Netbook for providing a feed AND 12v Power

[Rob_K]

Hope this is the correct section to post this...

I have all my battery backup power in place (stay tuned for an update to this thread: http://forums.radioreference.com/pi...ile-setup/222672-home-shack-backup-power.html) but my newest problem to tackle is my Internet connection going down and an unstable thin client.

The latter first...

If I stick with the thin client, I'll probably add some ram to it. I think I'm only at 512mb and I'm running 3 feeds off of it. I thought about building a micro PC and using a "car-puter" 12v power supply so I can tie it in to all my battery backups. The cost adds up though...

Next thought (and reason for this thread). I have a Dell E6400 Laptop for my work computer. Dell sells an OEM 12v power adapter that goes direct from the laptop to a cigar plug. Cool stuff.

I wanted to see if anyone is doing this with a netbook or laptop for their feeds. I don't want to rely on a UPS. I want something I can power off of 12v. The reason I'm considering the change from the thin client is to go with a full blown OS with some disc space so I can record my feeds when my Internet craps out. Right now, when my power goes out, my UPS shuts my PC down and I rely on my thin client to stay up which is run directly off 12v.

If I go this direction and can't find a notebook/netbook that has a 12v need, I'll connect a power inverter to my battery backups.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Rob

 

[w2xq]

Some of the APC (American Power Conversion) www,apc.com UPS's -- which I started buying in 1984 in quantity for work -- are quite reasonably priced and occasionally go on sale. Currently I have a BR1500G that keeps my router and telephones alive for at least 12 hours as tested by the four-day outage caused by the 2010 hurricane Irene. Given you are additionally using a netbook that probably does not draw that much current, I would think you should get 6-8 or more hours run time, The APC web site prices are list; Staples and Office Depot have them at discounted prices. I would think a good UPS would be a better/less expensive and alternative to rolling your own. Just a thought. For safety reasons, I wouldn't use a car battery in a closed space. Hope this helps. I have no vested interest in APC other than being a very satisfied user for almost 30 years.

 

[Bellingham_Scanner]

I ran my feed on a netbook for about a year, then one hot summer afternoon it just gave up. I am guessing netbooks are not really designed to be ran 24/7.

A mini-ITX can run 24/7 Here is an example of what I built, if you look around you can find mini-ITX boards that run from 12VDC.

Also see my post here for my poor-man's SSD

 

[slash]

Seems like a neat idea, but keep in mind that even with the most awesome battery powered rig, there's zero guarantee you'll maintain internet connectivity after your ISP's local fiber to coax, fiber to copper node or cell tower site's batteries die, usually around 48-72 hours.
While your service provider could add generators to select absolutely mission critical sites if they wanted to, there's zero guarantee you will have service for an extended outage period. Even if you invested into a business grade connection with an SLA, unless you can audit it yourself, its actual value is about the paper it's printed on.

If it's still worth the investment to keep archiving radio traffic, all the power to you. Just don't have high expectations for connectivity for any extended outage unless you plan to be mobile.

 

[Rob_K]

Seems like a neat idea, but keep in mind that even with the most awesome battery powered rig, there's zero guarantee you'll maintain internet connectivity after your ISP's local fiber to coax, fiber to copper node or cell tower site's batteries die, usually around 48-72 hours.
While your service provider could add generators to select absolutely mission critical sites if they wanted to, there's zero guarantee you will have service for an extended outage period. Even if you invested into a business grade connection with an SLA, unless you can audit it yourself, its actual value is about the paper it's printed on.

yes, this is my problem. My ISP only makes it 8 hours, at best. I think after about 3 days they had their generators out but my Internet didn't work because of a loose connection at the pole. (After I got power back, still no internet. When the tech came out all he did was tighten the pole end and I was back in business)

If it's still worth the investment to keep archiving radio traffic, all the power to you. Just don't have high expectations for connectivity for any extended outage unless you plan to be mobile.

What got me thinking about this was from my last power outage. There was a fire about 1/4 mile from my house and they killed the power to a large chunk of town because they couldn't get close enough to kill just the building. Power was only out for about 3 hours so I think my batteries were fine (I was at the fire for about 10 hours so I wasn't able to check).

Because I'm always looking for a new project, I may build an ITX form factor PC as suggested above and then keep my thin client as a "portable" backup. I'd like to be able to have a way to easily move my setup to another location should I be out of power or internet for extended periods of time. Who knows, maybe I'll rebuild my setup so I can just unplug it and go.

Note: Yes, I'm going crazy overkill but after losing power for 10 days, having something like this to setup and play with would give me something to do while I wait for the lights to come back on.

 

[SCPD]

Not for nothing, but check into air cards. My brother is in the middle of the mountains in Virginia and only has aircards or dial up. He got some card down there for 29.99 month with unlimited internet. He runs a live feed for his FD down there over the air card. I have been tempted to do the same for the same reasons you mention, but can't find an unlimited card in my area at a good price....I have all the power in the world, but my cable drops as soon as the power does....

As for a netbook or laptop, I ran my live feed for over a year on an old toughbook in a docking station with no issues.