Kitz Forum

Broadband Related => Broadband Hardware => Topic started by: Bowdon on February 06, 2015, 12:02:20 AM

Title: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Bowdon on February 06, 2015, 12:02:20 AM
Ok,

I'm going to be doing an experiment in a few days, once I get all my parts arrived etc.

I've bought a UPS system, with pure sine wave featured. This is the said device: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004SO5FWM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004SO5FWM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00)

My original plan was thinking just to plug in the modem and router through the machine and that will 'clean' the electricity going in to them i.e. eliminating any spikes throughout the day.

But on reading the manual and reading some information online, it kind of expects me to plug in the rj11 in to one of the ports on the back, and then from that plug another rj11 from the ups to the wall.

While I can understand why this is done, my question is do you think it would effect my fttc connection? It seems to work on a regular modems as it mentions the modem by name.

The problem I have is the few people who have used a UPS before have posted years ago on other forums and arent available for me to ask them did they make the rj11 connection too.

So shall I just plug the power plugs in and connect the modem to the bt socket like usual, or shall I link in the UPS to that process too?

Any advice always appreciated!
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: jid on February 06, 2015, 12:36:58 AM

So shall I just plug the power plugs in and connect the modem to the bt socket like usual, or shall I link in the UPS to that process too?

Any advice always appreciated!

This would be what I would do to be honest, some UPS devices cause more spikes on the FTTC modems, I read reviews a while ago of some cheaper UPS systems causing issues with interference on FTTC.

The pure sine wave should clean the power supply, and leaving the RJ11 connected directly to the master socket would be best, if you wanted to upgrade that in any way, get some good twisted pair cat5 or 6 to connect the modem to the master socket :)

Others may have more experience than me, I did lots of research about using a UPS with FTTC modem and router setups, but I found that a UPS would be too loud to have in the bedroom - where my router and modem live.
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: burakkucat on February 06, 2015, 12:41:55 AM
But on reading the manual and reading some information online, it kind of expects me to plug in the rj11 in to one of the ports on the back, and then from that plug another rj11 from the ups to the wall.

I would be very interested to know for what purpose the manual advises such a connection.  :-\  I can think of no rational reason.  :no:

Looking at the image of the back of the device along with the two RJ11/RJ12 sockets, I also see a USB peripheral socket. The latter could well be to signal to a computer (running the appropriate software as a background (daemon) task) that the mains supply has failed and to instigate an orderly shutdown after the elapse of N minutes.
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Bowdon on February 06, 2015, 12:59:01 AM
Yea, thats what I'm thinking of doing. Leaving the rj11 connected to the bt socket and just having the ups sorting the mains out.

This will be going in to the living room. I havent yet switched it on so I don't know how loud it is lol. Hopefully not like some b52 bomber taking off  :D

The manual to the device is here in .pdf format: http://www.cpsww.com.cn/support/download/user_manual/CP900EPFCLCD_UM_EU.pdf (http://www.cpsww.com.cn/support/download/user_manual/CP900EPFCLCD_UM_EU.pdf)
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Black Sheep on February 06, 2015, 07:24:10 AM
Like B*Cat .... I can't think of any rational reason why the manufacturer expects you to do the 'double rj11' connection method ??

Your experiment sounds interesting though.  :)

Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: les-70 on February 06, 2015, 08:06:21 AM
  I think the double Rj11 provides an extra surge protection for e.g. lightning strikes.  I doubt it will help and the master socket already provides some such protection.

  I get significant noise spike reduction benefits from a BT mains conditioner. However that does not have enough power to run the PC, screeen, old printer and all my Ethernet linked devices and I have found that connecting a device, running on plain mains, via Ethernet takes away some of the mains conditioner benefits.  As a result I have now gone with wireless network access only to the HG612/ modem combination that runs on the mains conditioner.  The main benefit for me is a reduction in odd noise spikes and a small impact on general errors.

   I will also be interested to see what you find.  It will depend a lot on whether you are actually getting errors from mains noise.  You may just have noise already in the pair coming to your property which the conditioner wont effect.
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: kitzuser87430 on February 06, 2015, 08:49:18 AM
I use a UPS on my modem/router, and when I used the supplied network protection it was all fine and dandy when on mains power, but when the mains was turned off (as a test of a power cut) and the UPS was supplying the modem by its battery the error seconds, FEC's and CRC's  increased dramatically to the point where the dsl signal was lost.

