If you need optimum performance and longevity from your
electronic equipment and if you need a reliable short-term backup power source
in the event of a blackout, then you need a UPS to protect your equipment.
The real meaning of “smart” UPS is one, which has a
built-in microprocessor and an RS-232 interface port. In addition to automatic
shutdown capability, a “smart” UPS is able to monitor more operating
parameters, such as: Input & Output Voltage and frequency, Load Level,
Battery level, and more.
UPSs are sized by their volt-amp (VA) load. To calculate
the VA load of your system check the UL label for the operating voltage and
amperage drawn. Add the amperages of each component to be powered by the UPS and
multiply the number by the voltage (120V for US applications). This number is
your VA load and the minimum size required. It is good idea to size your UPS at
least 30% larger than the minimum VA load to leave room for future needs.
Yes, it is a good idea because this is where the most
recent work is being done, and this data is most vulnerable to loss or
corruption in the event of power outage.
In general, you shouldn’t connect a laser printer to your
UPS because a laser printer draws a tremendous amount of power and will likely
overload your UPS and cause the UPS fuse to blow. Most of the office equipment,
such as computers, monitors, fax machines, and networking equipment, should work
fine with most UPSs. Do bear in mind that larger size monitors consume much more
power than smaller monitors and will likely reduce battery runtime
significantly. Also you should not connect a surge suppressor at the output of
UPS, in case the surge suppressor creates a short circuit and damages your UPS.
Why
do I need UPSMON (the power monitoring and automatic shutdown software)?
During a power interruption, a decision must be made when
and if to gracefully shutdown the computer system. On a computer system that
always has someone within earshot and eyeshot, this is usually done manually –
when the UPS kicks on during a power failure, the administrator decides whether
to ride it out on battery power or to save files and close programs. However, on
an unattended computer system, nobody is around to make that decision. In that
case, during a power failure, the UPS will kick on and run the computer system,
but only until its battery is depleted. Therefore, it is important to have
automatic shutdown software that will safely shut down the computer system after
a pre-configured time period of when the computer receives a low battery signal
from the UPS. UPS monitoring and automatic shutdown software also can broadcast
power fail messages to network workstations, keep an historical log of abnormal
power conditions, and alert the system to page the administrator.
How
does my UPS conflict with other devices?
If your mouse uses COM1 and your UPS uses COM2, the default hardware
interrupt (IRQ) settings for COM1 and COM2 are IRQ4 and IRQ3 respectively. If
your modem on COM3 is also using IRQ3 there will be a conflict with the UPS on
COM2. Since serial devices can not share a communication port or its hardware
interrupt, the interrupt for the modem must be altered. Check with the modem
manual to find out how to change the IRQ setting. Suggested IRQ includes 5 and
10. If these two IRQs are not free in your system, you can use IRQ7 since LPT1
is capable of sharing it’s IRQ.
The
charge light (Yellow) on my King Office UPS is always illuminated. Is this unit
bad?
The charging light
indicator is normally illuminated on the King Office Models (KOF-280, KOF-300S,
KOF-500S).
I
plugged the UPS into wall outlet, but there is no power from the UPS. Why?
You have not turned your
UPS on. The power switch on King Office Series UPS have button switch
located on the top of the unit and labeled "on/test". To turn the UPS
on, depress the button and hold it down until the green LED light " Line
OK" turns on and stay on. When the unit is activated, it performs a self
test for short period of time. During this process, the Line OK light will turn
off momentarily and the Backup LED will turn on. After approximately 2 seconds,
the Backup LED turns off and the LINE OK LED will turn on and remain steady on.
