Is it safe to turn ON the OASYS from a Belkin Power Console?

[Tapas]

Guys,

I have my OASYS connected to the power outlet via an ISOBAR surge suppressor. The ISOBAR is always ON, providing constant surge protection. I use the main switch on the back of the OASYS to turn it ON or OFF.

I have to reach at the back and manually turn on the OASYS each time I sit down to play.

Would I cause any harm to the OASYS if I replace the ISOBAR with a Belkin PureAV PF60 Power Console?

http://www.laaudiofile.com/belkinpf60.html


There are several reasons why I want to do this:

1.
The Belkin PureAV Power Console offers 6 banks of isolated outlets with various degrees of line filtering.

The OASYS can be plugged into Bank-1 which provides the best protection for digital components.

The pair of JBL LSR4326 powered monitors can be plugged into Bank-6 which is designed for high current amplifiers.

2.
The Yamaha receiver can be plugged into Bank-5, which is designed to serve preamps.

3.
All others synths and sound modules can be hooked up to Banks 2 & 3.


My ultimate goal is to be able to turn on the whole system with a single click on my Philips Pronto TSU3500 remote.

Here is the sequence of operation:

1. Click the [System ON] button on the programmable remote.

2. The remote sends an IR code to turn the Receiver ON.

3. The moment the Yamaha receiver turns ON, it triggers all the other banks on the Belkin Power Console to turn ON following a programmed delay sequence.

4. The OASYS gets power, it begins to boot.

5. All other synths and sound modules receive power.

6. Finally, when everything else is powered on, the JBL monitors are turned on.

Notice, in this scenario, I am not pushing a single manual switch. All the main switches are turned ON by default. The Belkin Power Console is deciding when to turn the current stream on or off.

When I am finished for the day, I press the [System OFF] button on my remote. This in turn powers off the Receiver. When the Belkin senses that the Receiver is not drawing any power, it proceeds to shut down all other banks in the reverse order starting with the JBL monitors.

The OASYS is shut down last. The Belkin cuts off its power to Bank-1 last, after shutting down Banks 6 through 2.

Under this scheme, I am able to remotely turn the OASYS on or off without physically operating its main switch.


My final question is this:

Will I do any damage to the OASYS by deploying this remote switching scheme?

I know it is a bad idea to use the power strip switch to turn off a computer. You must always bring a computer down via a proper power down sequence.

[Sina172]

...

[Tapas]

Hi Sina,

I agree with your reasoning 100%

Thanks for pointing me to the Furman AR15 Series II 15-Amp Voltage Regulator:

http://www.furmansound.com/product.php?id=AR-15_II

I am happy to hear that you found it makes so much of a difference in sonic purity. I appreciate the excellent tips you provided on your other thread explaining how to make a direct connection to your studio monitors using balanced cables on the Main Outs.

You explained very well how to use another set of balanced cables to connect Outputs 1&2 to the main mixer.

I am going to try our your suggestion, and make a direct connection to my JBL studio monitors bypassing the Mackie Mixer for a better sound.

You are correct. It would make better sense to have two power conditioners – one for the home theater and one for the synths and sound modules. I could still operate them as a ganged system via the Philips Pronto remote - with the press of a single button.

[ski]

Here's what I don't like about that system. From the link you provided:

"The PF60 has what Belkin refers to as Advanced Overvoltage Protection that automatically disconnects power from your equipment when the input voltage becomes dangerously high. Power is restored automatically by the unit when the input line voltage returns to safe levels."

For a music studio? The part I underlined should be a deal-breaker. Imagine being in the middle of recording something and the power goes out on your gear because the line voltage went high. Ouch!

I'd suggest that ou get an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) like those made by APC. I have an SU1500 (pure sine wave output), and includes line filtering, over- and under-voltage protection, etc. So when the power gets funky where I live (brownouts, blackouts, and voltage spikes are very common here) I keep running.

I've got two of these units. One powers my computer and my digital board, as well as my speakers. The other powers 3 computer monitors, all of my outboard gear, DSL modem, and all of my keyboards. When the power goes down, I have up to 20 minutes to turn everything off.

