[HTCrazy]

After slogging through other threads on the subject, it looks like having a UPS is a really good idea for if/when the power goes out. This allows the PJ to stay on and fans to continue to cool down the bulb so it doesn't blow.


Most recommend using a pure sine wave output UPS since its hard to tell whether your PJ's power supply is switchable or not. In the APC line, that means a minimum of around $350.


I have a couple UPS's lying around but they just do the stepped sine or square wave (APC BackUPS 650's). And anything other than pure sine could be a distaster with the wrong power supply.


My question is does anyone know if Sony has a recommendation for the HS10? Does it use a switchable power supply? I know its always safe to go with pure sine, but I wouldn't mind saving $350 either.

 

[dandavw]

HTCrazy,

I saw on Monster's website that they have a new Home Theater grade UPS. This might be exactly what is needed for a digital projector. Also, if you are planning on using an HTPC, I guess it would be a good idea to plug both into the UPS.

 

[letMeIn]

I was also thinking about buying UPS once i get my HS10 ...


Post INFO people if you have it !

 

[HTCrazy]

dandavw - Interesting, did you get a suggested retail on the Monster UPS? The minimum APC you can go with for with sine wave output starts at around $350.

 

[stanger89]

I just looked at the Monster site and the first UPS if found was a retail $499.95, but I don't see anything about whether it ouputs a pure sine wave or not.


Link:
http://www.monstercable.com/power/pr...r.asp?pin=1227

 

[HTCrazy]

I just spoke to someone from where I bought my HS10. They said the Monster UPS is expected to be released over the summer. Since they sell lots of projectors I asked how many of their installations used UPS's. He said very very few since its tough to get them in the ceiling enclosures.


Since our power outages aren't all that infrequent I about what happens when there's a power loss - do the bulbs just blow? He said that was a problem with older units, but bulbs are made much better these days and that rarely happens.


How big a block of salt should I take with that?

 

[gks]

I've thought about a UPS as well, but haven't looked to hard yet.

The thing that strikes me - why does the bulb need to be cooled down after it shuts off - wouldn't that actually speed up the contraction?

I can see why you need cooling whiles it's on, heat contol and all, but my logic suggests that the cooldown is more to keep the residual bulb heat from affecting the rest of the unit.

I now stand ready to be corrected by someone who actually knows what they're talking about .

 

[darinp]

gks,


I only know this only from reading it many times on this site, but the problem isn't with shutting the projector off and not letting the fan run. The problem is when you turn it back on before the bulb has cooled down. The fan runs after you turn the projector off so that the bulb will get down to an appropriate temperature for lighting again. This at least seems to be the prevailing knowledge around here.


That doesn't mean that a UPS isn't a good idea for other reasons, though.


--Darin

 

[mulveling]

Quote:

Originally posted by darinp gks, I only know this only from reading it many times on this site, but the problem isn't with shutting the projector off and not letting the fan run. The problem is when you turn it back on before the bulb has cooled down. The fan runs after you turn the projector off so that the bulb will get down to an appropriate temperature for lighting again. This at least seems to be the prevailing knowledge around here. That doesn't mean that a UPS isn't a good idea for other reasons, though. --Darin

Uh oh. About a month ago I accidentally pulled the plug on my ae300 while it was running (doh!). Thinking that the stagnant air would cause the bulb to heat up too much and possibly explode, I switched it back on as quickly as possible to get the fan running again. Obviously, I'm not a genious on these bulb matters and I was just acting on instinct. Everything worked fine afterwards, thankfully. While visually I haven't been able to tell a difference in brightness since the mishap, yesterday my camera's light meter seemed to think the brightness has dropped since I first got it - but just barely, like 1/2 an f-stop, its smallest measurable increment. The bulb is at 140 hours today, so would you say such a brightness drop is to be expected in the first 100 hours? I can't even be sure if the camera is just not able to accurately measure such small changes. I'm hoping such an event wouldn't cause the bulb to start dimming all of a suddden the next month? I've run the pj on econo mode for all but say 11 hours. I'd prefer to run the bulb on full power since I don't mind buying a bulb every 2K hours, but I'm paranoid that doing so will cause the bulb to dim noticeably well before the 2K is up. Any words of wisdom you can lend to a guy uninformed on how pj bulbs work?


Mike U.

 

[WatchThis]

$350 for the UPS? how 'bout just getting a $10 battery-powered personal fan from Wal-Mart and holding it up to your intake port?

 

[robinsn]

A UPS will do more than just let your bulb cool down correctly, such as keeping the power from fluctuating which can wear on sensitive equipment.

Around here, when the power goes off, it comes back on half a second later which can't be good for the bulb or the electronics. An online sinewave UPS will supply an exact 120 to your equipment no matter what happens with the electric utility. You can get an idea of the size you need at http://www.sizemyups.com (for Minuteman UPSes)

 

[darinp]

Mike,


It sounds like you are just seeing the normal loss of brightness over time. I've read here something like 10% the first 100 hours or so. I doubt that you did much damage, but that's just a guess on my part. I've done this thing myself more than once. In fact I had a problem where the projector did this on it's own about 10 times and I probably should have measured the brightness before and after. I didn't notice any drop myself, but Sharp fixed the projector without changing the bulb.


