Picture Time (Feb 22 2007)

No real news today - I mostly just dealt with fallout from the past couple of days' heavy activity. But I did take some (bad) photos and put up a new album regarding the recent network changes in the Photo Album section of our web site. Enjoy! (if that's the kind of thing you enjoy).

Edit: I should add that with all the recent news about the stolen laptop being recovered by SETI@home - this was made possible by BOINC. SETI@home Classic didn't have the capacity to track such activity. Another reason the switch to BOINC was a good thing.

- Matt
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-- BOINC/SETI@home network/web/science/development person
-- "Any idiot can have a good idea. What is hard is to do it." - Jeanne-Claude

Thanks for posting the pics...Seeing them kind of brings the project to life...so it's not just something that's just out there...I like seeing the people and the hardware that make this project work...I think maybe it might help the fund drive if you posted some more pictures of the older equipment that is still at work for SETI@home...Seeing how computer technology has advanced for the home user in the past few years...I think some people would be shocked to see some of the ancient equipment that the project still must rely on due to budget constraints.
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Proud to be TFFE

Thanks for the pics, Matt...
Lots of people were pretty vocal about the lack of info from the team at Berkeley, and you've done a sterling job of correcting this.
Makes us crunchers feel more like the important part of the project that we like to think we are!

PS anybody wanna donate a dual-rectified UPS to a poor student? I've lost a heap of crunching time to Summer and Autumn storms since November! lol... just kidding, of course!
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PS anybody wanna donate a dual-rectified UPS to a poor student?

WTF is dual rectified?
I've only ever heard of standby & on-line UPSs.

Hey Matt, thanks eh, this news thread is for real.even got pictures, I like pictures. I took a break from swearing at the nest of wires here to look at your closet, funny how much simpler it made my nest look :)
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PS anybody wanna donate a dual-rectified UPS to a poor student?

WTF is dual rectified?
I've only ever heard of standby & on-line UPSs.

Dual rectified is a variety of online UPS.
The AC input is stepped down and rectified to DC and charges a battery. A feed from the battery is inverted to become DC and then stepped up, to power the PC and peripherals. Essentially, it isolates the PC from the mains, and therefore protects fully from sudden large spikes of the kind we get here in Oz. It's also very useful in remote locations, where diesel generators provide power, due to the lack of a national grid source.

...What you've just described is the standard UPS (for the non-technical out there, Uninterruptable Power Source) -- where does the second rectification come in? I'd expect a second stage, and maybe a second battery in there, ...

What you've just described is the standard UPS (for the non-technical out there, Uninterruptable Power Source) -- where does the second rectification come in? I'd expect a second stage, and maybe a second battery in there, for a "Dual Rectified" UPS... (the computer would draw down the battery closer to the mains before the one closer to the load, I guess)

...Which reminds me, today looks like a good day for UPS testing -- I have six hours on battery.

PS anybody wanna donate a dual-rectified UPS to a poor student?

WTF is dual rectified?
I've only ever heard of standby & on-line UPSs.

Dual rectified is a variety of online UPS.
The AC input is stepped down and rectified to DC and charges a battery. A feed from the battery is inverted to become DC and then stepped up, to power the PC and peripherals. Essentially, it isolates the PC from the mains, and therefore protects fully from sudden large spikes of the kind we get here in Oz. It's also very useful in remote locations, where diesel generators provide power, due to the lack of a national grid source.

{quote]Ummm, when you say "A feed from the battery is inverted to become DC and then stepped up," don't you actually mean "A feed from the battery is inverted to become AC and then stepped up,"?

What you've just described is the standard UPS (for the non-technical out there, Uninterruptable Power Source) -- where does the second rectification come in? I'd expect a second stage, and maybe a second battery in there, for a "Dual Rectified" UPS... (the computer would draw down the battery closer to the mains before the one closer to the load, I guess)

What you've just described is the standard UPS (for the non-technical out there, Uninterruptable Power Source) -- where does the second rectification come in? I'd expect a second stage, and maybe a second battery in there, for a "Dual Rectified" UPS... (the computer would draw down the battery closer to the mains before the one closer to the load, I guess)

The most common type of UPS is called a "standby" UPS.

Power is taken from the mains and passed through to the load, and some runs the battery charger, but the inverter is not running.

When the power drops out the load switches and the inverter starts -- and the capacitors in the power supply bridge the few milliseconds while all of that happens.

They're also known as "offline" UPS over here, Ned. They are fine as far as they go. That is, they keep you up and running in a blackout, but they are NOT a good idea if there's a storm, unless you disconnect them from the mains. The majority of suburban power lines here in Oz are ABOVE ground, which means you have to turn off your PC(s) if there's a storm.

The other type, where the inverter runs continuously, is fairly unusual these days, and generally more expensive.

I wouldn't like to use any other type, for the reason quoted above. It's just too risky, unless you disconnect from the mains, and allow the batteries to drain. Not so bad if you only have one or two PCs, but in a larger network, with servers, etc, or in an area powered by diesel gennies that tend to surge a bit, the more expensive option is the only one. Australia has a lot of such installations. Most of our mines are in remote locations, with no National Grid supply.

Which reminds me, today looks like a good day for UPS testing -- I have six hours on battery.

OK...

I thought it might be an idea to post this: UPS types

The site explains pretty simply the differences between the THREE types of UPS.
Double rectified UPS are called dual conversion UPS on this site.

Martin's statement: "Marketing psuedo-tech technobabble-speak to confuse the unwary out of extra money for nothing extra..." is very accurate! Many compnies use different terminology to describe the same thing, making it look as though THEIR technology is superior, when there is, in fact, little difference!
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...Which reminds me, today looks like a good day for UPS testing -- I have six hours on battery.

But isn't that normal for a laptop?

Happy crunchin',
Martin

Or possibly there would be two standard UPS's in parallel, joined only at the power input, and the power output, both UPS's with the same rating as the entire box.

BTW, if your UPS fails, always test the battery(ies) - it(they) may be the only component(s) that has(have) failed.

[quote]
Or possibly there would be two standard UPS's in parallel, joined only at the power input, and the power output, both UPS's with the same rating as the entire box.