6 Sep
2007
6 Sep
'07
7:09 p.m.
Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but after hunting around on the
net I couldn't find the right search term to find what I'm looking
for.
OK, my power company sucks. I have brownouts and power outages all
too frequently. Yet when I look at the statistics recorded by the
public utilities commission, it seems obvious to me that they aren't
showing an accurate record of what happens at my house.
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
Any suggestions?
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
6 Sep
6 Sep
7:22 p.m.
Richard wrote:
Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but after hunting
around on the
net I couldn't find the right search term to find what I'm looking
for.
OK, my power company sucks. I have brownouts and power outages all
too frequently. Yet when I look at the statistics recorded by the
public utilities commission, it seems obvious to me that they aren't
showing an accurate record of what happens at my house.
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
Any suggestions?
check here.
http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/
7 Sep
7 Sep
2:20 a.m.
Richard wrote:
Even though that is a lovely device and I am certainly a fan of
SpareTimeGizmos - that particular unit only monitors the frequency of the AC
line and not any voltage monitoring.
Best regards, Steven C.
Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but after
hunting around on the
net I couldn't find the right search term to find what I'm looking
for.
OK, my power company sucks. I have brownouts and power outages all
too frequently. Yet when I look at the statistics recorded by the
public utilities commission, it seems obvious to me that they aren't
showing an accurate record of what happens at my house.
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
Any suggestions?
check here.
http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/
2:26 p.m.
Steven Canning wrote:
Even though that is a lovely device and I am certainly
a fan of
SpareTimeGizmos - that particular unit only monitors the frequency of the AC
line and not any voltage monitoring.
Well I think that would be a useful addition.
I knew he did something with AC but just not what.
Best regards, Steven C.
6 Sep
6 Sep
7:23 p.m.
Richard wrote:
Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but after hunting
around on the
net I couldn't find the right search term to find what I'm looking
for.
OK, my power company sucks. I have brownouts and power outages all
too frequently. Yet when I look at the statistics recorded by the
public utilities commission, it seems obvious to me that they aren't
showing an accurate record of what happens at my house.
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
Any suggestions?
Have heard of, but not used:
http://www.duncaninstr.com/pqr2020.htm
7:27 p.m.
Richard wrote:
Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but after hunting
around on the
net I couldn't find the right search term to find what I'm looking
for.
OK, my power company sucks. I have brownouts and power outages all
too frequently. Yet when I look at the statistics recorded by the
public utilities commission, it seems obvious to me that they aren't
showing an accurate record of what happens at my house.
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
Any suggestions?
Dranetz
one we used at Microdata for problem analysis is on ebay right now
Dranetz Disturbance Analyzer Model 606-3
280149645284
look for Dranetz anyway and they seem to come up farily often.
Jim
7:30 p.m.
I built one years ago using a Rustrak Recorder and a simple resistor bridge.
http://tinyurl.com/yv24cs will give you a selection to choose from.
When I had a showdown with the power company, their response was...
if I cared that much about power I should have a USP and I might want to think about a
backup genertaor.
I ended up with both :)
till later...
The other Bob
On Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:09:50 -0600, Richard wrote:
Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but after hunting
around on the
net I couldn't find the right search term to find what I'm looking
for.
OK, my power company sucks. I have brownouts and power
outages all
too frequently. Yet when I look at the statistics recorded by the
public utilities commission, it seems obvious to me that they aren't
showing an accurate record of what happens at my house.
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly certain
I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
Any suggestions?
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
Legalize Adulthood!
<http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
7:36 p.m.
On Thu, 6 Sep 2007, Richard wrote:
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly
certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
Vertex (who were for a brief time authorized to distribute my XenoCopy)
had such a device. It had a walwart and connected to a PC.
Unfortunately, whenever there were power problems, it would crash and lose
all the data. Therefore, it should only be used on systems with no power
problems. Hmmm. wonder why it never caught on
8:01 p.m.
On 6 Sep 2007 at 17:09, Richard wrote:
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly
certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
And then what? You don't expect them to do anything about it, do
you? It's funny--20 years ago, I could call the telco and have them
adjust the EQ on the line gratis. Now their standard is "hear and be
heard" and "can we sell you wireless service or Dish TV?". Of
course, 20 years ago, the installation tech would come back a few
days after hookup and ask how things were operating.
It took almost 6 months before my power company would come out and
adjust the taps on the distribution transformer. Mains voltage was
about 135/270 volts most of the time. Incandescent bulbs didn't last
long. Now it measures (let's see here) about 123/246. Close enough.
Get a UPS if outages are a problem (generator if they last more than
an hour or so) or a line conditioner if it's just sags and brownouts.
I've got all three and they get used at least once per year.
Complaining (unless you're a commercial customer with big bills) will
generally only get you a bad case of hypertension.
Cheers,
Chuck
8:21 p.m.
On Thu, 6 Sep 2007, Chuck Guzis wrote:
It took almost 6 months before my power company would
come out and
adjust the taps on the distribution transformer. Mains voltage was
about 135/270 volts most of the time. Incandescent bulbs didn't last
long. Now it measures (let's see here) about 123/246. Close enough.
PG&E (1986): "Oh, well voltages like that wouldn't hurt computers, only
things like electric typewriters."
But, they did install a recording monitor, and a few weeks later adjusted
the voltage.
Get a UPS if outages are a problem (generator if they last more than
an hour or so) or a line conditioner if it's just sags and brownouts.
I've got all three and they get used at least once per year.
Complaining (unless you're a commercial customer with big bills) will
generally only get you a bad case of hypertension.
Cheers,
Chuck
--
Fred Cisin cisin at xenosoft.com
XenoSoft http://www.xenosoft.com
PO Box 1236 (510) 558-9366
Berkeley, CA 94701-1236
8:22 p.m.
