Need help to keep computer safe..

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,707
im aware of that, but voltage going up and down isnt as concerning as fluctuations and static or other stuff that i dont understand...

if the voltage goes above 230v, i believe the laptop brick has a "switch mode" that wont allow the high voltage to reach the laptop battery... i have a fujitsu laptop that im typing this on now.. it has survived over a year of use on this power.. although the plug only has 2 prongs as opposed to 3.. but.. cpu... ummm.. celeron.. i had that 25 years ago.. maybo not 1ghz.. but celeron nonetheless... but it is killing it with linux :)... oh and only 4gb of ram...
A chief engineer I knew a long long long time ago once said that at some point you have to just pick something and go with it.
 

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corporal_Canada

Joined Oct 17, 2024
138
They do work pretty well. Does that have a pure sine output?
i should hope so.. it is called a PFC sinewave on the website, i did ask seller if output is sine wave on both plugged in and battery mode.. it is WAY out of my budget but so is losing a 1500$cad laptop :/.. and it does have a nvidia 3060(the gaming laptop not the UPS)... although i am n AMD fanboy.. a gpu is a gpu by any other name... and apart from running super hot when i clack away at at the keyboard while i escape reality in the gaming world (believe it or not, it really does help me deal with my PTSD)... as long as i stay away from shooter games :)
 
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corporal_Canada

Joined Oct 17, 2024
138
A chief engineer I knew a long long long time ago once said that at some point you have to just pick something and go with it.
i completely agree but this laptop screams and begs me to stop more than my 91 toyota tercel did when i reached 160 Kph on the tran Canada hwy.. yes i was young and stupid :eek:
 

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corporal_Canada

Joined Oct 17, 2024
138
Small alligator clips with high current loads does not sound like a good idea. Higher currents require very big alligator clips, but that's usually only for temporary use. Good designs would use bolt-on wire terminals that bolt right onto the bolt-on battery terminals. For high currents even those "F" type push on connectors are not used. You could be dealing with 50 amps or more depending in your load requirements.
i agree.. but ONLY the alligator clips are connected to the 2nd ups battery.. so only battery overflow circulates in those alligator clips.. and the alligator clips are the same thickness as the ones connected to the ups battery inside the ups... woo.. that phrase made me dizzy :)

i used to run the little cpu fan on the ups from the 2nd battery figuring the battery to battery overflow would keep the 2nd battery charged.. but once i felt that umm "buzzing" when i touched it by accident i removed the cpu fan.. and all i have is a badly cut square hole... i will make a promise to myself not to modify the PFC ups at all.. at 200 $.. nah, ill just leave it be, no 2nd battery nothing... oh.. ill buy it in November because the laptop that i want to protect just entered Halifax, Canada yesterday.. soo.. 3 weeks until i can hug and kiss her :)
 

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corporal_Canada

Joined Oct 17, 2024
138
just to confirm.. all i need is that cyberpower PFC puresine ups ??? should i bother with the 2 cables that i have fished to the earthquake beam in my home ??? dont need a isolation transformer GFCI ? none of that ???
 

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,707
i should hope so.. it is called a PFC sinewave on the website, i did ask seller if output is sine wave on both plugged in and battery mode.. it is WAY out of my budget but so is losing a 1500$cad laptop :/.. and it does have a nvidia 3060(the gaming laptop not the UPS)... although i am n AMD fanboy.. a gpu is a gpu by any other name... and apart from running super hot when i clack away at at the keyboard while i escape reality in the gaming world (believe it or not, it really does help me deal with my PTSD)... as long as i stay away from shooter games :)
Hi,

Just to note, you can't really ask if it is a "sine wave", you have to ask if it is a "pure sinewave". That's because sometimes they call a single pulse of a certain duration a sine because it mimics a sine wave even though it is just a pulse. They have other names for that pulse too such as pseudo sine and modified sine.