I then disconnected the RJ11/45's and connected the dsl straight into the modem; there was no increase in errors whilst running on battery. :)

Ian
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Bowdon on February 06, 2015, 02:27:58 PM
I've had a temporary set back in this experiment.

The Unit Amazon sent me was a european version, even though amazon should have listed properly a UK version and sent that out. I was in contact with Cyberpower UPS people (they have good customer service) and they say that they are going to push amazon to update the details ASAP. They said for me to get the item sent back to amazon and re-order as soon as the returns process goes through. So I've now packed the UPS up and will be returning it soon.

I did actually get it up and running to test how loud it was. It was extremely quiet. I had to use a euro to uk plug adapter for that part. Though the hard part was finding the right plug conversions for the sockets on the back. The UK version of this as 2 UK sockets installed, so it wouldn't be a problem. Anyway instead of having to link up lots of adapters I've decided to take cyberpowers advice and return it.

I think this is my first ever return to Amazon. It seems a straight forward process. I will be re-buying this when the information as been updated, as from what I've seen it looks very good. Very small for what it does.

Anyways I'll keep you all posted on any more updates :)
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: jid on February 06, 2015, 02:38:57 PM
I did notice as well that not all the sockets on the back are battery protected, only two of them were?
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Bowdon on February 06, 2015, 07:48:51 PM
I think its 3 are battery and surge protected and the other 3 are just surge protected.

I know that I can plug in a special multi-socket extension in to one of them.. so that would give more options.

I was surprised at how quiet it is. Literally there is no sound. Whether sound starts when things are added I'm not sure.

The CyberPower guys are very communicative via email. I had emailed APC previously and got no reply  :(
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Ixel on February 06, 2015, 08:28:05 PM
I had one of these, but have since upgraded to an online UPS - the main difference being that the output power is entirely regulated all the time. With the UPS above, the output is regulated to some degree (e.g. voltage dips or spikes, surges or abnormal power from the input), but for the most part it's essentially feeding the input power to the output power until the battery is needed. With an online UPS, you specify the output voltage and frequency. For example, mine is set to 230 volts at 50Hz.

In my view it's fine just to have the UPS condition/manage the electricity while the RJ11 is directly connected to the master socket.
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Bowdon on February 06, 2015, 11:40:55 PM
Yup, I'll link it up just through the power side.

What is an online UPS?
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Ixel on February 07, 2015, 09:46:22 AM
Yup, I'll link it up just through the power side.

What is an online UPS?

All about online UPS: http://www.powerinspired.com/online-double-conversion-ups-systems-i-4.html

All about your type of UPS: http://www.powerinspired.com/line-interactive-ups-systems-i-3.html

A summary: http://www.powerinspired.com/types-of-ups-system-i-1.html

Basically an online UPS is constantly providing power via the batteries and internal transformers, as such it's constantly supplying a stable voltage and frequency and nothing directly from the mains power (in my case a fixed 230 volts at 50Hz. A line interactive UPS (like yours) is supplying mains power on a 'bypass' state - direct in other words, unless the voltage or frequency goes out of ideal/expected ranges - in that event it will kick in until mains power is back to the ideal/expected ranges. Line interactive UPS's will also do surge protection of course.

In the summary it mentions the disadvantage to online UPS's are the audible noise they generate (due to a fan constantly running). I wouldn't say mine is overly loud, but Power Inspired (where I bought mine from a while ago as a clearance item) say they've dealt with this disadvantage somewhat - I find my fan noticeable but not disturbing at all.

Another advantage of online UPS's is you can typically hot-swap the batteries, meaning when they need to be replaced you can just switch the UPS into bypass mode (offline) and take the batteries out without having to power off any equipment - including the UPS itself.

