Lynx Auroras shutdown in power dips - UPS needed?

[numrologst]

A UPS is not going to solve voltage problems.

You need real power conditioning and some king of voltage regulation. And I do mean real power conditioning. Something with a big transformer... Balanced Power comes to my mind when people have these kind of issues. That's my preferred power conditioning.

But there are alot of other options... UPS not being one of them... The UPS is good to have for your computer, so that you have a few minutes to save your session data... But you shouldn't plug anything besides the computer and monitor into it.

I recommend either the furman it-20ii or an Equitech system...

[kittonian]

It sounds like you need the Furman IT-20 Series II Balanced power system as well as a UPS to avoid those situations in which power either browns or blacks out (even for a moment or two). It's crazy to me that with all of the money we all spend on high end studio gear, balancing power, conditioning each rack, and finally having it all on a UPS system with true sinewave is at best an afterthought. Sure, it's not sexy or fun to pay lots of money for power equipment but it sure protects your investment and lowers your noise floor.

Oh and btw, I am beta testing Furman's new UPS offering at the moment and so far so good. A few little things but certainly no show stoppers like before. Very cool!

[russ russell]

thanks for your replies guys,

we do have a big transformer because we're first in line right next to a substation and we're a little "over juiced" - i'm not sure what kind it is, it was installed before i was on the scene, i'll have to check that out. the power here is generally excellent we get very few brown or black outs (in fact this is the first little wobble i've encountered here at all) but obviously it happens everywhere at some time or another, i just figured a ups would just stop the auroras freaking out (for some reason they're much more sensitive than anything else??) and also give me a little more peace of mind with the mac and hard drives.

although i've been making records for over 20 years now it was always in someone else's studio, i'm still a newb when it comes to running my own - lots to learn!

thanks for the words of wisdom

RR

[Oroz]

Originally Posted by russ russell

This has led me into the subject of UPS systems - i figured if i get a UPS to run the Auroras, also the Mac, the Big Ben and the hard drives then that should be safe right?

Be aware that Macs consume huge amounts of power, the thing is a monster . Be sure to get enough power with whatever you decide to go.

[numrologst]

If you have a transformer.. Then you need something that will shut down your gear when it reaches unsafe voltage... and you need something that can regulate it +-3 volts.

The it20ii is an all-in-one solution in my opinion. I absolutely love my balanced power system.

[AB3]

By the way, how do you hook this up. Do you go from the AC power to the Furman IT-20 and then to the UPS or the other way around?
THANKS.

Originally Posted by kittonian

It sounds like you need the Furman IT-20 Series II Balanced power system as well as a UPS to avoid those situations in which power either browns or blacks out (even for a moment or two). It's crazy to me that with all of the money we all spend on high end studio gear, balancing power, conditioning each rack, and finally having it all on a UPS system with true sinewave is at best an afterthought. Sure, it's not sexy or fun to pay lots of money for power equipment but it sure protects your investment and lowers your noise floor.

Oh and btw, I am beta testing Furman's new UPS offering at the moment and so far so good. A few little things but certainly no show stoppers like before. Very cool!

[numrologst]

Originally Posted by AB3

By the way, how do you hook this up. Do you go from the AC power to the Furman IT-20 and then to the UPS or the other way around?
THANKS.

Outlet----> It-20---->UPS

[numrologst]

you never want any gear on a UPS

[Martin Kantola]

Originally Posted by numrologst

A UPS is not going to solve voltage problems.

Why not?

Something with a big transformer... Balanced Power comes to my mind when people have these kind of issues. That's my preferred power conditioning.

How would balanced power help when the voltage drops? How would a transformer help?

The UPS is good to have for your computer, so that you have a few minutes to save your session data... But you shouldn't plug anything besides the computer and monitor into it.

Yes, a typical UPS works best with a computer or hard drives etc, but one with a sine wave output might work for audio equipment too, providing stable uninterrupted power. Some audio equipment have switching power supplies anyway, so the "dirty" power from a normal UPS might not make any difference, but be careful and listen for any increase in the noise floor. Correct grounding is essential too. Connecting a device (such as your computer) that runs on a UPS to your audio equipment might be enough to give you noise on the system.

As mentioned a power conditioner is the best solution for your problem if you have reasonably small voltage variations, but if it drops out completely you do need something like a UPS.

Martin

[Martin Kantola]

Originally Posted by numrologst

Outlet----> It-20---->UPS

NO!!!! tutttutttutttutt

The IT-20 is specifically designed to provide low noise power for sensitive equipment, and you suggest feeding it into a UPS? I'm shocked...

If you really have complete loss of power, try the other way please... Outlet----> UPS---->It-20---->Audio Gear

Otherwise just the IT-20 is fine.

Martin

[russ russell]

Originally Posted by numrologst

you never want any gear on a UPS

does that include my auroras?? so what will stop them shutting off after a brown out? surely a ups is the only solution here?

thankfully the national power grid is one thing that actually does work very well in UK and our isolated transformer unit (still dont know the name of it but apparently it cost around £1500 -$3000USD - so its no mickey mouse toy) provides us with a good steady supply until the very rare occasions when there is a dip in the grid, we havent even noticed it before and like i said before its only the auroras that are affected by it, everything else carries on working perfectly.

please forgive my ignorance but wont the furman do the same thing that our unit is already doing? it wont protect against power loss will it? i've looked at their site but i cant find information on a UK model - is it US only?

thanks for your continued advice - RR

[dave-G]

Having your DAW in it's entirety on a UPS is actually a very good idea. Many UPSes even have some voltage regulation on the feed-through, and should easily cover the gap in your brownouts or "blinkouts" (as I sometimes get here). Worrying about the waveform of the UPS is not always necessary. For truly online UPSes, where they're constantly regenerating the output waveform, it's almost always sinewave. Most of the more moderate UPSes you'll find simply run a filtered/regulated version of the straight "wall juice" while your power is on, and switch over to the UPS-generated output only when the power dips or vanishes. To me, this could solve your popping Aurora problem just fine.

-dave

[numrologst]

Originally Posted by Martin Kantola

NO!!!! tutttutttutttutt

The IT-20 is specifically designed to provide low noise power for sensitive equipment, and you suggest feeding it into a UPS? I'm shocked...

If you really have complete loss of power, try the other way please... Outlet----> UPS---->It-20---->Audio Gear

Otherwise just the IT-20 is fine.

Martin

Yes you are right, I don't know why I had it the other way around.

Just for the record UPS--->Balanced Power-Gear straight from equitech's website.

[Sunbreak Music]

Furman AR-15 voltage regulator here, splitting to Furman UPS for DAWs, and to Monster Pro 7000 for balanced power to all gear.