Power conditioner help

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Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
18,093
899
126
I just came out empty at the Tweeter by me. They didn't carry Shure, and they wanted $500 for the M1500.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
45
91
I have no idea. I tried looking at Tweeter.com to see what they had, but I couldn't find any.

EDIT: oh wow, good timing.

I guess that makes the decision easier :)

Thanks for the offer!
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I have no idea. I tried looking at Tweeter.com to see what they had, but I couldn't find any.

EDIT: oh wow, good timing.

I guess that makes the decision easier :)

Thanks for the offer!

it is very YMMV. If I go downtown, I'll see if it is still avail. Online at the store still shows 299$.
 

Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
18,093
899
126
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I have no idea. I tried looking at Tweeter.com to see what they had, but I couldn't find any.

EDIT: oh wow, good timing.

I guess that makes the decision easier :)

Thanks for the offer!

it is very YMMV. If I go downtown, I'll see if it is still avail. Online at the store still shows 299$.

Hey, if they have the Shure E500PTH, if you can get them for me, I'd be very grateful.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I have no idea. I tried looking at Tweeter.com to see what they had, but I couldn't find any.

EDIT: oh wow, good timing.

I guess that makes the decision easier :)

Thanks for the offer!

it is very YMMV. If I go downtown, I'll see if it is still avail. Online at the store still shows 299$.

Hey, if they have the Shure E500PTH, if you can get them for me, I'd be very grateful.

Unfortunately, at this site, they don't have any headphones :(

All they have is: link
 

Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
18,093
899
126
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I have no idea. I tried looking at Tweeter.com to see what they had, but I couldn't find any.

EDIT: oh wow, good timing.

I guess that makes the decision easier :)

Thanks for the offer!

it is very YMMV. If I go downtown, I'll see if it is still avail. Online at the store still shows 299$.

Hey, if they have the Shure E500PTH, if you can get them for me, I'd be very grateful.

Unfortunately, at this site, they don't have any headphones :(

All they have is: link

Wow, now I'm pissed. The store I went to told me $498 for the M1500UPS, but it's $299 on the site.:|
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I have no idea. I tried looking at Tweeter.com to see what they had, but I couldn't find any.

EDIT: oh wow, good timing.

I guess that makes the decision easier :)

Thanks for the offer!

it is very YMMV. If I go downtown, I'll see if it is still avail. Online at the store still shows 299$.

Hey, if they have the Shure E500PTH, if you can get them for me, I'd be very grateful.

Unfortunately, at this site, they don't have any headphones :(

All they have is: link

Wow, now I'm pissed. The store I went to told me $498 for the M1500UPS, but it's $299 on the site.:|

Wow, that's wrong. Are you sure it isn't actually 500$ at your zipcode?
 

Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
18,093
899
126
YOyo, take a look at the M5100-EX. It's not a UPS, but it will provide the clean power you need. Tweeter has it for $100.
 

Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
18,093
899
126
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I have no idea. I tried looking at Tweeter.com to see what they had, but I couldn't find any.

EDIT: oh wow, good timing.

I guess that makes the decision easier :)

Thanks for the offer!

it is very YMMV. If I go downtown, I'll see if it is still avail. Online at the store still shows 299$.

Hey, if they have the Shure E500PTH, if you can get them for me, I'd be very grateful.

Unfortunately, at this site, they don't have any headphones :(

All they have is: link

Wow, now I'm pissed. The store I went to told me $498 for the M1500UPS, but it's $299 on the site.:|

Wow, that's wrong. Are you sure it isn't actually 500$ at your zipcode?

Yeah, they has a pile of them with a sign underneath it. The guy gave me a demo, and I wanted it after that, but I wasn't paying $500 for it. I talked myself into $300, since it goes for 1k.

That website shows the locations off to the side.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: Muadib
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I have no idea. I tried looking at Tweeter.com to see what they had, but I couldn't find any.