On 9/6/07, Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote:
OK, my power company sucks. I have brownouts and
power outages all
too frequently. Yet when I look at the statistics recorded by the
public utilities commission, it seems obvious to me that they aren't
showing an accurate record of what happens at my house.
Unsurprising.
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly
certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages.
Any suggestions?
I've used this one...
http://www.tequipment.net/FlukePowerQualityVOLT.html
You'll need a Windows PC to run their EventView app. I'd always
intended to stick a serial analyzer between the PC and the VR101S, but
I didn't happen to have an HP 4951 on hand, and I never got around to
building a 2-serial-port box with some serial tracing app. I
_suspect_ it wouldn't be difficult to write a simple C app to dump the
VR101S to a comma-separated-value file (as EventView will do upon
request), but I didn't happen to take those thought to conclusion.
-ethan
7 Sep
7 Sep
2:25 a.m.
On 07/09/07, Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote:
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
We used to have a device at a place I worked at about 18 years ago;
size of a briefcase, with built in printer that output line
conditions. Sorry no idea on make now..
What I have *here* though that would do the job is an old (APC) Smart
UPS - it's got a not-quite-RS232 port on the back, and there's
monitoring software I could run (on the protected PC!) that will show
what's been going on.
If anybody local (Manchester, UK) wants one, incidentally, I've got
spares that just need new batteries, but there's no way you want to be
paying for shipping one!
2:46 a.m.
On Fri, 7 Sep 2007, Rob wrote:
On 07/09/07, Richard <legalize at xmission.com>
wrote:
Be aware that the original SmartUPS series don't have full line monitoring
even though they are in the "smartups" category. Their functions are
somewhat more limited compared to the later SmartUPS series.
The original SmartUPS 600 is a good example of these. It has a metal case
(with a plastic front bezel over the metal), uses 2x 12V 7Ah batteries and
has no battery service door/compartment. These are the type you have to
disassemble and service very carefully due to the metal bracket that holds
the batteries being right next to the live heatsinks (even when
disconnected from mains). I had a little plastic tool that I made to
disconnect the battery lead before removing the bracket. A plastic spudger
tool would do the trick too.
-Toth
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly
certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
We used to have a device at a place I worked at about 18 years ago; size
of a briefcase, with built in printer that output line conditions.
Sorry no idea on make now..
What I have *here* though that would do the job is an old (APC) Smart
UPS - it's got a not-quite-RS232 port on the back, and there's
monitoring software I could run (on the protected PC!) that will show
what's been going on. 
7:07 p.m.
Check out the UPS backups, APC has a line which I'm certain has a power
monitoring log so you can see when the voltage sags or spikes and
records power outages.
Curt
Richard wrote:
Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but after hunting
around on the
net I couldn't find the right search term to find what I'm looking
for.
OK, my power company sucks. I have brownouts and power outages all
too frequently. Yet when I look at the statistics recorded by the
public utilities commission, it seems obvious to me that they aren't
showing an accurate record of what happens at my house.
So I'm looking for a device (I'm fairly certain I've seen these
before) that I plug into a wall outlet and it keeps a log of voltage
sags, brownouts and outages. Then I can use this to build a
reliability profile of my power company as raw data to compete with
their b.s. line that its never their fault when my power constantly
sucks.
Any suggestions?
8 Sep
8 Sep
9:47 a.m.
On 08/09/2007, Curt @ Atari Museum <curt at atarimuseum.com> wrote:
Check out the UPS backups, APC has a line which I'm certain has a power
monitoring log so you can see when the voltage sags or spikes and
records power outages.
Use a UPS so your logs are maintained. There's some neat open source
software called NUT which will do line quality logging if the UPS supports
it. Big list of supported devices too. http://www.networkupstools.org/
--
Pete Edwards
"Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future" - Niels
Bohr
11:52 p.m.
I might have a Dranetz around here that I would be willing to ship stateside
(loan), but won't be able to find it for a while. When you need one, I'm not
sure what else will work.
I run part of my house for over 3 years now on an APC UPS, using 4000AH of
48DVDC that are charged with solar panels(PV). Most of the time I don't even
know when the power goes out.
Paul
On 9/8/07, Pete Edwards <stimpy.u.idiot at gmail.com> wrote:
On 08/09/2007, Curt @ Atari Museum <curt at atarimuseum.com> wrote:
Check out the UPS backups, APC has a line which I'm certain has a power
monitoring log so you can see when the voltage sags or spikes and
records power outages.
Use a UPS so your logs are maintained. There's some neat open source
software called NUT which will do line quality logging if the UPS supports
it. Big list of supported devices too. http://www.networkupstools.org/
--
Pete Edwards
"Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future" -
Niels
Bohr
9 Sep
9 Sep
12:45 a.m.
Paul Anderson wrote:
I run part of my house for over 3 years now on an APC
UPS, using 4000AH of
48DVDC that are charged with solar panels(PV). Most of the time I don't even
know when the power goes out.
Umm when it is dark outside. :)
Paul
Sorry but I could not resist.
Ben alias woodelf
6142
days inactive
6145
days old
16 comments
14 participants
participants (14)
-
bfranchuk＠jetnet.ab.ca -
cannings＠earthlink.net -
caveguy＠sbcglobal.net -
cclist＠sydex.com -
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
curt＠atarimuseum.com -
ethan.dicks＠gmail.com -
jwstephens＠msm.umr.edu -
legalize＠xmission.com -
robert＠irrelevant.com -
steve＠radiorobots.com -
stimpy.u.idiot＠gmail.com -
tothwolf＠concentric.net -
useddec＠gmail.com