Tech Notes from the Field

What does battery backup mean to you? As we go through this slow economy we are finding things that are on the list for maintenance which, if not dealt with soon, may jeopardize our operations. One of these items is our UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) system. I have two which are indicating battery replacement and these happen to be the ones in a control room that required cost cutting measures when built, so these are your off-the-shelf APC boxes. I cannot change the batteries while they are online, nor do I want to by-pass them and not protect my systems. Now I need to walk through and justify the cost of a decent UPS. In the “good” times I would be able to purchase these first and justify their existence when the bill arrived. This should be an easy walk-through as I think it is worth protecting $50k worth of equipment. It also protects our on-air product. We hate to be off the air, you know.

Of the routine maintenance you do this year, I suggest putting your money where it is necessary. Power protection should not be taken lightly. Though inconvenient to swap out the UPS, I know that in the future I will be able to change batteries without taking our studio off-line. With summer coming and our fine California weather which will require “rolling blackouts”, I want to be prepared. Even with a generator on the system, there is still transfer times and there will be brown-outs and spikes that do not trigger the system.

As it turns out, I found a way to change out one UPS without taking down the console or critical items. When the next UPS arrives I will take down the computers in the room. This is only a minor inconvenience as opposed to taking down the whole room. Invest in what you have, it may save you a bit of money down the road.