Power quality utility?

Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I
The New guy wrote on :
Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity. Or do I have to use hardware to measure the voltage deviations over time?
Mike Rosenberg replied on :

The New guy noemailhere@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity.

I've heard that some of them are now using cheap imported electrons.

Mike Rosenberg replied on :

Mike Rosenberg mikePOST@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity.

I've heard that some of them are now using cheap imported electrons.

I forgot to mention that I've heard the Chinese are dumping lead-contaminated electrons.

Michael Vilain replied on :

In article 1icpwvy.1br18kz1ilztjqN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, mikePOST@redacted.invalid (Mike Rosenberg) wrote:

Mike Rosenberg mikePOST@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity.

I've heard that some of them are now using cheap imported electrons.

I forgot to mention that I've heard the Chinese are dumping lead-contaminated electrons.

Then there's the Australian and South African electrons that spin in the opposite direction...

Steven Fisher replied on :

On 2008-02-22 12:03:50 -0800, The New guy noemailhere@redacted.invalid said:

Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity. Or do I have to use hardware to measure the voltage deviations over time?

I don't think this information is available past the computer's power supply, so you won't find a program to do it.

This is something I've wonreded about, too. Connecting to the same computer with the same cabling, my cinema display frequently acts up at my house, but works perfectly in the office.

Tom Stiller replied on :

In article vilain-B7ED87.12293222022008@redacted.invalid, Michael Vilain vilain@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article 1icpwvy.1br18kz1ilztjqN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, mikePOST@redacted.invalid (Mike Rosenberg) wrote:

Mike Rosenberg mikePOST@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity.

I've heard that some of them are now using cheap imported electrons.

I forgot to mention that I've heard the Chinese are dumping lead-contaminated electrons.

Then there's the Australian and South African electrons that spin in the opposite direction...

I think it's those new "green" electrons; they're not as highly charged.

Mike Rosenberg replied on :

Tom Stiller tomstiller@redacted.invalid wrote:

Then there's the Australian and South African electrons that spin in the opposite direction...

I think it's those new "green" electrons; they're not as highly charged.

Positive?

Jim Gibson replied on :

In article noemailhere-9B7530.14035022022008@redacted.invalid, The New guy noemailhere@redacted.invalid wrote:

Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity. Or do I have to use hardware to measure the voltage deviations over time?

I don't know the answer to your question, but if you are concerned about power conditioning you should invest in an "in-line" uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for your computer. The in-line type charges the battery using wall socket power and uses the battery to power an inverter for its output power. Belkin and APC make them. The Belkin (at least) comes with software that might include a function for monitoring the input power, but the software is mostly concerned whether there is sufficient average input power to keep the battery charged. For actual monitoring of power spikes, you probably need hardware.

Your computer power supply converts 110VAC to various lower DC levels using diodes, rectifiers, and capacitors, and, in the process of doing that, acts like a big power filter.

Lewis replied on :

In article 1icpyrm.m253fj1m4ez4xN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, mikePOST@redacted.invalid (Mike Rosenberg) wrote:

Tom Stiller tomstiller@redacted.invalid wrote:

Then there's the Australian and South African electrons that spin in the opposite direction...

I think it's those new "green" electrons; they're not as highly charged.

Positive?

Of course not, they're electrons!

Dave Balderstone replied on :

In article 1icpwvy.1br18kz1ilztjqN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, Mike Rosenberg mikePOST@redacted.invalid wrote:

Mike Rosenberg mikePOST@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity.

I've heard that some of them are now using cheap imported electrons.

I forgot to mention that I've heard the Chinese are dumping lead-contaminated electrons.

Did you hear about the Chinese shipment of lead that had to be recalled?

Contaminated with toys and pet food...

Tom Harrington replied on :

In article tomstiller-FF4660.15500422022008@redacted.invalid, Tom Stiller tomstiller@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article vilain-B7ED87.12293222022008@redacted.invalid, Michael Vilain vilain@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article 1icpwvy.1br18kz1ilztjqN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, mikePOST@redacted.invalid (Mike Rosenberg) wrote:

Mike Rosenberg mikePOST@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity.

