"Kalico" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 08:25:54 GMT, "Alan"
wrote:
[snip]

Even if he *did* have a UPS, there is no need to run speakers from it. As
a
general rule, you want to put the minimum of equipment on a UPS to
maximise
the run time when on batteries.
Also, many UPSs don't filter the mains much, JUST provide backup power
when
the mains goes out. You have to get a decent UPS for this feature.

Also, UPSs are NOT a replacement for backups. Even with a
top-of-the-range
UPS your hard drive can still fail and lose all your data.

Alan.

I agree Alan. No need at all to run speakers through the UPS
although, unless they are meaty speakers, their current drain would be
minimal.

A UPS that doesn't filter the mains is not much use as to my mind any
good quality unit will do this. I also agree that a UPS is not a
replacement for a backup. But, many people do not backup as often as
they ought and I was envising the (increasingly common) problem of
mains spikes. When I worked in IT support, I was amazed by the number
of times a PC/server went belly up and on opening the case, literally
half of the components had blown off the motherboard and other cards.
Needless to say the hard drive was toasted and much of these cases
could have been avoided by the mains being filtered for spikes.

Repeated power failures can cause extensive damage- no spikes. I had a 10mA
trip in a new office that had not had computers in it before. The PC kept
tripping it and eventually the board, processor, FD and DVD drives failed. I
was blamed for using a kettle! New PC and new trip (30mA) and it's been
fine.

Peter Scott