APC BE550G Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA 120V
by APC
|
List Price: Our Price: $48.60 You Save: $21.39 (31%) Availability: Usually ships in 3-4 business days Buy Used: from $43.49 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of APC BE550G Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA 120V
Customer Review: Unusual problem was caused--SOLVED
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently purchased this unit for my computer. Installation was fine, and the battery was not difficult to plug in if you just pull it out partially to connect the wire. However, once I booted up my computer and plugged in the rj45 to usb monitoring cable that came with it, i was checking the settings when Windows installed it itself (I have Windows 7 64-Bit), i proceeded to install the software that came with it. Once i finished the install and tried to register my product online, my network adapter was no longer working. It wouldnt connect to the router. I tried to reboot, uninstall the Powerchute UPS monitoring software. and even unplug and uninstall the UPS itself and my computer is still messed up. I have XP installed also on the same computer, and when i booted up in XP, it was also unable to connect to the network, even when i manually inputted an IP address for my network. I then suspected the router to which I reset, and setup again with a seperate computer because my desktop no longer connects. My Network adapter is currently fried in my opinion. I've contacted APC, but as it is the weekend, no response yet, we shall see what they say. My advise is get it, but forget the monitoring software until they figure it out.
***Updated 6/4/2010***
The issue I thought was, but didn't understand how, caused by this UPS was solved. It works great, and I love it. Had the power of half my town go out last week and it kicked in like a charm sounding the battery alarm and giving me time to shut my computer down properly. The monitoring software is now available for Windows 7, and works great. My issue was caused by a BIOS update I had performed a couple of weeks previous to this purchase and it wasn't until I shut the computer down completely to install the UPS that I discovered the issue the update had caused. I also found out that my university has several of these in use for the many computer labs on campus. I didn't know this until I got one and noticed them in class one day. I would recommend this to anyone and would purchase it again!
By the way, all throughout the issue I thought I had with the unit, APC tech support was very involved trying to help me. They even filed a claim and sent a replacement unit out so I could send the original, which I thought was defective, back even though in the end there was nothing wrong with it. I was able to figure out what the issue was and tried to cancel the claim before they shipped the replacement unit but I didn't catch them in time and the replacement showed up at my door a week or so later. When I contacted them again they cancelled the claim and paid for shipping both to receive and return the replacement unit. Very good customer service.
Customer Review: No power outages yet, but here are three issues.
Summary: 4 Stars
The APC is heavy and appears to be well built. I will have to wait fo a power outage (which shouldn't take very long here in Jacksonville) to find out if it really works. However, there are a few issues I noted while installing the APC.
Issue #1 - SPACING OF THE OUTLETS - While there are a total of 8 outlets, my guess is that no one is able to use all 8 because of the way they are spaced. There are two rows of four outlets. Each row has three closely spaced outlets and one that is spaced farther out to allow for a transformer. However, since almost all computers, external hard drives, etc. come with a transformer-type power cord, I don't see how anyone can use all 8 outlets. There is plenty of unused space at the end of each row, so I don't understand why APC doesn't just space them out equally and allow the practical use of all eight. This is just bad product design.
Issue #2 - LOADING THE SOFTWARE - When I inserted the CD to load the software, the expected pop-up screen appeared to tell me it was loading the files. A 0-100% scale read 0% to start, but remained at 0% for 3-4 minutes. I thought something was wrong and was about to eject the disk when another screen (not from APC) appeared telling me the installation was complete! Only after that did the 0-100% screen begin to show that the files were loading. Not a big deal, but annoying.
Issue #3 - USING THE SOFTWARE - After the files loaded, there are more screens to allow you to register the warranty. However, it did not offer the opportunity to change any optional settings and did not create a desktop icon. I finally figured out that it created an icon in the bottom tray of my screen and could make changes there. There is no mention of this in the provided instructions. Again, not a big deal, but easy for APC to fix. Most installation software these days allows for changes to options during the loading process. Why not this? Also, there is no mention of whether the USB cord that connects between the PC and the APC when loading the software must stay connected for the unit to work properly. I am disconnecting the cord because of a shortage of USB outlets on my PC and hoping for the best. How hard would it be to say something about this in the instructions?
APC, are you listening?
Customer Review: Of the Highest Accountability
Summary: 5 Stars
When the AC coming into my house falters because someone hit a pole or lightning tears up the sky, all the devices that feed off of it fail. Unless they are connected to the APC back-up, which my computer is connected to. Time and time again it has served me well.