Here's an image of my statistics at 9:51am today:
(http://i.imgur.com/2kvdozA.png)

I run several 12v~ devices via the UPS, e.g. the router, switch, and such. I also run my monitor, desktop PC and server PC via the UPS. If I shutdown my desktop PC it can last roughly 2-3 hours before the battery capacity is extremely low.
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: les-70 on February 07, 2015, 10:51:35 AM
  @Ixel  Do you know if there is any difference in vdsl error rates when running on the online UPS c.f. direct mains?  It will of course depend on what mains noise there is at your location
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Ixel on February 07, 2015, 01:43:04 PM
  @Ixel  Do you know if there is any difference in vdsl error rates when running on the online UPS c.f. direct mains?  It will of course depend on what mains noise there is at your location

I can't say I can notice a significant difference between normal mains, the line type and the online type. However, I'll show you an interesting graph that highlights the average variation in voltage throughout a month (6 hour intervals).

Input Voltage (variation): http://i.imgur.com/CEpilAJ.png
Output Voltage (stable): http://i.imgur.com/PySbOjo.png
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Bowdon on February 07, 2015, 06:46:09 PM
I noticed when I did have the UPS working the voltage did go up and down quite a bit. Up 1, down 2, up 1 etc.. all the time.

When I eventually get the UPS back (well a UK one) ill be monitoring it.

It is possible that I can't improve the condition of the line as it is about 850m in length, so its possible interference is coming down there. But I'll be observing it. At the moment I'm getting between 20 and 30 ES's a day. Which is reasonable. But apart from the trickle of 1's.. I'm trying to cut down on the bursts. Anyways time will tell :)

Thanks for the information Ixel. I hadn't heard of online UPS's before. I'll read your links.
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Bowdon on February 07, 2015, 09:36:57 PM
Hmm I'll type this in this thread then I'm not spamming the firmware thread;

Hmm.. I could do with flashing the firmware when I do this UPS thing. Only trouble is I've never done it before, the way thats suggested anyways.

On the instructions at number 3 it says 'Configure the ethernet nic of your pc with ip address 192.168.1.100 .. I'm assuming this is like setting a static ip on the pc. Also why does it need to be set to that particular ip?

I know this is a very simple noob question but how exactly does one power down the hg612? there isnt a power button. Does it mean to just unclip the power cable from it (or unplug from the mains)?

My current hg612 is:

Software version    V100R001C01B028SP10
Firmware version    A2pv6C035m.d22g

So if I use this file: bcm96368MVWG_fs_kernel_HG612V100R001C01B030SP08_webgui

Then I should be good to go?
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: loonylion on February 07, 2015, 09:47:34 PM
Hmm I'll type this in this thread then I'm not spamming the firmware thread;

Hmm.. I could do with flashing the firmware when I do this UPS thing. Only trouble is I've never done it before, the way thats suggested anyways.

On the instructions at number 3 it says 'Configure the ethernet nic of your pc with ip address 192.168.1.100 .. I'm assuming this is like setting a static ip on the pc. Also why does it need to be set to that particular ip?

yes it's setting a static IP. And it doesn't need to be that IP, it just needs to be in the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet and can't be 192.168.1.1. Rather than try to explain that, the author chose an IP and tells you to use it in order to keep the instructions simple.

I know this is a very simple noob question but how exactly does one power down the hg612? there isnt a power button. Does it mean to just unclip the power cable from it (or unplug from the mains)?

Yes. It's also recommended to unplug the dsl cable from the modem after powering it off, and keep the dsl unplugged until you've confirmed that the flash was completed successfully, in order to avoid offending the DLM system.
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Bowdon on February 07, 2015, 10:04:55 PM
Ahhh yes, I understand.

Thanks mate :)

Technology can be like a magician, confusing until its explained! lol
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: Bowdon on February 15, 2015, 12:00:00 AM
A quick update. Amazon sent out the wrong UPS AGAIN  >:(

I'm sending it back on monday, and going to order it from LambdaTek, a company the cyberpower representative suggested.

Amazon seem really slow at updating their systems. I know the proper information was sent to them by cyberpower last week, and it does have the UK part code on the page. But yet they send out the EU version.. grrr :p

I'm waiting on it to arrive so I can move around all my stuff so I only need to disconnect from the net 1 time.

Anyways, I'll keep ya all posted :)
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: burakkucat on February 15, 2015, 02:08:51 AM
A quick update. Amazon sent out the wrong UPS AGAIN  >:(

 :doh:  D'oh!
Title: Re: UPS and dsl line question.
Post by: loonylion on February 15, 2015, 03:22:57 AM
why would Amazon UK even stock the EU part, it's not much use here since none of the plugs fit?