I've heard that some of them are now using cheap imported electrons.

I forgot to mention that I've heard the Chinese are dumping lead-contaminated electrons.

Then there's the Australian and South African electrons that spin in the opposite direction...

I think it's those new "green" electrons; they're not as highly charged.

I've been using the new compact fluorescent electrons. The color's a little off, but they do the job.

Tom Harrington replied on :

In article noemailhere-9B7530.14035022022008@redacted.invalid, The New guy noemailhere@redacted.invalid wrote:

Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity. Or do I have to use hardware to measure the voltage deviations over time?

I don't think your Mac can get that information, but there are dedicated devices that might do it. The Kill-A-Watt, for example, claims to check up on your power quality. It's not too expensive-- see info at http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-CE.html.

Bill Rider replied on :

Steven Fisher wrote:

On 2008-02-22 12:03:50 -0800, The New guy noemailhere@redacted.invalid said:

Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity. Or do I have to use hardware to measure the voltage deviations over time?

I don't think this information is available past the computer's power supply, so you won't find a program to do it.

This is something I've wonreded about, too. Connecting to the same computer with the same cabling, my cinema display frequently acts up at my house, but works perfectly in the office.

It can be done with Linux:

http://brneurosci.org/linuxsetup77.html

Tom Stiller replied on :

In article tph-C951A0.14372722022008@redacted.invalid, Tom Harrington tph@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article tomstiller-FF4660.15500422022008@redacted.invalid, Tom Stiller tomstiller@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article vilain-B7ED87.12293222022008@redacted.invalid, Michael Vilain vilain@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article 1icpwvy.1br18kz1ilztjqN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, mikePOST@redacted.invalid (Mike Rosenberg) wrote:

Mike Rosenberg mikePOST@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity.

I've heard that some of them are now using cheap imported electrons.

I forgot to mention that I've heard the Chinese are dumping lead-contaminated electrons.

Then there's the Australian and South African electrons that spin in the opposite direction...

I think it's those new "green" electrons; they're not as highly charged.

I've been using the new compact fluorescent electrons. The color's a little off, but they do the job.

Yeah, but they're slow to come on.

Richard Maine replied on :

Tom Stiller tomstiller@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article tph-C951A0.14372722022008@redacted.invalid, Tom Harrington tph@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article tomstiller-FF4660.15500422022008@redacted.invalid, Tom Stiller tomstiller@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article vilain-B7ED87.12293222022008@redacted.invalid, Michael Vilain vilain@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article 1icpwvy.1br18kz1ilztjqN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, mikePOST@redacted.invalid (Mike Rosenberg) wrote:

Mike Rosenberg mikePOST@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity.

I've heard that some of them are now using cheap imported electrons.

I forgot to mention that I've heard the Chinese are dumping lead-contaminated electrons.

Then there's the Australian and South African electrons that spin in the opposite direction...

I think it's those new "green" electrons; they're not as highly charged.

I've been using the new compact fluorescent electrons. The color's a little off, but they do the job.

Yeah, but they're slow to come on.

Slow is better than too fast when it comes to comming on. :-) or in as the case may be.

Mike Rosenberg replied on :

Lewis gkreme@redacted.invalid wrote:

I think it's those new "green" electrons; they're not as highly charged.

Positive?

Of course not, they're electrons!

I can't tell you how disappointed I would have been if no one had responded like that.

Tom Harrington replied on :

In article ZpHvj.107153$L%6.38943@redacted.invalid, Bill Rider please@redacted.invalid wrote:

Steven Fisher wrote:

On 2008-02-22 12:03:50 -0800, The New guy noemailhere@redacted.invalid said:

Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity. Or do I have to use hardware to measure the voltage deviations over time?

I don't think this information is available past the computer's power supply, so you won't find a program to do it.

