good UPS model for home studio + cleaning mains

mano · Post by **mano** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 12:36 am

Which UPS model would you recommend?

This is the stuff I'd plug to it:

. PC (unit with Pulsar 2 + screen)
. 20/20bas monitors (2)
. Access Virus B
. Roland RD-150 controller
. Roland XV-3080 module
. Creamware A16 Ultra
. Small behringer mixer
. + a couple of new stuff sometime this year

I know some UPS do power conditioning, filtering, etc. I'd like something that evens out and cleans the mains current as much as possible as well as doing the usual UPS feature.

I am confused with all the models, features, etc... Thanks in advance guys.

ps: I also wouldn't mind something that isolates my studio with its own ground but maybe that's another story / device - do you know?

[ This Message was edited by: mano1.com on 2003-04-17 01:37 ]

spacef · Post by **spacef** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 5:19 am

ps: I also wouldn't mind something that isolates my studio with its own ground but maybe that's another story / device - do you know?

I use a Pulsar C+ power suplly, and a few others that i don't remember the name.

GROUND : ground is ground, I mean, earth. Do you live in an appartment or a house in the countryside ?
no poblem in the countryside, as earth should be under your window.
In an appartment, an electrician will pull a wire from your power plug and attached it to someyhing mettalic that is supposed to go "in the ground" : gaz/water tubes etc. Most of the time, they don't act like Ground (electrical dead end) but the electricty will remain on the tubes (in addition to other grounded power plugs that may be somehow connected to the tube you have your ground).
get some professional advice, it's important ... Ground in an appartment may be better than nothing, but it often doesn't do anything to hum and such because it may not ever go to the ground....
It really depends on the building/town configuration and it's possible connections to earth.

mano · Post by **mano** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 2:18 pm

Hey spacef

I line in a house, but I will move to a new one later this year that's why I was asking if there was some kind of device (an isolation transformer) rather than doing any installation.

Is this the model you mentioned?
http://www.ipwr.net/mge/ec-pulsar-features.htm

anyone else, please post your comments. Thank you.

Manuel

[ This Message was edited by: mano1.com on 2003-04-17 15:20 ]

[ This Message was edited by: mano1.com on 2003-04-17 15:22 ]

aMo · Post by **aMo** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 2:54 pm

I'm going to get an ISO transformer, or isolation transformer if you will..

I talked to a guy in a company specialized in this sort of thing, and he recomended an ISO transformer.
It is basically two transfomers, on the primary side, you have the mains in, on the secondary side, you have the output for your computer/gear, there is no physical connection between the primary and secondary side (the current is transmitted from one coil to another coil electromagnetically or something), so there is absolutely NO noise that can be picked up from the net in your house (and likewise, no noise is transmitted back on the net).
This also guarantees that any abnormal electric pulse does not reach your computer/gear (like short "spikes" and heavy stuff like lightning), since it is removed in the transformer, and the current that comes out on the secondary side is extremely clean and stable...

It also helps a great deal in removing ground "hum" and other noise that can be transmitted on the electric net from computers with noisy HD's and fans..

The guy also told me that the most noise didn't come from ground problems, but from phase-phase problems, it means that the noise doesn't always come from faulty grounding, but from, amongst other things, 12V DC-converters (like they supply with so many synths theese days).
A 12V DC converter always sends some noise back on the net, so it is a good idea to have an ISO transformer to remove such noise..

The information in the .pdf below is in norwegian, but there are some pictures there, so you get an idea of what they look like...

http://www.noratel.no/no/datablad/10/10lfiso.pdf

I think that with a bit of common sence, you can figure out some of the specs there...
They are probably a bit different in specs if you live in the US though...

mano · Post by **mano** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 5:11 pm

Hey thanks for posting

By ISO I think he meant "Isolation", I found this specific page on the net which lists those with a big "beat ground loops" at the top:

http://www.elect-spec.com/isotran.htm

They give a very clear list of applications and features here: http://www.elect-spec.com/isotrany.htm

Apparently for ~ $500 you get 1000W of output / load, is this the kind of power I need? Look at my list

Thanks!

[ This Message was edited by: mano1.com on 2003-04-17 18:13 ]

spacef · Post by **spacef** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 1:30 am

cool, i didn't know those iso transformers...

Yes the Pulsar C+ is the one you linked, but it is only useful to protect equipment from electric peaks/noises.

another good thing is an antistatic carpet, if you ever use a carpet... it makes a difference on the static electricity in the whole appartment., not about Hum/noise, but static elctricity in general.

[ This Message was edited by: spacef on 2003-04-18 02:35 ]

spacef · Post by **spacef** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 1:34 am

another important thing is an antistatic carpet, if you ever use a carpet... it makes a difference on the static electricity in the whole appartment.

aMo · Post by **aMo** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 3:25 am

mano1.com: My setup isn't totally different from yours, and I am either getting a 1000W or a 1500W transformer (depending on price).

It's simple to figure out what you need, just look at the specs of all the gear your going to plug in to it, it should say somewhere what the power consumption is.
For instance, my Akai Z4 sampler uses 19W when not expanded (It says so in the manual), this isn't much, and most other stuff that uses 12V DC has those specs printed on the 12V transformer..
So all you have to do, is find out aprox. how much power everything needs and add it all together, things that need most power is your computer (power consumption may vary from 250W to 550W depending on your power supply unit), power amps (as in powered monitors if yours have an internal amp) and even AD/DA converters as the A16Ultra (My Alesis ADAT uses 80W, and that only has half the I/O of the A16).

But my best advice, is to call a company that specializes in theese sorts of things, not necessarily an electrician even, but someone who either makes, sells, installs og imports ISO transformers, they usually know everything there is to know about stuff like this, so they can recomend a model that suits your needs.
For instance, the guy I called had expert knowledge about theese things regarding audio/studio use, and he knew much about independent tests that had been done regarding audio-uses of such transformers..

[ This Message was edited by: aMo on 2003-04-18 04:27 ]