Got|Apex?: Review: American Advanced Power Inc's APTX-350 PSU with UPS 11/4/2002

[Leon]

Thanks for reading the review. Please post any questions or comments in this thread.


http://www.gotapex.com/reviews.php?rev=misc/atx350/index.html

[smurphy]

Cool product idea and good review. How much heat did the UPS generate? Doesn't seem like much based on your MBM screen shots but any UPS I have owned says something like, "Make sure you place the UPS in an area with good air circulation". A computer case is usually pretty good for that but I just like to know these things.

Cheers,
Scott Murphy

[Apex]

Kind of weird, I've never seen a company that's proud their UPS has "No Sine wave output." I wonder why that is.

[i6s1]

Yeah, sounds like MS add copy where bugs are refered to as features. There's no practical difference bw a square wave and a sine wave for a computer is there?

[Apex]

For computers, there's no difference between square waves (approximated sine wave) and true sine waves. For electronics, that's a different story.

[LPMiller]

You know, I didn't test for heat, if only because I used it in my Lounge PC, which is an Open air case - mostly because I hate the case, and I swap parts in it all the time. But I didn't notice any large amounts of heat, nor did I have any issues with the CD burner that sat underneath it.

Don't ask me about the sine wave thingy...that sounds like math, and I don't do math.

[Apex]

Looks pretty different from my UPS, now relegated to home theater duties.

http://www.gotapex.com/reviews/misc/atx350/images/ups1.jpg

http://www.gotapex.com/reviews/misc/atlantic370thx/images/t2000.jpg

[LPMiller]

That's pretty funny. I would think you'd go with something the 9,000 watt natural gas backup generator for those home theater emergencies.

[Leon]

Dude, what's that VHS cassette tape doing there?!?!?? :eek3:

[LegendKiller]

Coasters man, coasters...


LK

[Apex]

Not everyone is rich enough to have Tivo.

[coleslaw]

Originally posted by Apex
For computers, there's no difference between square waves (approximated sine wave) and true sine waves. For electronics, that's a different story. Actually, sine waves are normally considered to be approximated square waves... ;)

From my experience, when dealing with UPS systems, units that provide a true sine-wave output are generally more expensive and of higher quality than units that feature quasi-sine-wave pulse-width-modulated stepped rectangular waves and/or standard rectangular waves. The reason for this is that the components within your PC's power supply are designed to convert true sine waves coming from your AC outlet into DC power. However, when your AC power is cut off during a black out, the power must come from the battery within the UPS itself - which provides DC power to the internal oscillator circuitry.

I've designed a few oscillator circuits myself, so I can verify that creating a pure sine wave from a DC signal is not easy while keeping the cost and bulk of the components down. Thus, providing the power supply of the PC with less-than-pure sine waves will still allow power to be transferred to subsequent peripheral components; however, it is less than ideal.

Hope that clears that issue up a bit! :P

[Apex]

Originally posted by coleslaw
Actually, sine waves are normally considered to be approximated square waves... ;)

From my experience, when dealing with UPS systems, units that provide a true sine-wave output are generally more expensive and of higher quality than units that feature quasi-sine-wave pulse-width-modulated stepped rectangular waves and/or standard rectangular waves. The reason for this is that the components within your PC's power supply are designed to convert true sine waves coming from your AC outlet into DC power. However, when your AC power is cut off during a black out, the power must come from the battery within the UPS itself - which provides DC power to the internal oscillator circuitry.

I've designed a few oscillator circuits myself, so I can verify that creating a pure sine wave from a DC signal is not easy while keeping the cost and bulk of the components down. Thus, providing the power supply of the PC with less-than-pure sine waves will still allow power to be transferred to subsequent peripheral components; however, it is less than ideal.

Hope that clears that issue up a bit! :P

I guess it depends on which manufacturer is doing the quoting. For instance, APC states explicitly either the output is an approximated sine wave (stepped, in other words) or true sine wave. APC SmartUPS models (not the BackUPS) that are 700VA and above output true sine waves. The Compaq T2000 outputs a true sine wave as well (of course it retails for $1k).

[a20tons]

A regular UPS converts AC/DC and then DC/AC'. AC' here stands for a "man-made" AC. In order to match the orginal input AC exactly, the AC' must have the right voltage (110v), the right frequency (50-60hz), and the right wave form (sine wave).

Wave form is something that has made UPS engieers scratching their heads for the past twenty years. An inperfect sine wave will damage electronic equipment, or at least cause interference with other electronic components; on the other hand, a perfect sine wave will cost too much to achieve (>$1K).

A commonly used compromise is a "nine-step table wave" output. It divides a sine wave cycle into 9 steps to imitate the sine wave. However, this cheapo solution still may cause interferences with many sensitive components, such as hard drive and modem.

AAP's power supply doesn't generate AC' at all. There is no need to worry about the sine wave. That is why they are so pround of it.

[a20tons]

Scotty Murphy's UPS, like many other UPSes, radiates heat. That is becuase the converters inside the UPS are working all the time. Usually there are two converters: AC/DC, then DC/AC. Say if his UPS's efficiency is 90%, then 10% of the electricity will turn into heat.

APTX-350 doesn't use AC/DC, DC/AC conversions. (See my previous post for reasoning.) It probably generates just as much heat as a regular power supply. I also noticed that the battery on APTX-350 is hot-swappable. (see their web site www.ups2.com/techs.htm) So, the battery package should not generate any heat at all.

I have spent quite sometime studying UPS. Once I found something interesting, I just can't help talking.

[JohnR]

Hey! What a small world! Is this Yan Goo? It says you are from Rhode Island, so I hope so. I bought a computer from you a while back, about a little more than 1 year ago. I had you put a ups power supply in. One day I pressed the power button on the computer and I heard a loud pop sound, and smelled some smoke., so I brought it to the store you worked at. The gentleman checked it out, and it seems the power supply killed my motherboard, and as soon as he changed the board, we watched the power supply smoke up the new board! I guess I just have bad luck with computers. Anyway, he replaced the motherboard and power supply with a regular antec, and everything is ok. He told me that your office has moved to a bigger location, and he gave me your contact information. The problem now is, I moved to California, and I lost that paper he gave me. I guess I can call him at the store to get it, but I was just wondering if the power supply is under warranty? What can we do about the original motherboard? If this is not you, im sorry. This seems like a cool place though. Take care.:D

[LPMiller]

Yan Gao
American Advanced Power Inc.

PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS
151 Martine Street
Fall River, MA 02723
Tel: 508-675-2000
[email protected]
www.ups2.com

However, AAP has only just now started selling UPS's's's's' to consumers, so I dunno what you had in your box.

[JohnR]

I guess so! thank you very much!

I got this ups from his old place of work, I think he was doing it there for a while, i dont really know.

How many Yan Goo or Gao can there be selling aap ups?

Thanks for the help, I will call them shortly.