This is something I've wonreded about, too. Connecting to the same computer with the same cabling, my cinema display frequently acts up at my house, but works perfectly in the office.

It can be done with Linux:

http://brneurosci.org/linuxsetup77.html

Sort of. It can be done with Linux if you have an APC UPS and you use the custom APC serial cable to connect the UPS to the computer. The computer can't monitor the power quality, even with Linux, but an APC UPS will supply the information to the serial port if you want. The same kind of thing is possible on Mac OS X with USB-- see http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/JMIS-6KSRLT_R0_EN.pdf.

Bill Rider replied on :

Tom Harrington wrote:

In article ZpHvj.107153$L%6.38943@redacted.invalid, Bill Rider please@redacted.invalid wrote:

Steven Fisher wrote:

On 2008-02-22 12:03:50 -0800, The New guy noemailhere@redacted.invalid said:

Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity. Or do I have to use hardware to measure the voltage deviations over time? I don't think this information is available past the computer's power supply, so you won't find a program to do it.

This is something I've wonreded about, too. Connecting to the same computer with the same cabling, my cinema display frequently acts up at my house, but works perfectly in the office. It can be done with Linux:

http://brneurosci.org/linuxsetup77.html

Sort of. It can be done with Linux if you have an APC UPS and you use the custom APC serial cable to connect the UPS to the computer. The computer can't monitor the power quality, even with Linux, but an APC UPS will supply the information to the serial port if you want. The same kind of thing is possible on Mac OS X with USB-- see http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/JMIS-6KSRLT_R0_EN.pdf.

Here's one for under $1000: http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref=OM-PQR1010&Nav=e01

I imagine there are fairly inexpensive ICs that would monitor voltage including transients and provide a digital output. I wonder how one could feed the signal to a computer without providing a path for dangerous surges. Optical coupling?

Randy Howard replied on :

On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:36:39 -0600, Steven Fisher wrote (in article 2008022212363916807-sdfisher@redacted.invalid):

On 2008-02-22 12:03:50 -0800, The New guy noemailhere@redacted.invalid said:

Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity. Or do I have to use hardware to measure the voltage deviations over time?

I don't think this information is available past the computer's power supply, so you won't find a program to do it.

Actually, some UPS systems monitor and optionally track the input voltage variations over time. There is also dedicated hardware that can be put in to sample and record such things in cases where you suspect power problems.

Some power supply systems used in audiophile situations actually regenerate the outgoing power signal to try and clean it up and make it closer to ideal, but they cost insane amounts of money.

They are generally but not always called "AC line conditioners".

Matthew T. Russotto replied on :

In article vilain-B7ED87.12293222022008@redacted.invalid, Michael Vilain vilain@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article 1icpwvy.1br18kz1ilztjqN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, mikePOST@redacted.invalid (Mike Rosenberg) wrote:

Mike Rosenberg mikePOST@redacted.invalid wrote:

I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity.

I've heard that some of them are now using cheap imported electrons.

I forgot to mention that I've heard the Chinese are dumping lead-contaminated electrons.

Then there's the Australian and South African electrons that spin in the opposite direction...

My power company is so frigging cheap that they don't even send me new electrons, they're all refurbished. I swear it's just the same ones over and over.

Jeffrey Goldberg replied on :

In ZpHvj.107153$L%6.38943@redacted.invalid, Bill Rider wrote:

It can be done with Linux:

http://brneurosci.org/linuxsetup77.html

That's not a linux thing, that's an APC UPS thing. You can do precisely the same thing with OS X. apcupsd runs just fine on OS X.

-j

Jeffrey Goldberg replied on :

In bfadnayKzPEpFiLanZ2dnUVZ_rmjnZ2d@redacted.invalid, Matthew T. Russotto wrote:

My power company is so frigging cheap that they don't even send me new electrons, they're all refurbished. I swear it's just the same ones over and over.

You should speak to them directly about that.