They don't have a sequential power-up feature, which is a luxury IMO, not a necessity. You're probably not so old that you can't switch on the gear yourself LOL! Anyway, I think it's more important that you get something that will not turn off when the power gets funky.

[Tapas]

Hello Ski,

Great to hear from you! You are the expert Sound Designer for the OASYS and I will take your word of advice over anybody else. You have raised a very serious issue. What if I am in the middle of tweaking an elaborate combi that has not yet been saved and the Belkin PF60 decides to shut down without warning. This will be a nightmare.

I am taking the PF60 out of my list.

I agree, an Uninterrupted Power Supply by APC would be ideal to protect a precision computer like the OASYS. You have had great luck so far with the SU1500 model. We use a few of those SMART UPS units at work. They have been very reliable.

I am going to use the APC BK560MC model:

http://www.powerfactorinc.com/ups/apc/back-ups.htm

In addition to the UPS, I am going to use a Brickwall PW2RAUD surge suppressor upstream to it.

http://www.sellcom.com/brickwall.html#Audiophile

The Brickwall is a Series Mode Surge Suppressor. Unlike MOV units like the Belkin PureAV line, they do not degrade over time. It is the only surge suppressor of its type that has successfully passed US Government Guidelines – Grade A endurance.

This means they have been tested to withstand 1000 surges at 6000 volts, 3000 Amps.
Class 1 let-through voltage = 280 volts @ 3000 Amps
Mode 1 application, creates no Ground circuit contamination.

The Brickwall unit also provides excellent EMI/RFI noise filtering: 3dB@5kHz, 26dB@100kHz, 38dB@300kHz.

The PW2RAUD model is an audiophile quality unit with 20 Amp electronics for heavy duty use.

The Brickwall will plug in directly to the wall outlet.
The UPS will plug in to the Brickwall.
The OASYS will plug in to the Battery backed output of the UPS.
The JBL LSR4328P powered monitors will plug in to the surge protected outputs of the UPS.

I will have a second Brickwall PW2RAUD supplying power to the rest of the home theater.

Under this scheme, everything is reasonably protected and isolated.

Here is a brief writeup explaining the advantages of using a Series Mode surge suppressor over a standard MOV based unit.

http://www.zerosurge.com/HTML/movsres.html

Here is how Series Mode Filters work:

http://www.pricewheeler.com/howwork.htm

[ski]

Hi Tapas,

I'm not an electrical engineer, just a programmer LOL! But I'm glad (and somewhat relieved!) to see that you're considering a UPS.

One thing about the "SU" models is that they output a pure sine wave. Other models don't. The BK560MC that you are looking at does not. I'm not really qualified to discuss the benefits one way or another of stepped sine wave output vs. sine wave output, but one of the techs at APC recommended the SU series after I told him I was going to power a digital recording studio. So may I suggest you take a second look at the SU series.

At one time I had one of the rack-mounted versions of the SU (I think it was this one):

http://www.powerfactorinc.com/ups/apc/s ... u_120v.htm

It was not only very heavy, but VERY noisy. So I returned it for the non-rack version. On the subject of noise, the SU1500 & SU1400's will self-test once in a while, and if the line voltage goes very high or very low their fans will come on. Otherwise, they're pretty much silent -- only a slight 60 cycle hum from one of them (it's getting a little bit old I think). It sits about 10 feet from me and I don't hear it.

Also, let me recommend that you check out this website for deals on UPS's:

http://www.refurbups.com/

But meanwhile, I suggest calling APC and discussing your needs with one of their techs. They're very helpful. Regarding the brick wall filter, I think you might find that they'd be redundant, but one of the APC techs could probably inform you better on this. Still, it probably wouldn't hurt anything to have it.

Finally, I've known for some time that MOV-based thermistors can have a life expectancy of as little as one surge! So a non-MOV-based surge protector is the way to go, for sure.

Well, I have to go, but I wish you the best of luck with your new electrical system and your OASYS!

[sirCombatWombat]

Hi all,

I thought I drop in as I too have the APC SmartUPS 1500.
I power my PC, two LCD displays, audiointerface, two powered monitors, subwoofer and OASYS with this one unit.
And it has an USB connection to initiate proper shutdown of your PC if you are not in at the moment of trouble.
Now two years without a hitch, I too recommend it highly!