What's a good UPS for keeping VOIP active in a power outage?

Posts: 183 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: May 05, 2004 Posts: 183

vincatzero wrote:

-Was I supposed to charge the UPS before plugging everything into it? I was kind of confused about this. I didn't. Did I cause any harm?

No, you can't break it that way. It will take longer to fully charge but it WILL fully charge. You never depleted the battery.

Quote:

--If I ran the phone wires through the UPS would it decrease the buzz? Is there any reason to do this?

I doubt it. I'll have to try it with mine to see if I get a buzz. Does it make the service unusable, or is it just annoying? Since this IS just for emergency use I'd be willing to put up with "annoying," but not unusable.

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---Is there a way to make it not beep every few seconds when it's not getting power?

Thank again folks

Nope, that's a feature to let you know the incoming power's out. Maybe put tape over the speaker hole?

Anyway, how close is your ATA to the UPS? If it's too close you might get audio frequency coupling between them. If they're not close and you get the buzz it has to be riding in on the ATA's power supply.

My ATA's supply is a little plastic block with a line cord coming out of one side and a DC cord out the other. If yours is like that make sure the AC and DC cords are NOT close to each other, don't wind them into a common spool.

Posts: 29 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: May 28, 2004 Posts: 29

Quote:

Anyway, how close is your ATA to the UPS? If it's too close you might get audio frequency coupling between them. If they're not close and you get the buzz it has to be riding in on the ATA's power supply.

--My ATA is about 4 feet about the UPS. Is that ok? What do you mean it has to riding on my ATA's power supply? I dont get the buzz when the UPS is getting power. Only when it switches to battery.

Quote:

My ATA's supply is a little plastic block with a line cord coming out of one side and a DC cord out the other. If yours is like that make sure the AC and DC cords are NOT close to each other, don't wind them into a common spool.

Mine is like that but it's hard to keep the wires from touching. They connect to the same point. Anything else I should keep from touching anything?

Posts: 29 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: May 28, 2004 Posts: 29

Also, is it draining anymore power to have the PC hooked up to the UPS with the supplied USB cable but not getting it's power from the UPS?

I wouldn't think so. I like this because it lets me configure stuff on my PC for the UPS.

Posts: 183 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: May 05, 2004 Posts: 183

Quote:

--My ATA is about 4 feet about the UPS. Is that ok? What do you mean it has to riding on my ATA's power supply? I dont get the buzz when the UPS is getting power. Only when it switches to battery.

That should be plenty of distance. There should be little magnetic interference at that distance.

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Mine is like that but it's hard to keep the wires from touching. They connect to the same point. Anything else I should keep from touching anything?

Well, in general keep your low voltage lines (the power supply's DC output and the telco lines, also Ethernet cables) as far apart as possible. Easier said than done and I'm guilty of mixing them. But the AC v. DC sides of the power supply should be kept as separate as possible. Can you route them differently?

Quote:

Also, is it draining anymore power to have the PC hooked up to the UPS with the supplied USB cable but not getting it's power from the UPS?

I wouldn't think so. I like this because it lets me configure stuff on my PC for the UPS.

Nope, makes no difference.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Oct 31, 2004 Posts: 2

vincatzero wrote:

I dont want to lose the phone everytime the power goes out so I'm looking for a UPS. I'm not going to be keeping anything big on it (modem, router, switch, and Moto VT1000). I would like it to keep everything up and running for a good amount of time.

Any suggestions?

The cable lines must use line amps in their distribution network, which would draw power from the same power lines we do (they did when I worked in CATV industry.) It makes sense to me that when my home loses power those line amps will too.

I've wondered whether a battery backup in my house would do any good for general outages. I tend to think not since the cable company wouldn't figure it a priority to keep their cable service, which is basically an entertainment service, operational.

It's kinda hard to test... have to wait for a general outage, and then the TV's don't work anyway!

Posts: 13 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: May 03, 2004 Posts: 13

Buddywh wrote:

The cable lines must use line amps in their distribution network, which would draw power from the same power lines we do (they did when I worked in CATV industry.) It makes sense to me that when my home loses power those line amps will too.

I've wondered whether a battery backup in my house would do any good for general outages. I tend to think not since the cable company wouldn't figure it a priority to keep their cable service, which is basically an entertainment service, operational.

It's kinda hard to test... have to wait for a general outage, and then the TV's don't work anyway!

There is, I believe, roughly 100V carried across the cable lines for the very purpose of powering the inline amplifiers, at least in portions of the network.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Oct 31, 2004 Posts: 2

KG4PEQ wrote:

There is, I believe, roughly 100V carried across the cable lines for the very purpose of powering the inline amplifiers, at least in portions of the network.

That's the way I remember it... but I^2R losses means there's a considerabe voltage drop across the line. To overcome that, there are quite a number of transformers located located throughout the distribution network, each providing power for only one portion, isolated from the rest. If your neighborhood lost power, most likely the transformer for your neighborhood also lost power so the line amps in the neighborhood didn't function.

Again... this is from what I recall of system architecture from 20 years ago. In the new age of hybrid FO/RF distribution systems, I just don't know.

Posts: 11 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Dec 01, 2004 Posts: 11

Buddywh wrote:

KG4PEQ wrote:

There is, I believe, roughly 100V carried across the cable lines for the very purpose of powering the inline amplifiers, at least in portions of the network.

That's the way I remember it... but I^2R losses means there's a considerabe voltage drop across the line. To overcome that, there are quite a number of transformers located located throughout the distribution network, each providing power for only one portion, isolated from the rest. If your neighborhood lost power, most likely the transformer for your neighborhood also lost power so the line amps in the neighborhood didn't function.

Again... this is from what I recall of system architecture from 20 years ago. In the new age of hybrid FO/RF distribution systems, I just don't know.

Hehe, I've gotten a little voltage tickle now and then working on cable lines, so there is definitely something in there!.. Smile

Our cable system (Cablevision - Optimum Online and iO digital cable) does stay operational for several hours during power failures.. Every few blocks there are large boxes on the poles which house the amplifiers and other goodies.. The carry very large gel-cell batteries inside to keep the system running. Lately there have been a lot of outages here, some lasting 6 hours, and with the help of a 2500VA power inverter in my truck and a pair of Optima batteries, I can run my TV and computer, along with other necessities like the microwave and lights.. . Both the cable modem and digital cable have been available during the entirety of the outages.. Im sure this will ring true for any digital cable system, especially if the provider offers their own telecom solution like Cablevision does. For safety reasons in case of an emergency, there has to be several hours of redundant power available to run the telecom system.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Mar 21, 2005 Posts: 2

I wanted to test a UPS with my Voip setup and it only lasted 50 minutes. It seems so little time, what do you folks think? I thought it would last at least 2.4 hours. Does the power ratings on the transformer the max that the transformer can handle? Do I add up the power ratings of the transformer and the device for total power drawn?

Thanks, Fred

[b]UPC [/b]
APC BE325 Surge Protector + Battery Back-Up
Output power capacity: 325VA/185W

[b]VOIP setup: [/b]
Linksys Cable Modem 25 watts at 120 volts (power adapter)
Linksys Voip Adapter 13 watts at 120 voldts(power adapter, AOL beta )
Belkin Router .5amps at 120 volts (power adapter)

[quote="vincatzero"]Well all I'm interested in keeping powered is the modem, router, switch, and the Voip box. I read on these forums that

"Each of these devices draws significantly less than 1 amp of power. Thus a basic 325VA UPS system that you can purchase for <$50 at any computer or electronics store can power your Vonage phone system for likely 3-4 hours."

and that is around how long I'm hoping to keep things powered.[/quote]