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Steve Heithecker
after the lights go out
One of the unheralded challenges for any modern studio is our dependance on electricity for our toys. (I apologize to my acoustic piano and such....) One of the best things you can do for your gear is to give it a fighting chance against poorly supplied power (PG&E), Power Fluctuations (PG&E) or outages (PG&E and mother nature and an occasional imbibed driver into a transformer). Any or all of the above bring forward the possibility of disaster for your electronics. Mr. Mac Pro says no to emergency shutdowns by sometimes blowing up your power supply or frying your logic board. A hard drive crash anyone? That's another possibility when the power is interrupted and it's never pretty. So what can a gearoholic do? Here's my list:
1. Back up your computer OFTEN!
2. Back up your computer OFTEN! (ok, that one's really important so I had it twice)
3. Get a power strip with an insurance policy. Make sure it's not one from the corner liquor store but rather an electronics store whether online or local. Even if it cost $50 or $60 it's easily worth it. Furman makes rack mount units that are a bit more pricey but restaurant quality as the kids say. The trick is of course the circuit breaker built in to it. If someone plugs a blow dryer or a kiln or christmas into the same power-strip that your gears plugged into, the circuit goes before your gear does. A noble death indeed.
4. AN APC battery back up (UPS). Up the food chain one more time. It may not be cheap but the peace of mind is well worth the price. There are many ways to approach a battery back up system. They come in all shapes and sizes and capabilities with the prices varying just as widely. The idea is that you have your most valuable gear plugged in to the APC(s) and if the power gets pulled then you have a variable amount of time to shut down the good old fashioned way, the 3 fingered salute and the eject key! (well that works for your mac anyway, maybe not the rest of your studio...shut that down the real old fashioned way) Different models give you different amounts of running time, anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour . Usually the more time the more money, anywhere from $50 to $300 or $400. These are all in the home or small business category, you can pimp your s#@t if you want with industrial models that can keep power for a long long expensive time.
www.apc.com
5. Get a power regulating Furman. They're expensive but so is your gear and your work. Regulators help by taking the juice from the wall and keeping it at a steady level. Machines in general don't much like undulating energy. Too much electronic storm surge and your analog pre amps will take a dump. Much better to be safe than sorry. There are many types of Furman's including basic rack mount power-strip types all the way up to the real regulators. A common misconception is that a "Furman is a Furman" not true – not true, they are not all the same! Go to the Furman site to study up.
www.furman.com
So even if you don't have the money for all of the above (the best idea!) you can still protect yourself. Backing up your computer to a DVD or the medium de-jour should happen as often as your work is important to you. Obviously this is a data save only and the computer and all of your other gear can still be zapped. If backing up is all you do it's better than nothing by a long shot. This is just a good idea regardless of the conversation because the power doesn't have to go off to lose data, i.e. it's monday, the wind changed direction, wore the wrong tie, I went office space on it... . After that, even with the smallest budget you can get a good power-strip, this can save the day more than you might guess. Am I the only one whose said " that marshall can't take that much juice"....fade to black.... Next level up brings us to the APC. An APC (or something similar) can be as cheap $100.00 or as expensive as $1000.00. They are great if you can afford them. I advice all new facilities to include the cost in the gear budget so there's no surprise or lack of funds. (buy these before you pay to have someone get you just the green M&M's) The last level is the power regulator, they are great devices without a doubt. At about $500.00 a pop they intimidate buyers but really how much is your gear worth? More than that I would guess. So suppress those spikes, filter the RFI and keep your gear at 120....EXACTLY.
till next time, power to the people!
Posts: 2
Reply #2 on : Sun December 21, 2008, 12:24:42
Posts: 2
Reply #1 on : Tue September 30, 2008, 01:46:22
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