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UPS for time capsule

M

MarcoCapa

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 16, 2013
222
7
Hello everyone!
I have a time capsule and I was searching for an UPS for it, but I cannot find if I need a sine wave UPS or not for this... I know that Macs use the PFC technology for the power supply, but I cannot find any info for the time capsule....
Do you think that an APC with " stepped approximation to a sine wave" should be fine or could damage my equipment?
Thank you
 
MarcoCapa said:
Hello everyone!
I have a time capsule and I was searching for an UPS for it, but I cannot find if I need a sine wave UPS or not for this... I know that Macs use the PFC technology for the power supply, but I cannot find any info for the time capsule....
Do you think that an APC with " stepped approximation to a sine wave" should be fine or could damage my equipment?
Thank you
Click to expand...

To make UPS worth while on the TC your would need to have at least another Mac on the same UPS.
 
I have already bought another ups for my pc ( I own a windows machine besides the macbook) for media consumption ( movie etc)
But I would like to know if it is possible to prevent damage to the time capsule only with a small ups ( around 70€)
 
For years I've been using a CyberPower Intelligent LCD Series CP1500AVRLCD 1500VA simulated sinewave for my TC and other network components without issue. I have a Fibre internet connection and its nice to stream video and stay connected though power outages. In the long runs its cheaper than using up cell data.

I more recently went to a CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS 1500VA pure sinewave for my newer server because they had come down in price and there was a sale.

More money than you want to spend, but a data point.
 
Another datapoint, I have been running APC Back-UPS 550 that uses stepped sinewave approximation on my network hardware (cable modem, Time Capsule, network switch) and it provides about 40 minutes of backup power for my network hardware. I've had it in place for about 6 months and I haven't had any issues with hardware failures.
 
Thank you very much to everyone!
I'm thinking that a simulated sine wave should be fine.. Or maybe a discounted sine wave... I will let you know my choice
Have a nice day!
 
MarcoCapa said:
Thank you very much to everyone!
I'm thinking that a simulated sine wave should be fine.. Or maybe a discounted sine wave... I will let you know my choice
Have a nice day!
Click to expand...
The only problem with TC is that you can't make it gracefully shut down upon UPS running out of juice.
If it is a problem, in the first place.
 
priitv8 said:
The only problem with TC is that you can't make it gracefully shut down upon UPS running out of juice.
If it is a problem, in the first place.
Click to expand...

Yes i know... Apple should make a software correction... For me is more important a protection and a few hours of battery life.... Blackouts are not very frequent in the place where I live
 
dyt1983 said:
PFC technology or not, the APC stepped sine wave works fine. I am using one right now on a desktop, ATC and cable router. If the power goes out, it will run them just fine. (As a matter of fact mine just switched to battery power a few minutes ago due to an overvoltage on the mains.)

p.s. Having owned several UPSes from many companies all the way up to DC online double conversion units, I would rather have an APC with stepped sine wave than a Cyberpower with pure sine wave. I've seen too many machines power down running on Cyberpowers, including the one I am using now where the APC BR1500G replaced a 1250VA Cyberpower.
Click to expand...
Oh i have bought a cyberpower cp900epflcd for my pc and I'm awaiting this! Do you think it isn't a good option and could be dangerous to the electronics? Do you have had damage to your machine by the cyberpower?
Thank you
 
APC makes a nice lithium ion model that's small and appropriate for network gear, but it's expensive. It also lets you program outlets to power cycle under programmed conditions, such as not being able to ping a particular IP on the internet.

It's great for situations where network issues can be quickly resolved by a quick power cycle. It doesn't happen to me often, but on rare occasion my ISP has a problem and a power cycle of the cable modem straightens it up ASAP.
 
dyt1983 said:
You can't make a ATC shut down gracefully if you want to just shut it down gracefully, either.
Click to expand...
True. But at least you can disconnect all users, which (I assume), would at least make it close all files and buffers and make the shutdown cleanish.
But it's just a wild guess, of course.
 
priitv8 said:
True. But at least you can disconnect all users, which (I assume), would at least make it close all files and buffers and make the shutdown cleanish.
But it's just a wild guess, of course.
Click to expand...

Please elaborate better your point. I usually disconnect the time capsule by pulling the power cord only checking if the hard disk is spinning...

brentsg said:
APC makes a nice lithium ion model that's small and appropriate for network gear, but it's expensive. It also lets you program outlets to power cycle under programmed conditions, such as not being able to ping a particular IP on the internet.

It's great for situations where network issues can be quickly resolved by a quick power cycle. It doesn't happen to me often, but on rare occasion my ISP has a problem and a power cycle of the cable modem straightens it up ASAP.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know this model but 400/500€ is too much for a time capsule battery and surge protection :D
Many times I have thought about lithium batteries for replacement onfthe sealed lead batteries for my upses, but from what I know they are not produced by now.... Imagine an APC smart ups 1500va with a lithium battery in the same size: power for two days :eek::eek:


dyt1983 said:
No, it never damaged anything. But I've had several different models of Cyberpower not warn of dead batteries, and so when the power went out, boom, nothing. Replacing the batteries fixed this. Just something to look out for when they get older. I do regular "pull the plug" tests on important equipment. You should be fine with your new UPS!

(To be fair I did have a warning from one CP in the past, but a few failures is too many so I recommend APC now for inexpensive UPSes.)
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the tip
I will check the battery regularly! with the software for windows I will be able to know the battery status or the cyberpower ups is a liar?
 
dyt1983 said:
That was my issue with the Cyberpowers... neither software nor front panel warning told me the battery was bad, on several units. One did give a front panel warning. I think those units had monthly tests, so in a month they went from holding 1 minute charge to nothing (I usually only test it a few seconds, relying on the battery health indicators to tell me they have degraded).
Click to expand...

So guess what my friend: the ups is arrived today... It works but doesn't hold the charge.... If I disconnect from the power supply it powers off... It's a very sad thing because now I have to resend the item to Amazon and go for two APC probably or an APC for the pc and a Tecnoware for the time capsule
I think that this is the same issue as your....
 
MarcoCapa said:
So guess what my friend: the ups is arrived today... It works but doesn't hold the charge.... If I disconnect from the power supply it powers off... It's a very sad thing because now I have to resend the item to Amazon and go for two APC probably or an APC for the pc and a Tecnoware for the time capsule
I think that this is the same issue as your....
Click to expand...

I had the same experience with a new APC. It's just something that happens in that industry with all of them from time to time.
 
dyt1983 said:
I just had a dead APC too... but I am pretty sure it was damaged in shipping. Sorry about that, but it's better to find out up front than to find out later!
Click to expand...

Yes...
I'm considering the smart ups 750 va ( I will like to by a retina iMac in addition to the pc in the future) do you think this could satisfy my need or I need the 1000 va one?
I'm a bit paranoid now :D:D:D
 
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