Re: MPG Indicator

Warning: The following is an **OFF TOPIC** tangent to this thread.

OFF TOPIC:

You all seem to be pretty knowledgeable when it comes to electrical matters. So I thought I'd ask if it's advisable to plug your television and other entertainment equipment into a regular computer-type UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)?

I know you're not suppose to plug a laser printer into a UPS--tried that at home a few years ago, and fried the whole computer. Oh oh. Computer said bye-bye for good. (Luckily it was an old computer.) But would a UPS work with a 32-inch CRT television, DVD, VCR, etc.?

By the way, here's a great deal on a UPS. As of 2 or 3 days ago, Best Buy has been selling the Geek Squad 685 VA UPS for an unheard of $20 plus about another $12 for shipping (6 outlets, 3 with battery backup). Get yours while supplies last! Got mine 2 nights ago. Hope they're still available for you at this link:

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Reply to
Built_Well
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The laser printer was too big a load for the UPS, and they always tell you NOT to do that in the instructions - I'm surprised it didn't blow the UPS. Printers are not a critical item, you can always reprint it later - they're meant for running the CPU and monitor, and critical stuff to keep the net connection up like the DSL or Cable Modem and the Ethernet Hub only.

If the computer went, it was probably the power supply that didn't like being feed 40 volts. If the power supply failed gracefully (it didn't short through and send high voltage to the motherboard and fry everything) it's probably recyclable as spare parts or for a childs' first computer. (If they break an old one, no big loss.)

The UPS can feed any electronic load IF it's big enough. The question being why would you want the TV to keep going? If you are going to protect anything, you plug the Tivo and the Cable or Satellite Box into it, so your recordings aren't interrupted.

No thanks, I get the 1100VA models with full-size batteries at Costco for around $90. Those "power-strip sized" UPS's are sold as a placebo for desktop machines at offices. They only have enough battery power for about 5 minutes at full load, and that's not enough time for an orderly shutdown if you are in the middle of burning a CD, or something that can't be interrupted like installing new software.

The full-size units will go 20 to 40 minutes at full load, and if you deliberately oversize it one notch you can get a few hours.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Bruce, thanks very much for the advice.

Umm, I wasn't clear. Everything went bye-bye that day: the power supply, the motherboard, the UPS... The only survivor was the laser printer.

I was thinking of plugging the television into the UPS so I wouldn't have to reset the TV's time--not that I'm wacky enough to actually watch the tube during a storm-created blackout [heh].

Reply to
Built_Well

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Actually, you're not even supposed to plug a Laser Printer into a Surge protector. Something about the way they and UPS's work makes the fuser go batty and they fail real fast. Finally, after I replaced 5 fuser units for a PUC they FINALLY unplugged it from the S.P. (they thought I was 'funning' them...they then sent out a company wide mandate to unplug ALL the laser printers from SP's and UPS')

Reply to
Hachiroku

Dang! You'd think a company would know better! Glad you set them straight. Whew....

Reply to
Built_Well

[Chuckle] My laser printer didn't come with instructions. I got it really cheap at a garage sale. My 'puter and I had to learn from the school of hard knocks.
Reply to
Built_Well

Sounds more like a lightning strike - and when that happens, all bets are off.

Your only defense is to install a big whole-house lightning arrestor at the main panel, and beef the hell out of your grounding and bonding system so it has a way and a place to dump the surge.

And get your utility to beef up the lightning arrestors on the pole, because that's the main path the surges follow in. Lightning doesn't hit your house nearly as often as that nice tall power pole behind it.

RTFM, or go buy a new TV - almost all the new gear on the market reads a timecode on the PBS or Local Commercial broadcasts and sets it's own clock. The flashing 12:00 is practically extinct.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

You ain't kidding. The very first time I tried to print with the laser printer plugged into the UPS, the printer fried everything--very first time. And not a storm cloud in the sky.

Reply to
Built_Well

I have the very latest in technological advancement -- a HP LaserJet 4L -- that has been plugged into a surge protector for as long as I can remember. The fuser has never failed. Dude, I haven't even managed to run the damn thing out of toner yet -- I have a brand new drum assembly in the box under my desk! I've probably had this printer for going on 10 years.

I get that there is no connection between the surge protector and the lack of using toner, but the fuser is the factory original, along with all of the other parts.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

If your HP LaserJet 4 printer looks like the one in this picture

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I believe the drum is part of the toner cartridge. When you replace the toner cartridge, you get a new drum.

Reply to
Ray O

I did not bother to look at the link you posted, but I certainly do get a new drum with my new toner.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Interesting. It used to be the #1 failure of Laserprinters...

Reply to
Hachiroku

Maybe that's why HP builds the drum into the toner cartridge and why their toner cartridges are so high?

Reply to
Ray O

We have an HP LaserJet 4+ at our office, I think we've had it since around

1993 with no problems. It has been a great printer although the price of toner cartridges is a little steep. On the other hand, we've probably spent close to $5,000 fixing our other printer, a Lexmark color laser network printer. It gets paper jams often, the toner cartridges are $185 apiece and there are 5, plus a separate drum for each color that has a pretty short life. I think it is going to be history the next time it needs repair.
Reply to
Ray O

Actually, I made a mistake. Now that I think about it, the laser printer was connected to a surge suppressor, not a UPS, when the printer fried most of my system 4 or 5 years ago. Not that it makes a difference. Surge suppressor or UPS, plug a laser printer into one of 'em, and you're looking to hose your whole system, in most cases.

Reply to
Built_Well

There is no reason for this to be true.

The surge surpressor and the UPS are both external to the printer and they are both what appears to the device as a power source. the device is equipped with protective circuits that guard against overvoltage. What the device lacks is a guard against undervoltage -- which is provided by the UPS. the surge supressor is an additional guard against overvoltage, and by itself is not capable of providing any voltage at all.

I spent 20 years in office automation, and there is no reason to not use a surge suppressor on everything you own, however there is ample debate on whether or not it is necessary to do that. While the necessity can be debated, there is no downside other than the small cost. If you have a device plugged into a surge suppressor and the device fries, the surge supressor is not the fault point. Indeed, the odds favor a much faster failure of the device if the surge suppressor is not present on the same device in the same location.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Dribble. My home HP 5MP of age 10 has always had it's plug >

Ah yes, for home use a toner cart lasts forever and the laser printer is always ready to print when turned on. The biggest environmental scam has been ink jet printers.

Reply to
Just Facts

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