-j

Michelle Steiner replied on :

In article bfadnayKzPEpFiLanZ2dnUVZ_rmjnZ2d@redacted.invalid, russotto@redacted.invalid (Matthew T. Russotto) wrote:

My power company is so frigging cheap that they don't even send me new electrons, they're all refurbished. I swear it's just the same ones over and over.

That's three.

Michelle Steiner replied on :

In article 1icpw8v.1tqyjfeh0663aN%nospam@redacted.invalid, nospam@redacted.invalid (Richard Maine) wrote:

Slow is better than too fast when it comes to comming on. :-) or in as the case may be.

Or just plain coming.

billy replied on :

The New guy noemailhere@redacted.invalid writes:

Is there any software program that can measure any power characteristics? I'm suspecting my power company is not supplying very good electricity. Or do I have to use hardware to measure the voltage deviations over time?

I have a power analyzer (a piece of hardware) and software that records what it sees. It cost slightly more than the computer (iBook) I use to do the logging...... Anyway, yes, you'd need some external hardware to make the measurements.

Some power companies will provide something like this for a short time. You can explain what's bothering you to yours, and see if they're willing to be that helpful.

Billy Y..

billy replied on :

Bill Rider please@redacted.invalid writes:

Here's one for under $1000:

By five bucks. Heh.

http://www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref=OM-PQR1010&Nav=e01

But, yues, this is what it takes to find problems. It's also similar to what some power companies will provide.

Billy Y..

billy replied on :

Randy Howard randyhoward@redacted.invalid writes:

Some power supply systems used in audiophile situations actually regenerate the outgoing power signal to try and clean it up and make it closer to ideal, but they cost insane amounts of money.

Here's what I use (I record sound for film and TV shows) -

http://amberindustries.com/pages/linecordseries.htm http://amberindustries.com/pdf/linecord.pdf http://amberindustries.com/pages/faqs.htm

These are sort of reasonably priced, I think below $300 for the largest one, and they work very well. They are built to order, so it takes about a week to get one.

Billy Y..

Matthew T. Russotto replied on :

In article alpine.OSX.1.00.0802222219190.17240@redacted.invalid, Jeffrey Goldberg jeffrey+news@redacted.invalid wrote:

In bfadnayKzPEpFiLanZ2dnUVZ_rmjnZ2d@redacted.invalid, Matthew T. Russotto wrote:

My power company is so frigging cheap that they don't even send me new electrons, they're all refurbished. I swear it's just the same ones over and over.

You should speak to them directly about that.

I can't, they're AC!

Mike Rosenberg replied on :

Matthew T. Russotto russotto@redacted.invalid wrote:

You should speak to them directly about that.

I can't, they're AC!

Ohm my, I'll tell you watt, it's really hard to keep current in this thread. I may have to revolt.

Tom Stiller replied on :

In article 1icrjc4.129e87217r3rofN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, mikePOST@redacted.invalid (Mike Rosenberg) wrote:

Matthew T. Russotto russotto@redacted.invalid wrote:

You should speak to them directly about that.

I can't, they're AC!

Ohm my, I'll tell you watt, it's really hard to keep current in this thread. I may have to revolt.

Relax and chant Ohm.

Neill Massello replied on :

Matthew T. Russotto russotto@redacted.invalid wrote:

My power company is so frigging cheap that they don't even send me new electrons, they're all refurbished.

Well at least they're refurbished. Do you realize that thousands of bridges have decaying protons?

Michelle Steiner replied on :

In article 1icrjc4.129e87217r3rofN%mikePOST@redacted.invalid, mikePOST@redacted.invalid (Mike Rosenberg) wrote:

You should speak to them directly about that.

I can't, they're AC!

Ohm my, I'll tell you watt, it's really hard to keep current in this thread. I may have to revolt.

That was electrifying, but you're grounded.

Bill Rider replied on :

Mike Rosenberg wrote:

Matthew T. Russotto russotto@redacted.invalid wrote:

You should speak to them directly about that. I can't, they're AC!

Ohm my, I'll tell you watt, it's really hard to keep current in this thread. I may have to revolt.

