Digital controllers of any pursuasion do you use a UPS ?

Welcome Guest! To enable all features please Login or Register.

Notification

Error

	Poll Question : Do you use any of the following to protect your eq
	Choice	Votes	Statistics
	Total	11	100%
Guests can't see poll choices and poll results. Try login or register. Guests can't vote. Try login or register. The poll has expired.

Digital controllers of any pursuasion do you use a UPS ?

Options

View

Previous Topic Next Topic

Shamu		#1 Posted : 29 August 2014 10:29:21(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 12/07/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,068 Location: In a building site in Yeppoon		Having watched numerous shall we say comments about MS1/2's, CS1/2's and no doubt all the others I'm very curious as to how many of you use a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) or at the very least a surge/spike protector board with your Digital Controllers ? Lets face it lads, they are Computers, no if, buts or maybes. I spent 30+ years telling all my clients for the minimal outlay compared to the computer equipment they protect you have to have rocks in your head not to use them. So who does, who doesn't and why not ? And yes for the record I use a spare IBM 750THV UPS to run/protect my Marklin transformers or rather Switch Mode Power Supplies now days.
		Sad when its cheaper to buy a new 29640 starter set from Germany than a CS2 on its own in Oz, welcome to the joys of Marklin down under .


User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks


	Wish to join the discussion?! Login to your marklin-users.net community \| Forum account or Register a new forum account. Or Connect via Facebook

RayF		#2 Posted : 29 August 2014 11:17:56(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 14/03/2005(UTC) Posts: 15,839 Location: Gibraltar, Europe		Hi Shane, I don't use a UPS, unfortunately. I only have a lowly MS2, and the cost of a UPS will be more than that of the controller. I don't have one for my home PC either, and this is probably a bigger issue. We do occasionally get power cuts here, as our aging power station is in its final death throes while a new replacement is commissioned. So far, touch wood, I have not had a problem and my PC has rebooted OK after power cuts. If I do get a spike that kills my PC I do keep backups of all my files on a seperate external drive, so all would not be lost. Excuse me while I rattle the rocks in my head. Ah that feels good!
		Ray Mostly Marklin.Selection of different eras and European railways Small C track layout, control by MS2, 100+ trains but run 4-5 at a time.


User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

Danlake		#3 Posted : 29 August 2014 12:52:19(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 03/08/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,571		Hi Shane, I don't use an UPS but instead a good quality power board with surge protectors (which was surprisingly difficult to locate down under as most brands sold in stores are Cheap Charlie’s)… My experience from work place is that the battery for UPS needs replacement every 2 years or so... I talked to one of the linemen from the electrical company recently and asked about installing additional power surge device in the actual switch board for the house. He told he won’t bother – most devastating surges like lightning strike will normally find its way to the last few users on the grid, so if you are in between you should generally be ok. Not sure if this is true? Brgds - Lasse
		Digital 11m2 layout / C (M&K) tracks / Era IV / CS3 60226 / Train Controller Gold 9 with 4D sound. Mainly Danish and German Locomotives.


User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

Renato		#4 Posted : 29 August 2014 19:59:22(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 19/03/2004(UTC) Posts: 976 Location: Gorizia, Italy		Originally Posted by: Danlake I talked to one of the linemen from the electrical company recently and asked about installing additional power surge device in the actual switch board for the house. He told he won’t bother – most devastating surges like lightning strike will normally find its way to the last few users on the grid, so if you are in between you should generally be ok. Not sure if this is true? Brgds - Lasse Hi Shane, I do not use neither an UPS nor surge protectors. When there is a thunderstorm with lightning and voltage fluctuations I usually do not play with my trains with digital components and disconnect the ADSL modem from the telephone socket (I had in the past one surge wich broke down the telephone socket inside my house, the ADSL modem and the USB port for the connection to the PC plus the 56 k modem used as a answering machine). If the thunderstorm is very strong I swith off the PC too (my motherboard was damaged once when I was still using the PC during the thunderstorm). To Lasse: yes, a friend of mine had several damages and his home is isolated and located at the end of the power supply line. Cheers Renato

1 user liked this useful post by Renato		Danlake
User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

xxup		#5 Posted : 29 August 2014 22:37:12(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC) Posts: 9,463 Location: Australia		Originally Posted by: Danlake ...I talked to one of the linemen from the electrical company recently and asked about installing additional power surge device in the actual switch board for the house. He told he won’t bother – most devastating surges like lightning strike will normally find its way to the last few users on the grid, so if you are in between you should generally be ok. Not sure if this is true... Lightning strikes are not the only problem. A few years ago we had some clown run into a power pole down the road. He did such a good job the high voltage lines contacted the domestic power lines and sent a terrific surge down line to the whole neighbourhood before the substaion exploded into a million bits. We were lucky it only took out two ovens, two air conditioners and the train room computer - none of which were on at the time (the eCOS was not plugged into the wall at the time - thank God). Our neighbour's power board blew up and caught fire! So now we have a surge protector in our main board and funny enough so does our neighbour!
		Adrian Australia flag by abFlags.com

2 users liked this useful post by xxup		Danlake, Shamu
User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

NZMarklinist		#6 Posted : 30 August 2014 06:29:47(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 15/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,757 Location: Auckland NZ		I do not use anything for my Train Controller but have a cheap surge protector board for my Computer and it's other mains powered components (Modem/Router, printer, screen etc). I always turn the Multi plug board off when not running trains, and likewise the Computer ! However a friend of mine that used to live in South Auckland had experienced ruinous power spikes to his modems and Computers over time and aquired a UPS some time ago he laughed about how old my Modem and even the Computer was, when they recently sort of wore out !!?? My layout is being built in the same room as the Computer (3rd bedroom /office) and I had considered buying a UPS that perhaps could power everything, but I have not looked into it at all ! Where I live, power and phone lines are mostly all underground, but when I am away for any length of time, if I remember, I do unplug from the wall, the train controller, Computer and TV's etc Edit; I would have to say that most of the problems I read about that damage, CS2's at least, seem to come from off the layout itself, and that is why I intend to have all track power going thru boosters and only accessory decoders and the programming track connected directly to the controller. This was advised to me many years ago by the late Woolfgram Lietenberher of Eisenbahn Clinic in SF, and when you think about it it is a no brainer. I recently damaged an under track decoder by having a derailment on a C Track turnout of my test & "play" layout. That is why they are not recommended for permanent layouts The CS1-R reacts instantly to shorts and, probably luckily, has not had a problem.
		Glen Auckland NZ " Every Marklin layout needs a V200, a Railbus and a Banana car", not to mention a few Black and red Steamers, oh and the odd Elok ! CS1 Reloaded, Touch Cab, C Track Modules, K track layout all under construction. Currently Insider


User Profile View All Posts by User View Thanks

Users browsing this topic
Guest

Forum Jump

You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.