My standalone dvdrecorder and ups problem

[MichaelKnight]

I have a standalone dvdrecorder.It is connected to a satelleite receiver and also connected to a digital line interactive uninterruptable power supply(ups).

My problem is, a few weeks ago my standalone dvdrecorder was recording something and I think there was a problem with electriciy and my ups started to run on battery mode.It happened like this: The ups started running on battery mode,then after a few seconds switched to normal mode, then after a few seconds it switched to battery mode again...This happened maybe more than 30 times in a few minutes.And the problem is, while ups was switching modes,the dvdrecorder suddenly stopped recording and showed a "write error" warning and the dvd inside got useless.


It maybe just a chance event, because the previous day before that happened, the dvdrecorder had given the same error although there was no appearent electricity/power problem.

Unfortunately (or fortunately ) those voltage problems rarely happen here so I couldn't test if the same write error happens or not.Though I tested it removing the power cable of the ups so forcing it to run battery mode and then after a few seconds re-inserting the cable about 40 times and the problem didn't repeat itself.

What maybe the cause of the write error do you think, I mean may it be related to my ups or not?Maybe a digital line interactive ups is not good enough for a sensitive dvdrecorder?

 

[GearUp]

Mine are on-line versions so I read the Tripp-Lite whitepaper comparison to interactive types. It indicates there is no automatic bypass so power is lost if there is an internal fault or overload.

 

[MichaelKnight]

It indicates there is no automatic bypass so power is lost if there is an internal fault or overload.

Thanks for your answer. So, it may mean that there was an internal error inside my ups' systems and it didn't bypass to AC power cause it's a line interactive one, so some power loss happened, if I understood it right?

 

[GearUp]

It indicates there is no automatic bypass so power is lost if there is an internal fault or overload.

Thanks for your answer. So, it may mean that there was an internal error inside my ups' systems and it didn't bypass to AC power cause it's a line interactive one, so some power loss happened, if I understood it right?

That whitepaper is fairly brief but I think one of those multiple interrupts (rather unusual) may have resulted in power loss. My short outages are typically less than a second, never with power loss to computers. You might disconnect the DVD recorder and plug in a 60 watt lamp. Turning that on can cause an interruption in a failing on-line UPS. The last time I replaced capacitors in mine I also ended up replacing the power supply as well so it can be a complex problem. You should probably not ignore the issue.

 

[MichaelKnight]

Thanks for your answer. I want to test it with a lamp but does it have to be 60W?


.

 

[GearUp]

The bulb won't be affected so anything that draws significantly, probably not a 10 watt fluorescent. Not sure what other equipment is plugged into your unit.

 

[MichaelKnight]

The bulb won't be affected so anything that draws significantly, probably not a 10 watt fluorescent. Not sure what other equipment is plugged into your unit.

Thanks for your answer.

My desktop pc and a satellite receiver are connected to the ups in addition to the standalone dvdrecorder and when every equipment is on the total load for the ups looks about %35(maybe while playing a game it is a bit more but doesn't reach to %50).My ups is 1 kva (670W) (and also it is 9 years old,a few times it's batteries were replaced).

 

[GearUp]

My UPS units need capacitor replacement about every 5 years. It gets cold here at night which shortens battery and electronic lifetimes. That is enough load but there is a small chance of damage any time the power goes out. Turning on an inkjet printer might work well but a laserjet draws too much when turned on to be used on a UPS.

 

[MichaelKnight]

My UPS units need capacitor replacement about every 5 years. It gets cold here at night which shortens battery and electronic lifetimes. That is enough load but there is a small chance of damage any time the power goes out. Turning on an inkjet printer might work well but a laserjet draws too much when turned on to be used on a UPS.

Thanks for your answer.By saying "Turning on an inkjet printer might work well" did you mean turning on an inkjet printer for testing purposes or just said for general purposes?

 

[GearUp]

My UPS units need capacitor replacement about every 5 years. It gets cold here at night which shortens battery and electronic lifetimes. That is enough load but there is a small chance of damage any time the power goes out. Turning on an inkjet printer might work well but a laserjet draws too much when turned on to be used on a UPS.

Thanks for your answer.By saying "Turning on an inkjet printer might work well" did you mean turning on an inkjet printer for testing purposes or just said for general purposes?