EDIT: oh wow, good timing.

I guess that makes the decision easier :)

Thanks for the offer!

it is very YMMV. If I go downtown, I'll see if it is still avail. Online at the store still shows 299$.

Hey, if they have the Shure E500PTH, if you can get them for me, I'd be very grateful.

Unfortunately, at this site, they don't have any headphones :(

All they have is: link

Wow, now I'm pissed. The store I went to told me $498 for the M1500UPS, but it's $299 on the site.:|

Wow, that's wrong. Are you sure it isn't actually 500$ at your zipcode?

Yeah, they has a pile of them with a sign underneath it. The guy gave me a demo, and I wanted it after that, but I wasn't paying $500 for it. I talked myself into $300, since it goes for 1k.

Yeah, 500$ is no small pocket change, 300$ isn't either, but at 70% off, its a possibility :)

If it is new-in-box, ill think of picking it up for whoever needs it (not me), but if it is a bashed up demo, forget it.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
BTW, hypothetically shipping the M1500 by UPS from boston to madison would cost:

~$50 UPS Ground (takes 3 days)

... and just for kicks:
~$120 UPS 3 Day Select (takes 3 days)
~$170 UPS 2nd Day Air (takes 2 days)
~$305 UPS Next Day Air (overnight)
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
45
91
Originally posted by: Muadib
YOyo, take a look at the M5100-EX. It's not a UPS, but it will provide the clean power you need. Tweeter has it for $100.

"In case of an undervoltage or an overvoltage, a flashing red lightning bolt will be displayed in the voltmeter, and power to the connected equipment is automatically turned off if either of these conditions is detected. When voltage returns to a safe level, power to the equipment is automatically reconnected."

Does that mean that if I got in a brownout situation, my projector would lose power (including the cooling fan)?
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: Muadib
YOyo, take a look at the M5100-EX. It's not a UPS, but it will provide the clean power you need. Tweeter has it for $100.

"In case of an undervoltage or an overvoltage, a flashing red lightning bolt will be displayed in the voltmeter, and power to the connected equipment is automatically turned off if either of these conditions is detected. When voltage returns to a safe level, power to the equipment is automatically reconnected."

Does that mean that if I got in a brownout situation, my projector would lose power (including the cooling fan)?

That is my understanding. Typically, only units >$1000MSRP from any of these companies offer voltage stabilization over a period of meaningful time.

For a projector, you really *should* have some sort of UPS specifically to keep that cooling fan going.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: Muadib
I agree, but could he plug the M5100-EX into a cheap UPS?

Not sure about that. UPS are pretty stricted with their Volt-amp ratings. If the projector pulls more than its rating, there could be problems.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
45
91
I just looked around a bit and the general consensus seems to be the plugging a conditioner into a cheap UPS is a bad idea since the output of the UPS is likely to be pretty dirty?
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I just looked around a bit and the general consensus seems to be the plugging a conditioner into a cheap UPS is a bad idea since the output of the UPS is likely to be pretty dirty?

Yeah, I wouldn't do that. What I would do is plug the projector into a UPS and everything else into the standard surge suppressor. That way, all of the available power of the UPS goes to the projector and you can minimize the required VA rating.

As much as this 300$ unit seems to be a deal, I'm starting to think that for 200$ you can just get a UPS meant for servers/computers and just use that for the projector only and call it a day and saved money.

I have to admit that I do not know what the power requirements of the projector is, but 1500VA units from APS typically go for 200$.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
45
91
I'm going to paste this reply in here as well since it doesn't relate to the part I wanted to PM you about


Part 1 of this is that I want to attempt to fix the problem
Part 2 is that eventually I'm going to end up with a new projector and I'd like to keep the bulb safe.

Just 2 days ago I came back to the apartment to find my clocks flashing 12:00

I've also been home on a number of occasions when part of the power in my apartment would shut off while another circuit would be fine. I'd be at my computer which would be working fine while the kitchen circuit (where my HT stuff... minus the projector... is also plugged in) would go out. I've never had the projector on during one of these though.

