With DCC systems rapidly becoming the mode of operation for model railroading, I thought I would share this info with any interested modelers. UPS ( Uninteruptable Power Sources ) are used extensively in the computer industry to guard against sudden loss of utility power. Many electronic devices and circuits do NOT like it when the cord is pulled ( loss of power ) suddenly without proper shutdown sequence of the PC or other electronic devices. Our DCC equipment is no exception. They may not fail the 1st, or 2nd time power is lost, but it is not a healthy thing for any electronic component. I have an olde RCA power line monitor sitting above my computer, and you would be surprised to see how bad the sudden fluctuations can be. Sudden jumps in line voltage, sudden drops, etc, and this also raises h… with electronics that are sensitive to these spikes. I am using a UPS, made by APC, and it has the voltage rock steady on my PC and the circuits feeding my layout. The web site is http://APC.com ,and they have models for just about any size power requirement. Something to consider. As a side note, ever wonder “why” your light bulbs suddenly blow out when you first turn ON the light? Especially on a cold morning? Two things are responsible for this, the line voltage to your house, and the resistance of a cold filament in the light bulb ( it is very low ). If you just happen to switch on the light at the exact moment that the voltage is at it’s peak in the sine wave, a tired, cold filament will go out in a blaze of glory. This is especially true if the line voltage is running high. I have seen mine at 125 to 128V…that will shorten the life of electronics real fast, not just light bulbs…I have witness it. I called the utility company, and a transformer had the wrong tap on it selected, hence the 125-128V…it’s real nice to be protected !!!
I’ve seen my voltage regulators and power conditioners (yes I have more than one 
) range from 112 to over 124. ALL my computers, audio/video, etc. have UPS, battery back up, and or regulators on them. And you may even want to check your house ground. I’ve found time and time again that the outlets are either NOT grounded or are worn. Especially in older homes.
LAte
Loco
The UPS on my computer is showing a steady 124 volts right now, hmmm. DCC system is in the same room so I could easily run the layout off the UPS as well I suppose.
Grounds are a strong consideration also. I believe the new Electrical Code requires TWO outside ground rods now, spaced a MINIMUM of 6 feet apart, driven 8 feet into the ground, I know that when my two sons built their new homes recently, this was a requirement. As for older homes. depending upon the age of the home, there may be NO Ground connection at the outlets because up until the late 40’s/early 50’s, two wire conductors was the norm. Then the code changed to three wires, hot, neutral and ground. In fact, when the first 3 wire cable for house wiring hit the market, the ground conductor was a smaller wire gauge than the two conductors, then later in the 70’s, the grounding wire was upgraded to be the same wire gauge as the conductors, as well it should have been from the start. Grounds need to be checked!!!
Light bulbs usually fail on start up, but not because of “over voltage”. Cheap bulbs will blow on an overvoltage, but that’s because the stress of any voltage over 120V is too much for them. Lamps blow for a simple reason: Inrush current. Over time, tungsten boils off the filament and is deposited on the cooler glass envelope. That’s why they turn grey over time. A 100W lamp is about 150R when hot. Cold, it’s practically a short. The stress of the rapid heating from the inrush current will, at some point, break the filament at it’s weakest point. Still, a UPS isn’t a bad idea, given the number of power "events " that occur in the course of a day. From sags and swells, to the harmonic distortion caused by switching power supplies (Main culprit: home computers…). Trying to minimize them can’t be a bad idea.
Try this website for refurbished Uninterruptible Power Supplies. “Refurbished” means the battery was replaced and cosmetic touch-ups.
Here’s what I bought:
|
Item |
Qty |
Description |
Options |
Price |
Total |
|
UPS-APC-BK500 |
1 |
APC Back-UPS 500 |
$39.99 |
$39.99 |
|
|
Total |
$39.99 |
||||
I wish I could afford a UPS… I was going to get one for my computer when the power supply blew, but didnt have the funds, so I just bought one with active PFC. I don’t know all the specifice of it, but at its simplest level (explained to me by my uncle who does electronic work) it essentially conditions the line voltage before it hits the trandformer(s) that give me the DC power for the computer…
If I’m mistaken about how it works - oops. This was dumbed down a lot for me when I asked about it…
UPS does sound like a good idea. At the moment, I keep my DCC plugged into a surge protector as a start, but an UPS would definately provide better protection, plus keep my decoders from getting scrambled if there were a power hit while I was running.
It probably doesn’t need to be said, but we should avoid running trains (DC or DCC) when there’s lightning about.
I think it sounds like a great idea. I would hate the investment I’ve made into my hobby to come apart with one surge. I also have everything into a surge protector, but the UPS also sounds smart. How do I know what size to get. Is the smallest UPS okay if all we are worried about is surge etc. How did ya’ll choose yours?
I have serviced APC UPS brand battery backup’s for years in the IT field. Typically the battery cells will need to be replaced when they become fully discharged, and the APC’s unit will indicate when the battery(s) need to be replaced. APC will even recycle the old ones when you order a replacement cell, free shipping of the old cell(s) to the recycle facility too!
In answer to one of the questions about sizing them up. When looking to match a UPS to your system you will want to review your total watt and voltage load requirement and then select the appropriate UPS to fit your needs. Remember, these units will only provide about 5 to 8 minutes of power when the utility power goes out with a full load. At half load, some of the units can provide up to 20 minutes of backup power. This is usually enough time to give you the opportunity to gracefully shutdown your equipment.