I think it's just something to think about in the future. There are threads you can search for on the >$5k forum where they talk about bulb maintenance. One issue is that starting the bulbs is hard on them, so I think the general suggestion is that if you are going to take a 20 minute break, just leave the bulb on.


--Darin

 

[tallvertebrate]

If you live in an area that has constant power outages, a UPS would be a good investment.


If you don't, then just replace the bulb if it dies, since most bulbs are in the same price range as a $300-400 UPS. You could also have a $10 Wal-Mart fan just to help.


tallvertebrate

 

[bgl90042]

why is it necessary to buy such an expensive ups?

they make cheaper ones...

 

[newtbert]

Quote:

Originally posted by bgl90042 why is it necessary to buy such an expensive ups? they make cheaper ones...

As the first poster stated, the waveform typical back ups's produce can be disaster with the wrong power supply...


But theres another issue ive not heard mentioned. I presume your going to be sitting there when the power goes out, so that you can manually turn-off the pj before the ups expires? I hope so because ups's generally do not fail gracefully when their batteries expire. This is especially true is the ups is running near its maximum load capacity.


With (real) computers, there is a connection from the ups back to the cpu that tells the cpu that its running on battery, so that the cpu can power-down gracefully BEFORE the battery expires. No such thing with the pj.


BUT i suppose you are probably sitting there when the power goes out, unless passed out or something, so thats prolly a non-issue. But imho if your going to do this, you better get a good one cause a cheasy one can do much more harm than good. And make sure it can handle the power requirement, I suspect these pj's draw allot of juice (from the heat they put out), and you'll need it to keep running for at least awhile with the bulb on before you can manually shut the pj off. I can't see the logic in putting a cheasy

 

[newtbert]

Quote:

Originally posted by tallvertebrate If you live in an area that has constant power outages, a UPS would be a good investment. If you don't, then just replace the bulb if it dies, since most bulbs are in the same price range as a $300-400 UPS. You could also have a $10 Wal-Mart fan just to help. tallvertebrate

So may be emergency lighting, as its gonna be pretty dark in there afterwards (if your theater is any good)

 

[robertmee]

These issues have been debated before....


First off, as several posters have already mentioned, losing power immediately does nothing to the bulb. It's the attempt to restart the PJ with the bulb already hot that is the problem. Most newer PJ's have thermistors or thermocouples that detect a hot bulb and will run the fan PRIOR to restarting...At least my Panasonic 75u is this way. If you cut the power and then attempt to restart it, the fan will run in high speed mode, before igniting the lamp. Interesting theory on the crystallization of the filament, I must admit...But the comparison to a blow dryer doesn't fit, because hopefully, you aren't losing power everyday. You might lose it 10 times in the lifetime of the bulb, and I can't imagine that making much of a difference. Course, I've been wrong before


Now, someone suggested a problem with a restart after power comes back on....Ummmm.....Unless your PJ dates to the 80's, most PJ's have electronic on/off, just as almost all TV's, PC's, and other electronic equipment. When you cycle hard power, it's not going to restart, unless you hit the power ON on the remote, or the power toggle on the unit...I haven't seen any PJ with a hard switch that would turn it on if left in the ON position. I could be wrong, but that would be a very poor design.


With the above taken into consideration, I don't see any need for a UPS....You don't put a UPS on your TV. You put one on your PC to keep from losing critical data. If you are concerned with power fluctuations and noise, buy a decent conditioner/surge protector....Not a UPS.


And PS....$499 for a MONSTER UPS....Best laugh I had all day

 

[Misha]

I would like to throw my 2 cents on the other side of the equation.


I found a large, 2000VA UPS on ebay a while back, and picked that up for my entire AV stack. My theory is that not only will it level out line fluctuations and protect the equipment from momentary power outages, and can even continue to watch my movie after main power goes out ! With the satellite box, 2 VCRs, DVD, and receiver all on, the power draw does not register. When either the digital projector or 32 inch TV are added, the lowest light on the power out bar lights. I have not tried run time after un-plugging, but I am guessing half an hour or more. Also, with all of the electronics on the single outlet, there should be less trouble ground loops and line noise getting into the video or audio lines. The only problem is that I had to run extension lines to the projector and the sub-woofer to keep them on the same UPS. I have been running this setup for ~6 months, and all seems well. Mine is an older APC unit, but it does have the sine wave output feature.


On the other hand, paying $499 for a Monster UPS makes me chuckle, too!


Mike

 

[Miles]

Just a note if you can get to Belkin tonight... there's a 50% off coupon from http://www.belkin.com/ .... it's 173 . There's a model w/ sine out... Regulator Proâ„¢ 700VA Network UPS which goes from $349.99 becomes $174.99


I'm in Canada and don't have much $$$ at the moment. But, I'd love to have one of these for my NEC LT-150.


Later,


Miles

 

[T u r b o]

Even though I couldn't find it published anywhere, the APC Back-UPS Pro 1100VA has a true sine wave inverter. It's overkill for most projector's current draw but I picked it up at a local Microcenter store for $180 I think, and they go on sale there a lot.


I bought it for some computers in another room, but when I hooked it up to my scope and saw how clean the output was I decided to use it for my MT7 (and bought another one for the computers).


The smaller ones (Back-UPS 650 for ex.) have terrible output, I'd never use one for HT.


- Mike