UPS

I have tried to search the web for any stationary PCs that can be driven directly on DC without luck. Suppliers like Dell, Compaq etc. do not have any DC models to my knowledge. I think there has been some articles in Home Power on converting off-the-shelf equipment to DC, but I was interested in any equipment that can be bought ready-made for DC for post-pole shift usage. Any ideas?

Offered by Jan.

UPSs are an uninteruptable power supply you plug into the wall and then plug your PC into. Some of you may have one, I know I do. What it does is to condition the power and in the event of power failure it continues to run your PC while the electricity is off for a short while. Take the lid off though and you will see a small sealed lead-acid battery of the 12 volt type. Now just imagine how much longer it would run if you connected the leads on the tiny battery to an auto battery. Instant power for your PC with no mains available. If you haven't got one, go to your next local computer fair and buy a broken one (its normally the battery that's dead and you are going to connect it to a big one anyway) and if grid power is available all it will do is charge the battery back up. Oh yes, it doesn’t have to be a PC that it powers, at about 350 watts that's a lot of fluorescent tubes!

Offered by Ian.

If you really want to use 12 volt electricity to directly power your PC then all you have to do is pull out the power supply and wire a voltage divider to supply the various voltages to the computer. You will still need to supply AC to your monitor unless you use a LCD or PLASMA display, or if you go with a very expensive military DC CRT which will require interfacing to your computer. remember that the only reason modern personal computers are so affordable is that they are mass produced, when you begin using non mass produced items the price will skyrocket. There is an issue of Mother Earth News (I think) that had a very affordable home built UPS system that could easily become a more permanent solution to powering a computer system post-pole shift.

Offered by Ray.