Don’t waste your money buying an actual APC replacement battery pack. At least if you are East of the Mississippi, try batterymart.com. You can look up the battery by the APC model, or just pull the battery out of your UPS and look at the rating, ie 12V 7AH and measure the width of the terminals. I don’t have a UPS on my DCC system, but I DO have it connected through a high quality surge suppressor and noise filter. I have all my computers connected via a couple of UPS units, all purchased on eBay with bad batteries - had the seller not ship the dead batteries to save on shipping. One new battery pack later, they are up and running. For example, the APC price for the battery for my SmartUPS 1000 is somewhere around $120. My cost with shipping from Batterymart was $35.
–Randy
Randy that is a great idea. Many modelers just don’t have the free cash all at once to purchase a UPS, but getting one on EBAY ( without the dead battery) and then purchasing a replacement battery from Batterymart.com is a great way for people on a tight budget to get the protection they wish they could afford. For those of you who might like to buy one, but don’t know what size to get, APC has a toll free number, just give them a call, and a Service Tech will help you decide what size is best for your needs. The UPS’s are all grouped by wattage, so it is merely taking the wattage of each item you will have plugged into the UPS, adding them up, allow yourself a safety margin of 20% more wattage reserve, and you then select the nearest wattage sized UPS that fills the requirement. For instance, if all your devices that you will be plugging in is 400 watts, then adding 20% reserve would make it 480 watts load. The nearest APC UPC is their 500 watt model. You can also go see many of these UPS’s at any BesTBuy, or Circuit City store in their computer section of the store.
check out costal business machines .com they sell refurbished apc units certified by apc.
I have 6 [six] units all 1400 and1500smart upscbm sells a 1400 unit for99.00 unit and shippingcame to 132.01 A lot less than a new one from apc. Plus you get a three !! year warranty bumper to bumper.
I have them on all four computors and both big screen tv"s as well as my layout.
ck them out i can verify they do stand behind their warranty.
brakeman 321
Each of my 4 computers is on a UPS. Since one of them is right beside the layout (JMRI), the Super Chief is plugged into that UPS.
Very good suggestion. In fact, I can’t believe people buy expensive electronics and don’t have surge protectors, line conditioners, or even UPSes on them. All of my electronic equipment (TV, DVD, audio-processor, stereo, computer, etc.) have such devices.
A thing to watch when purchasing a UPS is that it produces a true sign wave out put and not simply a flat line square wave. Why, because all electric products are designed to expect a sign wave. In a real sign wave during the voltage is only at full power (120V+ and 120V-) for a small fraction of a time. The rest of the time the voltage is increasing to max or decreasing to negative max. Transformers (like wall warts) require this change to produce the building and falling magnetic field necessary to operate properly. A square wave forces a transformer’s internal inductance to create its own building and falling fields.
Just wondering about this post most of my electronics are on surge protectors including my layout but my question is I have a whole house generator that runs on natural gas that comes on 15 seconds after the power goes out .Is there something else I should have for protection when it comes on during a power outage ? Any info would be useful ,thanks for any help or info ,Jim
Can anyone tell me what the VA rating is for the DCC Specialties Magna Force 615. I have two of these and would like to purchase an APC for them.
RF&PRR
A UPS does sound like a good idea but as far as a quick loss in power damaging anything the chance of that are pretty slim as unless something has changed recently the way your turn off an MRC command station was to simply just pull the plug. Not knowing the idea of a UPS but you may need to install more then one and the Achilles heal is the battery. If the battery goes dead then you have no keep alive circuit, I can’t see that the battery being dead would have an effect on the function of the UPS itself but it may or may not in any event your replacing batteries every year. Unfortunately I know way too much about this subject as it’s the reason I started building my new layout as the other one was completely destroyed when we experienced a furnace blow back as a result of a power surge knocking out the electronic safety on my oil burning forced hot air furnace.Long of the short is the electronic board was taken out buy a power spike or surge and it caused the furnace to got so hot it cracked the firebox spewing oily black smoke thought out the entire house. My entire layout was covered in oily soot not to mention almost everything in the entire house well for the most part the insurance adjuster was ok until he got to my layout. I got oh well their just toys how much could they cost. Being the anal retentive pack rat that I am I started pulling out receipts for a few of my more high dollar locomotives and when he saw the prices of $800.00 $1400.00 etc. he was like these things cost that much? You get the gist I had to show receipts for every single last piece of rolling stock, locomotive,structure kit and on and on and on. Lets just say it was a nightmare that I don’t wish on anyone.
Don’t want to high jack the O/P’s thread but wanted to add to it by showing how critical surge protection is. This just happened to coincide with me building my new shop on the back part of my property where I had a friend of a friend a licensed electrician running the main service to the shop. When I told him wh
That whole house surge protector is a great idea. I don’t have one in my home, but it does seem like a rather cheap upgrade. I might contact an electrician and see what can be done.
I second the part about the lightning destroying electronics. The only thing I had destroyed was the satelite TV receiver. DirecTV sent a rep to install a new free of charge.
The UPS idea sounds great. My boss has one he is going to get rid of.
I’ll have to write a posting about the pitfalls of model railroading and home owners insurance another time.
Yes it’s a very simple install exactly like wiring up a circuit breaker I watch my guy Pete install it and said heck even I could do that. He just turned and looked over his shoulder and said yeah but we both know the way your luck runs. I suggest if you decide to do it turnoff the main breaker. Oh to the O/P thanks for the idea I hooed up a spare UPS to my command station and all the boosters etc. this morning.