APC, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric, a French company dating back to 1836, doesn't simply deliver a very high quality product, but provides with it a simple receipt-like document labeled "Quality Assurance Test", and the test itself has a revision number (64.68.478.36). Underneath the test revision number is the date (9/16/08) and time (8:36 PM) the product was tested before being shipped out. Then there is the station id (FT361) and the operator id (08041101). After that, the model number (BE5506) of the product and the unique serial number (3B0838X07720) of the product I have purchased. Then a complete list of all the tests conducted with the product I've purchased: DC Wires Polarity Check (passed), Cold Boot Test (passed), Clamp Output Voltage (passed), AC Input Verification (passed), Wiring Fault LED Check (passed), Enumerate Power Device (passed), Open Power Device (passes), Set Programming Mode (passed), AC Line Calibration (passed), Set Alarm Control (passed), Program UPS Model (passed), Verify UPS Model (passed), Program UPS Serial Number (passed), Set Battery Constants (passed), Set Transfer Sensitivity (passed), Set Upper Transfer Point (passed), Set Lower Transfer Point (passed), Program UPS Manufacture Date (passed), Float Voltage Test (passed), Battery Calibration (passed), Output Polarity Check (passed), Low Line Transfer (passed), I/O Phase Angle Check (passed), Start of Burn In (passed), Power Calibration (passed), Exit Programming Mode (passed), LED/Beeper Test (passed), Output Freq Test (passed), End of Burn In (passed), Set Audible Alarm Control (passed), Set Last Battery Date (passed), Close Power Device (passed), UUT Turn Off (passed).
And then a quick summary of the test: Overall Passed! Signed off by the tester.
Can there be a higher sense of accountability for a product sold by a company?
Customer Review: Exceeded my expectations
Summary: 5 Stars
I installed one of these a few weeks ago after having a power outage where I thought I had lost a hard drive. I am running a Windows 7 desktop PC, router, cable modem, monitor and my telephone base unit on it. It came with a power management Windows application called PowerChute. I downloaded the software since it was newer than the version that came with the unit. It installed flawlessly. I let the battery charge up completely, then pulled the AC power cord with the computer running to make sure PowerChute did a shutdown. You can configure PowerChute to specify how long the you want the computer to keep running on battery power until forcing a shutdown. Then I charged it up again and forced a power outage with the software configured to keep the equipment on as long as possible. It lasted almost 7 minutes, which was a little more than predicted with my equipment load (per specifications). The UPS unit monitors AC voltage levels and noise on the AC line, and can be configured to force a switch to battery operation if either voltage or noise is outside of acceptable limits. PowerChute keeps a log of outages -- when they occurred and for how long was the system running on battery power. I leave my PC on almost continuously, but I put it into 'sleep' mode when I am done using it. While in sleep mode, the computer will *not* be awakened by the UPS if the power goes out. My equipment draws about 0.25 amps while the computer and monitor are in sleep mode, so it would take an outage of about 90 minutes until the UPS ran out of gas. One quirk I noticed is that when the computer is awakened (by me), the PowerChute tray application immediately tries to communicate with the UPS and briefly displays an error message. The UPS unit has 8 outlets - 4 can switch to battery power; the other 4 cannot. But they all have a small amount of 'surge' protection. The UPS unit does not get hot when charging or running on battery power. There are no odors such as I read about in another review. Haven't had any reason to contact technical support, so I am a happy, power-protected camper.Customer Review: Returned because of lack of pure Sinewave
Summary: 1 Stars
Returned because of lack of pure Sinewave - It just did NOT protect my Dell studio XPS ...
Again, Another Dirty Little Secret in the Computer Industry !
Dell Computer has chosen to make their fast, advanced studio XPS 9000 computer with Windows 7, using a new power supply that is INCOMPATABLE with all reasonably priced UPS units that use "simulated sinewave" technology".
. . . Several weeks ago . . .
In an attempt to protect my data I purchased a Diablotek 5600vr $45.00, 'no-name' UPS only to discover, weeks later, during several quick power outages that it didn't protect! - Next I opted for an inexpensive $57.00, known, APC UPS unit - only to find that it DIDN'T work with the XPS 9000 either! With a call to APC I was informed that I would need a "pure sine wave" unit costing over $350.00 because of Dell's new power supply. . . . Oh dear!
Later, at a local computer store, the technician told me "all I needed was a more powerful unit" & that he had no such problem with any of his computers. Before I purchased at Best Buy a much more powerful Ciber Power "Reliability,Quality,Value" - Battery Backup, 1350VA, 810 watts @ $145.00, I asked their "geek" if it would work with my Dell, studio XPS 9000 and he said "Yes", so off I went with what I thought was the answer. After several quick tests with the computer I sadly discovered that even the mighty Ciber Power didn't keep the XPS 9000 from rebooting during power a failure. Oh My! ... So, I called Dell [ ha! - India ] and was finally told I would need a $481.00! APC, 750V Pure sine wave "Smart-UPS". ! Even the quoted price went up!
So... there you have it:
Yet Again, Another Dirty Little Secret in the Computer Industry !