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This doesn't directly concern the P.A.W. preparations, but is a good idea for your electronics. First, a little background. I've been in IT (Information Technology) for over 40 years...yes, I'm an old fart LOL. UPS's are present in virtually every data center to provide short-term power while backup generators start up and kick in. They're also good as power conditioners to level out spikes/sags in the power coming from the grid.
The power in my area is iffy at best. We suffer from several brown-outs and short power outages (a couple of seconds to a minute or so) a month. A few years ago I decided to get a couple of UPS's for my surround sound system and flat-screen T.V.. Being new to prepping and as I was watching T.V. while reloading last night, I looked at my UPS's and thought of the folks out there with HAM radios, etc.. I have two 900VA UPS's...one that does my main surround sound system and another for my flat-screen T.V. and my NAS (network attached storage).
Now, you HAM radio buffs, what good are your base sets if power surges (present a lot of times when the power goes out) take your radio(s) out?
I also look for dual-purposes whenever I'm evaluating things like this. Many of you out there have backup generators. I'm not sure what the charge time is on the UPS's (I'll have to check on that) but I'm considering getting a generator within the next few weeks. My plan is to only run the generator for a couple of hours a day to keep the freezer food good and possibly charge my UPS's. The UPS's could give me run-time on a clock radio to keep up with the local news and such for time estimates for possible restoration of services. I have a couple of hand crank radio/flashlights but the convenience of a small amount of power without running the generator (OPSEC) could be worth it.
The size UPS's that I have are under $100 each and each will run an average home computer for between 30 minutes and an hour. Let me know what you think :cool:
The power in my area is iffy at best. We suffer from several brown-outs and short power outages (a couple of seconds to a minute or so) a month. A few years ago I decided to get a couple of UPS's for my surround sound system and flat-screen T.V.. Being new to prepping and as I was watching T.V. while reloading last night, I looked at my UPS's and thought of the folks out there with HAM radios, etc.. I have two 900VA UPS's...one that does my main surround sound system and another for my flat-screen T.V. and my NAS (network attached storage).
Now, you HAM radio buffs, what good are your base sets if power surges (present a lot of times when the power goes out) take your radio(s) out?
I also look for dual-purposes whenever I'm evaluating things like this. Many of you out there have backup generators. I'm not sure what the charge time is on the UPS's (I'll have to check on that) but I'm considering getting a generator within the next few weeks. My plan is to only run the generator for a couple of hours a day to keep the freezer food good and possibly charge my UPS's. The UPS's could give me run-time on a clock radio to keep up with the local news and such for time estimates for possible restoration of services. I have a couple of hand crank radio/flashlights but the convenience of a small amount of power without running the generator (OPSEC) could be worth it.
The size UPS's that I have are under $100 each and each will run an average home computer for between 30 minutes and an hour. Let me know what you think :cool:
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