Uses for Old UPSes

Depends heavily on the tech who looks at it. I was handed a truck a couple of weeks ago that someone had spent all day trying to troubleshoot. No cruise control, no Jake brakes. He'd thrashed around for eight hours, running diagnostics, checking sensors, even popped the valve covers to check the brake solenoids. I found the broken clutch pedal return spring in less than a minute. $12 part, five minutes to install.

In many cases these mechanics are not so much dishonest as ignorant. They just plain do NOT know how to troubleshoot. The ones that have the manual, and know how to read it (that is an art in itself - particularly with FORD Manuals) they blindly follow the pinpoint tests - which can send you in 15 interlocking circles at the same time if you do not use your PDT (Primary Diagnostic Tool) (Otherwize known as the brain God gave you). Blindly following the manual can cause you to replace many parts that are not part of the problem.

In order to effectively troubleshoot today's systems, you MUST have an understanding of how it is SUPPOSED to work, so when it doesn't, you have a clue as to why.

Actually, with clueless customer base, honest automechanics cannot compete with dishonest ones.

It is not true that you did not have diagnostic equipment, you had a scope. You also had enough training to figure out where to look.

As for documentation, everyone would benefit from owning proper repair manuals.

What these techs do is, for the most part, not magic, they follow a [well designed] procedure -- except when the dishonest ones suggest unnecessary repairs, as in proposing to start swapping one part after another.

Yeah, I went to Midas for a "$39.99" muffler. When I finally got the car back, the bill was over $400.00. I should have sued the bastards.

Don't ever go to Midas, and tell your friends, relatives, and what the heck, people on the street: Don't go to Midas - they're thieves.

Thanks, Rich

Ed from Ed I just picked up a apc bk500. I charged it most of the night and the voltage only shows 98 volt on battery. The instructions on the internet show some sort of cd disc for windows which I do not have with a good battery can I just use it as it is for a usp for the computer. no alarm led lights on and it appears to be working fine thanks Ed

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I'm not aware of the inner workings of these things, Ed, nor have I put an AC voltmeter on the output, running off the car battery, to see what actual voltage I'm getting. The computer runs fine off of it but now you have my curiosity going.

-- Ed Huntress

The APC BK500 has a step Output waveform that would be no problem for a computer and monitor. MGE UPS systems are a sinewave

It might be worth re-checking the AC output voltage using a voltmeter which reads "true RMS". Most inexpensive voltmeters actually read the peak voltage, and display an RMS value calculated based on the assumption that the waveform is sinusoidal.

A lot of backup power supplies use inverters that create a distinctly non-sinusoidal waveform... it's sometimes a square wave, and sometimes a "stepped" waveform which crudely approximates a sinusoid.

It's entirely possible that the APC BK500 creates a non-sinusoidal waveform, whose RMS value is close to the nominal 120 VAC, but whose peak voltage is lower than that of a true sinusoid having 120 VAC RMS. This could cause most inexpensive voltmeters to read a value that's too low.