UPS for HT Layout

[Johnal]

Hey Folks,
Here again asking for some assistance with my HT setup and am lookin' to make a purchase asap. I'm currently running an HK 7200 receiver for my 3 Sierra's and two 170's along with a Motorola Cable Box, Oppo 981, Wii, X-Box 360, and PC Ultra sub.

Due to the heat I've made the purchase of a rather large A/C unit and I notice that when it kicks on my lights dim for about ¼ of a second. This can't be good for anything plugged in but I'm most concerned about my HT stuff.

I plan to make an upgrade at the end of the year but I'd rather not be forced to do so earlier than planned because I've fried my electronics. Could anyone suggest a good and fairly priced UPC for the equipment I mentioned? Thanks!

-Johnal

[JasonColeman]

What's your budget? I ask because I'm selling a Panamax 1500 over at AVS right now for $500. It may be more than you're looking for, but it's a heck of a unit and about 1/2 msrp. Here is the link if you're interested.

J.

[ebh]

an extra question (hopefully not threadjacking): how important is it to have a UPS that outputs a smooth sine wave? right now i just have one designed for computer use that outputs stepped sine waves. is this something noticeable or are we getting more into the territory of special cables etc. (not that I'm saying it is all snake oil, just that I'm cheap and favor bang-for-the-buck solutions).

anyway if it's not that important, might as well just pick up something with a reasonable load handling on sale at office max or something, just so that at least you don't have drops in power levels. at least you could do that to start, and then move on to something fancier later.

[Johnal]

What's your budget? I ask because I'm selling a Panamax 1500 over at AVS right now for $500. It may be more than you're looking for, but it's a heck of a unit and about 1/2 msrp. Here is the link if you're interested.

J.

That's a bit out of my price range to be honest. I was looking to spend less than $350 if possible. $500 does sound like a good buy for what you're offering, but I'm not sure if i can justify it if it will do more than I need at this point. In fact, I really can't afford the $350 either, but I would be more upset if my A/C fried my HT gear and I could have avoided it by making the investment.

[Johnal]

Alright, it finally happened. At some point last night while my A/C kicked in I blew a fuse. I somehow woke up in time for work, but freaked out at the sight of 12:00 flashing on my clocks. On the plus side, I now know which electronics are on the same circuit in my room. I've got my mini-fridge, PC Ultra, A/C unit, HK 7200, X-Box 360, Wii, Oppo 981, and cable box all pulling power from the same circuit (not the same outlet though).

I'll probably need to re-route my mini-fridge to a different outlet that doesn't share the same circuit, but does anyone know whether getting a UPS with voltage regulation will reduce the chance of me blowing a fuse in the future? I'm looking at the unit linked below, and hope it will be enough power for my HT. I probably won't be hookin' the sub to it, but I'm hoping it will do the trick.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882303008

[JasonColeman]

If I'm not mistaken, that APC unit is not a UPS, just a surge protector. You'd have to step up to their J or S series (I believe) to get battery backup. Brief poking around shows that msrp for the S series is >1k.

J.

[JasonColeman]

Additionally, you definitely need to try to get both the A/C and fridge off the same circuit as your electronics. Both of those together could be too much for a 15 amp circuit, let alone all your other gear. You should always keep things like that with heavy-duty motors that cycle on and off away from A/V gear because when they kick on, they draw a sh'load of power from the circuit.

J.

[Johnal]

Gah! Nice catch Jason. With all my browsing I started taking for granted that they wouldn't all have battery back up. *sigh* I'm having an electrician come out to see what my best options are as I really don't want to have to get rid of my mini fridge and I def can't live without my new a/c, so... new circuit in store for me? Who knows... =)

[JasonColeman]

Yeah, that price seemed a bit too-good-to-be-true. A nice unit, however, if you're just looking for surge protection, but a bit overpriced at that. Anyways, keep me in mind if you decide to go the UPS route. The Panamax is a 70-lb beast and is gorgeous to boot!

Good luck!

J.

[MichaelG]

If you decide to go with a power conditioner instead of a UPS I purchased the Belkin PureAV PF 60 and am very happy with it.

Michael

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812120251