I've read that phone chargers can work with the pseudo sine waves, but I don't think that's a good idea either. Wall warts want to convert AC into DC and they expect a smooth rising wavefront not a pulse with a fast rise time.
 

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,707
just to confirm.. all i need is that cyberpower PFC puresine ups ??? should i bother with the 2 cables that i have fished to the earthquake beam in my home ??? dont need a isolation transformer GFCI ? none of that ???
You should do ok with a pure sine inverter, but it should be rated for a power level that is at least twice what your normal load should be. that's not only to ensure reliability, it's because at full load the batteries would probably only last a few minutes or so.

Back when I worked in the industry we had a funny saying. For the converters we designed we would call "full load" something a little funny: "fool load" (ha ha) which implies that someone is a fool if they buy a converter rated only for the load they intended to use it with.
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
27,553
An alternative not discussed is an external power supply to use instead of the supplied power supply. The external supply could use a more serious transient protection scheme.
And another thought is that connecting any of the computer side of the circuit to an actual "ground" will provide a circuit path for any arriving voltage transient on the DC power feed thru the computer to that ground. In an open circuit there is seldom much current flow to do damage.
 

schmitt trigger

Joined Jul 12, 2010
2,090
i completely agree but this laptop screams and begs me to stop more than my 91 toyota tercel did when i reached 160 Kph on the tran Canada hwy.. yes i was young and stupid :eek:
I also had a 91 Toyota Tercel. The base model, with a manual transmission. Drove it for 120,000 miles then gave it to my daughter when she went to college. After graduating and an additional 50,000 miles, she sold it to her ex-boyfriend’s father, who sold used cars. Last I heard of the vehicle, it was working as a Taxi in Acapulco, still going strong. That was in 2010.
Legendary Toyota reliability.
 

Thread Starter

corporal_Canada

Joined Oct 17, 2024
138
You should do ok with a pure sine inverter, but it should be rated for a power level that is at least twice what your normal load should be. that's not only to ensure reliability, it's because at full load the batteries would probably only last a few minutes or so.

Back when I worked in the industry we had a funny saying. For the converters we designed we would call "full load" something a little funny: "fool load" (ha ha) which implies that someone is a fool if they buy a converter rated only for the load they intended to use it with.
excellent well when i checked this modl it claims it can deliver 900 watts, cant imagine it has anything larger than a 12v 9ah battery inside.. that makes it 108 watts total... ... 1/9th of the amount that it can deliver at full power...
 

Thread Starter

corporal_Canada

Joined Oct 17, 2024
138
An alternative not discussed is an external power supply to use instead of the supplied power supply. The external supply could use a more serious transient protection scheme.
And another thought is that connecting any of the computer side of the circuit to an actual "ground" will provide a circuit path for any arriving voltage transient on the DC power feed thru the computer to that ground. In an open circuit there is seldom much current flow to do damage.
the PC that had stopped to function arrived with a YGT psu... it was replaced with something im fond with.. Antec....
and i can put my own ground but as i had maybe mentioned the only copper rod buried anywhere on this land is 20 or so meters away.. and a cable going across 2 or 3 other renters might be rude and unsightly
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
27,553
Consider once again, please, that transient voltages that arrive on the power wires from outside, or anywhere else in the building, can be of only two forms: A voltage between the line side and the neutral side, OR a voltage between one or both of those and ACTUAL GROUND. By actual ground, I mean that connection to the equivalent of the copper stake deep into the earth.

Consider next that the damage done by such a transient is caused by CURRENT flow. Then, for any current to flow through any equipment there must be a completed circuit, such as a ground connection. THAT is the reason I am suggesting NOT attaching additional grounding to everything past the mains connection. The additional "grounding" connection provides a path for the transient voltage to cause a damaging current to flow.
 

Thread Starter

corporal_Canada

Joined Oct 17, 2024
138
Consider once again, please, that transient voltages that arrive on the power wires from outside, or anywhere else in the building, can be of only two forms: A voltage between the line side and the neutral side, OR a voltage between one or both of those and ACTUAL GROUND. By actual ground, I mean that connection to the equivalent of the copper stake deep into the earth.

