Marcus Didius Falco <falco_marcus_didius@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message news:<telecom23.506.7@telecom-digest.org>:
>> From: J Kelly <jkelly@newsguy.com>
>> Subject: Re: Verizon Taking Lessons From Hooterville Telephone Company
>> Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 14:55:50 -0500
>> Organization: http://newsguy.com
>> Reply-To: jkelly@newsguy.com
>> Where my brother lives if the power goes out across town, or even in a
>> town 30 miles away (where the headend is), his cable tv and internet
>> die. Hard to believe that Mediacom has no UPS's or generators for the
>> headend or any of the line amps. I think they bought some cable co's
>> that were pretty messed up though. In time I suppose they will clean
>> them up.
> There isn't much you can do if the utility dies. However, you can keep
> your house running indefinitely using something called an "inverter".
> This converts DC into "modified sine wave" AC. If you connect an
> inverter to the battery of your car with the engine running, you can
> power your computer, telephones, or other small utilities until you
> run out of gas -- which would probably take several days idling if you
> start with a full tank.
> An inverter is rated by peak and sustained power. One that will
> provide about 1200 Watts sustained will be rated for about 2400 Watts
> peak. You can probably find one for under $140 on the internet. This
> is enough power to start and run your refrigerator or, possibly, the
> fan on your furnace. Maybe even your well pump.
> The power is clean enough to run your computer, phones, or other
> electronics.
> If you have more than one car, then you can have more than one
> inverter. The alternator on a car can produce about 400 to 600 Watts,
> but the battery can supply the rest of the load. Thus, you can run
> your refrigerator, even though it draws about 900 Watts, because it
> does not run continuously -- your alternator recharges your battery.
Some inverters are better than others. If the wave is too square many
pieces of electronic gear will complain.
So stay away from cheap inverters. A UPS and a generator are the best
way to go.
Tony Pelliccio (kd1s@yahoo.com)