The lamp is only intended for a known power draw not the light. That should turn on regardless but invoke a problem. In my case I think the computer restarted or the TV blinked. It's been a while. Occasionally one UPS will indicate power issues while the other doesn't and the units still work for years but that's when I check the history of them.

 

[GearUp]

For one estimate of the power draw of a LaserJet printer see
https/superuser.com/questions/466642/why-shouldnt-i-attach-laser-printers-or-scanners-to-a-ups
In the neighborhood of 600-700 watts and 200 watts normally. Only the expensive UPS units would qualify and it's probably still not recommended.
I'm not sure this always occurs on power up but the print job seems to proceed quickly. The average power draw is high so I turn mine off and plug it into the wall. My scanner seems to proceed more slowly so I believe that is when the element is heated but that may be setting up the scans.

 

[mikef845]

I have a standalone dvdrecorder.It is connected to a satelleite receiver and also connected to a digital line interactive uninterruptable power supply(ups).

My problem is, a few weeks ago my standalone dvdrecorder was recording something and I think there was a problem with electriciy and my ups started to run on battery mode.It happened like this: The ups started running on battery mode,then after a few seconds switched to normal mode, then after a few seconds it switched to battery mode again...This happened maybe more than 30 times in a few minutes.And the problem is, while ups was switching modes,the dvdrecorder suddenly stopped recording and showed a "write error" warning and the dvd inside got useless.


It maybe just a chance event, because the previous day before that happened, the dvdrecorder had given the same error although there was no appearent electricity/power problem.

Unfortunately (or fortunately ) those voltage problems rarely happen here so I couldn't test if the same write error happens or not.Though I tested it removing the power cable of the ups so forcing it to run battery mode and then after a few seconds re-inserting the cable about 40 times and the problem didn't repeat itself.

What maybe the cause of the write error do you think, I mean may it be related to my ups or not?Maybe a digital line interactive ups is not good enough for a sensitive dvdrecorder?

I've just been through a similar experience. My UPS started switching to backup power repeatedly every few seconds. Turns out the fuse in the main fuse box was not correctly installed. This made the power flicker and turn off for short periods. There was nothing wrong with the fuse.
I turned off everything in the flat (apartment). I reseated the fuse and the problem stopped.

 

[GearUp]

I have a standalone dvdrecorder.It is connected to a satelleite receiver and also connected to a digital line interactive uninterruptable power supply(ups).

My problem is, a few weeks ago my standalone dvdrecorder was recording something and I think there was a problem with electriciy and my ups started to run on battery mode.It happened like this: The ups started running on battery mode,then after a few seconds switched to normal mode, then after a few seconds it switched to battery mode again...This happened maybe more than 30 times in a few minutes.And the problem is, while ups was switching modes,the dvdrecorder suddenly stopped recording and showed a "write error" warning and the dvd inside got useless.


It maybe just a chance event, because the previous day before that happened, the dvdrecorder had given the same error although there was no appearent electricity/power problem.

Unfortunately (or fortunately ) those voltage problems rarely happen here so I couldn't test if the same write error happens or not.Though I tested it removing the power cable of the ups so forcing it to run battery mode and then after a few seconds re-inserting the cable about 40 times and the problem didn't repeat itself.

What maybe the cause of the write error do you think, I mean may it be related to my ups or not?Maybe a digital line interactive ups is not good enough for a sensitive dvdrecorder?

I've just been through a similar experience. My UPS started switching to backup power repeatedly every few seconds. Turns out the fuse in the main fuse box was not correctly installed. This made the power flicker and turn off for short periods. There was nothing wrong with the fuse.
I turned off everything in the flat (apartment). I reseated the fuse and the problem stopped.

I appreciate this comment. I had decided that was the case with my multi-meter but hadn't confirmed that the fuse was still good. The same likely happens with the UPS but I think simply unplugging it might reset the unit, without any repairs or replacements.

 

[MichaelKnight]

Thanks for your answers.

GearUp, can u explain a bit why did you give the laser printer example?(I wonder if it is something related to both dvd-recorder and laser printer use laser... or as a suggestion for not to connect a laser printer to an ups ( actually I don't have a laser printer).

mikef845 wrote:

I've just been through a similar experience. My UPS started switching to backup power repeatedly every few seconds. Turns out the fuse in the main fuse box was not correctly installed. This made the power flicker and turn off for short periods. There was nothing wrong with the fuse.
I turned off everything in the flat (apartment). I reseated the fuse and the problem stopped.

