Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:48 am
guys,
Although not new to the MT-ROS (working with 70 rb's with rosv.3.2 and v3.3 now) anymore, on some things still a virgin.....
How do I make a routerboard tell me (mail or sms script, got that already covered) my UPS is running on battery power.
How do I convert the nowadays standard USB-cable equipped UPC into a serial conection to the routerboard?
I have some serial to USB adapters, but they need special driver software for Window to work on a PC. But how can I use them on a routerboard?
It´s nice MT has the UPS possibility. But if I read the forum and manual I see only APC-UPS's mentioned, on serial cables with relating wire diagrams. Are they the same for other brands? And for USB? I haven´t a glue.
Here in Europe APC-USB's are almost impossible to get or twice or three times as expensive as other quality UPSs. (And I´m not talking the cheap supermarket stuff!)
The only UPS-serial equipped I could find here in Spain were cheap Belkin models that failed on me just after half a year or less..... worthless.
I´ve got 8 UPS running on PC's and now 2 on remote routerboard remote locations. But an UPS is not a lot of use to me in these remote locations when I only notice the battery is flat after the units dies! I need to know when the mains is gone to give me time to solve the problem!
I can use special Ethernet monitor devices that monitor the mains for me, but these need power too, and room. And cost me a leg! They work with 9V input power so work from their mains adapter because I have no 9Volt available from the UPS. Because of this the adapter uses the full output power which shorten the live of the UPS considerably when on battery power. (Battery power needs to be ´pumped-up´ to 230V while the adapter brings it back to 9Volts! This give twice losses!)
The MT units get their power straight from the battery cables (an adaption made by me).
Therefore, does the routerboard puts itself in hibernation when voltage drops below a certain level? Or does he do so after getting a certain command from the USB?
The UPS is really a great backup to have in mains insecure environments, I had a rb333 (three radio cards but only two clients, so not a lot of cpu activity) + a rb532A with two idle cards running for almost 30 ours on a 500VA UPS.
My PC only runs half an hour on the same!
But now I have the units bleed to death twice in a month time which probably cost me a radio card, and gained me a unhappy customer!
Please some help on this!
If it is a useful one we could form it into a proper clearly understandable info for the WiKi too!
I´ll bet lots of users might find this interesting info?
rgds.
Rudy