Consider next that the damage done by such a transient is caused by CURRENT flow. Then, for any current to flow through any equipment there must be a completed circuit, such as a ground connection. THAT is the reason I am suggesting NOT attaching additional grounding to everything past the mains connection. The additional "grounding" connection provides a path for the transient voltage to cause a damaging current to flow.
i understand... so my 2 wires (exposed copper on both ends) fished to the metal beam of my home isnt sufficient.. im told that they are all connected together a at least 4 or 6 of them go roughly 1.5 meters into the ground.. although.. that buried portion is encased in concrete... and the construction guy made it a point to keep mentioning that it is WET soil...
i have 1 ground prong connection from ups plug and had a cable from the pc ground prong.. both making contact with exposed metal of this beam.... .. so.. not good enough ????the laptop im using at this moment is only 2 prong.. soo.. this laptop isnt grounded
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
27,553
If the laptop is not grounded then you have avoided the possibility of one sort of problem, because current usually does not flow where there is no circuit. So a voltage transient between the mains pair and ground will have no path to take.
The one exception is with a direct lightning hit. in that case all bets are off, because several hundred thousand volts at a few thousand amps will go wherever it wants.
 

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,707
I also had a 91 Toyota Tercel. The base model, with a manual transmission. Drove it for 120,000 miles then gave it to my daughter when she went to college. After graduating and an additional 50,000 miles, she sold it to her ex-boyfriend’s father, who sold used cars. Last I heard of the vehicle, it was working as a Taxi in Acapulco, still going strong. That was in 2010.
Legendary Toyota reliability.
I had a Hyundai lasted way past 25 years. A neighbor bought a brand new Hyundai a few years ago, then a year later it had to be recalled to replace the engine and transmission for safety reasons. They had the car for three or four months and she had nothing to drive, and could not sue because that's the "law".
 

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,707
excellent well when i checked this modl it claims it can deliver 900 watts, cant imagine it has anything larger than a 12v 9ah battery inside.. that makes it 108 watts total... ... 1/9th of the amount that it can deliver at full power...
Oh ok sounds good, but don't forget the best idea of all is to check with the natives and find out what they have been successful with, if that is possible. Their success becomes your success.
 

meowsoft

Joined Feb 27, 2021
666
One trick that has not been mentioned yet is powering the laptop computer from a separate battery stack. Use enough batteries to cover the time that you plan on operating the computer.
Then, when not operating the computer, unplug the battery pack and plug in a battery charger. This gives you total isolation from all except a direct lightning hit. No, it is not as convenient as just switching it on, but you would have total isolation AND no shock hazard.
Why not suggest to use motor generator set instead or even own electrical source like solar panel that is completely isolated ?
My house radio system and weather station system is all powered by online UPS and its AC source the powered using motor generator set to the utility source also generator set for backup using automated transfer switch and its DC source not only connected to battery but also connected to solar panel MPPT output not to forget all its data and communication line is also completely isolated as I use fiber converter to connect it

Also never forget suggest OP to use ethernet protector or such if he use ethernet or wired internet connection, I will prefer fiber converter as its completely isolated it electronically and usually cost less then high quality ethernet protector

By the way my setup above is really resilient to direct lighting strike and that was happen only a server with radio equipment got burnt all other part of building is completely fine

Also I now invent and using more robust system, for antenna plug and weather station sensor connector I tied and screwed all those plugs to a CNC stepper motor and its antenna plug and weather station sensor plug will got decoupled/unplugged mechanically automatically by those CNC stepper motor coordinated with a lightning counter sensor, and those system itself use separated battery and solar panel to charged it
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
27,553
Both the generator set and the solar cells array cost quite a bit and take up a lot of space. Swapping charger and computer on one battery have zero additional cost.
 
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