I don't think it is the same problem in my case.Because it happened for a few minutes the day I wrote my top thread and it didn't happen again.

 

[GearUp]

Thanks for your answers.

GearUp, can u explain a bit why did you give the laser printer example?(I wonder if it is something related to both dvd-recorder and laser printer use laser... or as a suggestion for not to connect a laser printer to an ups ( actually I don't have a laser printer).

MichaelKnight
A 750 volt amp UPS can handle about 450 watt draw so it is well matched with a 450 watt power supply. If you never draw that much, such as no heavy gaming or a laser printer that can draw 700 watts, a smaller PS and UPS works fine. Don't know what you have. Exceeding the capacity of the UPS will blow the UPS fuse or damage the UPS and/or the attached equipment. It may only restart the computer.

I checked my maintenance and it turns out the lamp caused the USB TV tuner device that was plugged into to the UPS to be orphaned. This is very troublesome usually since the tuners are "lost" one by one without notification. I was using tuner one and the tuner, switched to 2 as indicated by the LED lights. I had to power done the device and setup again, along with the modem.

Removing the fuse to force a reset is easy except for reconnecting the battery in my UPS. I would recommend that but testing could give you months of notification that the device is failing. It seems the TV tuning device is well suited and the DVD recorder is notifying you with the log.

DVD lasers don't draw that much power but laser printers are heating the element so that the toner sticks to the paper. Just figure out something that suddenly draws about 60 watts. It would be difficult doing this with multiple devices (turning them on simultaneously) but a lamp does this easily. It's the power spikes that do the damage.

Unless the in-line units are significantly cheaper, I'll stick with the on-line versions.

Hope that clarifies everything.

mikef845 wrote:

I've just been through a similar experience. My UPS started switching to backup power repeatedly every few seconds. Turns out the fuse in the main fuse box was not correctly installed. This made the power flicker and turn off for short periods. There was nothing wrong with the fuse.
I turned off everything in the flat (apartment). I reseated the fuse and the problem stopped.

I don't think it is the same problem in my case.Because it happened for a few minutes the day I wrote my top thread and it didn't happen again.

 

[GearUp]

P.S. The last time I lost a tuner I did get some notification. They may have updated the software or the OS handles it now. Maybe it only happens sometimes.

 

[MichaelKnight]

Thanks for your answer.

GearUp wrote:

If you never draw that much, such as no heavy gaming or a laser printer that can draw 700 watts, a smaller PS and UPS works fine. Don't know what you have. Exceeding the capacity of the UPS will blow the UPS fuse or damage the UPS and/or the attached equipment.

My ups is 1000 VA / 670 Watt.I am sure it never exceeds it's capacity when connected to usual units.
But a few times the women who cleaned our home overloaded the ups by attaching the vacuum cleaner. Also one time a lightning which fell very near of our home burnt the cable that connects satellite dish to satellite receiver(satellite receiver was connected to the ups) and it caused an explosion sound. I was not in the same room and had thought that ups exploded. When I entered the room, the ups was beeping continously, then I turned it off. The next day I decided to try turning it on and it started running like nothing happened. Then I noticed that satellite receiver was not turning on, when a satellite repair man came to look for what the problem was, he said that the cable got burnt cause of lightning and this caused one of satellite receiver's parts got exploded.

So maybe those overloads - vacuum cleaners, lightning - might have caused some damage to the ups' fuse?

I may try testing with a 60W light bulb if I can find it.

.

 

[GearUp]

A stationary vacuum cleaner test wouldn't be very informative. The amp variation in use should be considerable, but I'm not an electrician. That gets plugged into the wall. I'm able to recharge UPS batteries at least once using a small auto battery charger indoors. The voltage is only a general indicator but when less than 12.3 V I recharge. The car battery is lasting longer now that I do it myself. It's very likely the capacitors could be changed for a few dollars but local electronics stores are few now. The last repair I did followed the unit passing the self-test a couple weeks earlier.
If you need both a UPS and a battery it's easier to get a new unit on sale. I got a new 550 volt amp, 330 watt unit but it lacks software features and has fewer sockets.