Last week 40,000 of us here in York had a fun little event when Met Ed turned off the electric! Well, they didn’t actually do it deliberately, but the result was the same. The lights went out!
You should know (if you didn’t learn it last week) that a sudden power failure (while your computer is turned ON and working) can cause a corruption of files on your computer’s C: drive, resulting in a condition where you computer will not boot up (when the power comes back on). Boo-hoo… oh so sad!
Actually, there’s usually no damage done if you’re not using your computer at the moment of the failure. But, if your hard drive(s) are reading/writing at the moment of failure… well, you’ll corrupt data and maybe even damage the hard drive(s). Stop and think.. How would YOU feel if someone pulled YOUR plug unexpectedly?
To deal with such unexpected adventures, there is a thing called an “uninterruptable power supply” (UPS). UPS devices come in all sorts of sizes, capacities, prices, etc. They are nothing more than a battery with some electronic circuits bundled together in a box. You plug the UPS into the AC power in your home and then plug your computer into the UPS. If you experience a sudden power outage (like we did last week) or if Met Ed decides to introduce you to “rolling brown outs” (partial reduction in voltage to conserve available supplies of electricity) or other niceties, the UPS instantly kicks in (its electronic circuits do all of this instantly and automatically) to protect your computer. In fact, it all happens so quickly that you computer never even knows it occurred!
Do I have to actually tell you that I have a UPS for each of our computers? Do I have to actually tell you that YOU should have a UPS for each of YOUR computers?
OK.. So you protect your computers. The UPS provides 5 or 10 minutes (sometimes more time, depending on the size/cost of the batteries) in which you can safely shut your computer down. We’ve used UPS devices for 20 years to protect our computers.
But, now I’ve found a NEW use for a UPS device.
For several years I have used a VOIP telephone system. The current system that we are using is the Vonage telephone system. MagicJack is another popular system that you may have heard of.
For about $25/month, Vonage allows you to telephone anywhere in the USA and also to a lot of overseas countries and talk as much as you want to for NO additional long distance charges. It’s a BIG cost savings over your local, friendly, Verizon telephone service. Vonage offers all the normal telephone amenities; call forwarding, wall waiting, 911 calls, answering machine, etc, etc… at no additional charge!
However, Vonage works over the same broadband connection that provides internet/email service to your computer. Your computer does NOT have to be turned ON in order for Vonage to work. But, the Vonage modem and your computer’s Router (if you use a router) and your computer’s Comcast modem must be plugged in and turned ON, in order for your telephones to connect with the outside world.
The electric company has, in the past, be so reliable, that it has never occurred to me that maybe, in the event of a power outage, I might want to make a phone call (over my Vonage connection).
Well, this past power outage that we had here in York has taught me that sometimes folks DO want to make a telephone call during a major power failure. Unfortunately, while I had my computer connected to a UPS, I had failed to connect my router, Comcast modem and Vonage modem to the same UPS. So, when the power failed, all six of my wonderful (Vonage-connected) telephones in the house also failed.
Well, we’ll have no more of that! Today I ordered a 1500 VAH (volt amp hour) UPS (about $165.00). I’m going to plug nothing into it except the router, the Comcast modem, the Vonage modem and the two wireless telephone base stations (that each support two additional remote telephone stations. We’ve got six Vonage telephones scattered all over the house.
All of them draw such a tiny amount of current that I figure the UPS device will keep my telephones alive and working for maybe a day or two before the battery finally runs down. Hopefully, that will be enough time for Met Ed to get their network back up and working correctly.
Presto! Telephone problem solved! Call me sometime… we’ll chat!