Overall I've decided over the last couple days thinking about this that even if a UPS or Power Conditioner doesn't help the flickering problem, I still want to get something.

Indeed my projector would only be on when I'm present, so having the UPS turn the bulb off would not be worth a premium to me.

Projectors tend to only use a few hundred watts.

According to Panasonic, the AE900U only draws 180 watts.


So what am I getting with this Panamax that I'd be missing from a typical computer hardware UPS besides aesthetics and some macro features?

Is there anything in terms of actual voltage regulation, cleanliness of power output, or brownout protection that the $1000 MSRP panamax gives me that a $200 1500VA Computer UPS doesn't have?

EDIT: If I ended up with an AE3000U as a replacement for comparison, that's a 240 watt unit.
 

Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
18,093
899
126
I'm pretty sure that his AE900U uses 180 watts. Using an APC ES550 would give you about 5-10 minutes of backup. I've seen then at CC for about $50.
I'm confused as to why plugging the conditioner into a UPS is a bad idea. Why would you care about the output of the UPS, when your projector will be fed from the conditioner?
Where are the experts today?
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
45
91
I'd like to hear input from someone who knows more as well.

Opinions I've seen have included the idea that a power conditioner plugged into a UPS would have to be working a lot all the time to compensate for dirty power coming out of the UPS (bad for the conditioner?). I don't know what kind of merit this idea has though based on the quality of the power coming out of the kind of UPS mentioned.

There's probably a line in the manual for the conditioners to plug them right into the wall outlet as well. Not following that would likely void any sort of protection guarantee as well. Do they put that in there just so you'll buy their more expensive combo UPS and conditioner combo units? I have no idea.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I'd like to hear input from someone who knows more as well.

Opinions I've seen have included the idea that a power conditioner plugged into a UPS would have to be working a lot all the time to compensate for dirty power coming out of the UPS (bad for the conditioner?). I don't know what kind of merit this idea has though based on the quality of the power coming out of the kind of UPS mentioned.

There's probably a line in the manual for the conditioners to plug them right into the wall outlet as well. Not following that would likely void any sort of protection guarantee as well. Do they put that in there just so you'll buy their more expensive combo UPS and conditioner combo units? I have no idea.

At the worst, if you do not get good opinions here, try checking out the dedicated forums at AVS like:

<$3000 MSRP
>$3000 MSRP
Theater Design

I am almost positive that there should be some threads addressing this.

But for the voltage fluctuations you are seeing, I am thinking that the fix is going to have to be an electrician coming and actually inspecting and correcting.


Good luck, wish I could help more :(

 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
45
91
Thanks.

FYI, I took a closer look at the electrical box on this floor and I think the whole building is through it.

According to the labels on the side, there's a top section that has our apartments labeled and then below that there's a ton of unlabeled ones.

1 40 amp
1 30 amp
6 20 amp
6 15 amp

I assume that's everything downstairs.


EDIT: If I got a "Killawatt" and used the voltage measurement, that would be able to tell me how bad my voltage swings were, right?
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
98,732
17,214
126
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: Muadib
YOyo, take a look at the M5100-EX. It's not a UPS, but it will provide the clean power you need. Tweeter has it for $100.

"In case of an undervoltage or an overvoltage, a flashing red lightning bolt will be displayed in the voltmeter, and power to the connected equipment is automatically turned off if either of these conditions is detected. When voltage returns to a safe level, power to the equipment is automatically reconnected."

Does that mean that if I got in a brownout situation, my projector would lose power (including the cooling fan)?

yeap, bad idea to have just a power conditioner on the pj.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
98,732
17,214
126
Originally posted by: Muadib
I agree, but could he plug the M5100-EX into a cheap UPS?

it's not going to clean the power any better than the ups...