There seems to be a chip on your shoulder. Wire you complaining? What do you have to gain? Don't you have the capacitance to follow it? I think you have the potential to do better. Your resistance makes it hard for the group to conduct this conversation. I hope this constructive criticism rectifies the situation by coaxing you to transform your attitude. IC, do you see? No mho static, ok?

Michelle Steiner replied on :

In article 1icrehx.kpqim8lif0jN%massello@redacted.invalid, massello@redacted.invalid (Neill Massello) wrote:

My power company is so frigging cheap that they don't even send me new electrons, they're all refurbished.

Well at least they're refurbished. Do you realize that thousands of bridges have decaying protons?

It seems to me that there are two sides to this argument; I'm not going to take sides, though; I'm going to remain neutron.

Michelle Steiner replied on :

In article michelle-1A82DD.10474523022008@redacted.invalid, Michelle Steiner michelle@redacted.invalid wrote:

That was electrifying, but you're grounded.

The following two go back when I was in high school some fifty years ago:

         THE SEX LIFE OF AN ELECTRON (with unhappy ending)

One night when his charge was at full capacity, Micro Farad decided to get a cute little coil to discharge him. He picked up Millie Amp and took her for a ride on his megacycle. They rode across the wheat stone bridge, around the sine wave, and into the magnetic field next to the flowing current.

Micro Farad, attracted by Millie's characteristic curve, soon had her field fully excited. He laid her on the ground potential, raised her frequency, lowered her resistance, and pulled out his high voltage probe. He inserted it in parallel and began to short circuit her shunt. Fully excited, Millie cried out, "ohm, ohm, give me mho". With his tube at maximum output and her coil vibrating from the current flow, her shunt soon reached maximum heat. The excessive current had shorted her shunt, and Micro's capacity was rapidly discharged, and every electron was drained off. They fluxed all night, tried various connections and hookings until his bar magnet had lost all of its strength, and he could no longer generate enough voltage to sustain his collapsing field. With his battery fully discharged, Micro was unable to excite his tickler, so they ended up reversing polarity and blowing each other's fuses.

         THE SEX LIFE OF AN ELECTRON ( with happy ending)

One night when his charge was pretty high, Micro Farad went to see if he could find a cute little coil to let him discharge.

He picked up Milli Amp, and took her for a ride on his Megacycle. They rode accross the wheatstone bridge, along the sine wave and stopped at a magnetic field flowing with current.

Micro Farad soon had her resistance at a minimum level. They laid against ground level. Micro Farad then inserted his probe in Milli Amps socket. Mho, Mho, give me Mho, she said.

They fluxed all night, trying out various connections.

Afterwards Milli Amp tried self-induction and damaged her probe. After this, they went home and oscillated happily ever after.

Matt Broughton replied on :

In article Q6Zvj.107695$L%6.90484@redacted.invalid, Bill Rider please@redacted.invalid wrote:

Mike Rosenberg wrote:

Matthew T. Russotto russotto@redacted.invalid wrote:

You should speak to them directly about that. I can't, they're AC!

Ohm my, I'll tell you watt, it's really hard to keep current in this thread. I may have to revolt.

There seems to be a chip on your shoulder. Wire you complaining? What do you have to gain? Don't you have the capacitance to follow it? I think you have the potential to do better. Your resistance makes it hard for the group to conduct this conversation. I hope this constructive criticism rectifies the situation by coaxing you to transform your attitude. IC, do you see? No mho static, ok?

I've resisted long enough. Isn't there a better outlet for your biased statements?

Michelle Steiner replied on :

In article walterwego-8810A9.19113923022008@redacted.invalid, Matt Broughton walterwego@redacted.invalid wrote:

You should speak to them directly about that. I can't, they're AC!

Ohm my, I'll tell you watt, it's really hard to keep current in this thread. I may have to revolt.

There seems to be a chip on your shoulder. Wire you complaining?
What do you have to gain? Don't you have the capacitance to follow it? I think you have the potential to do better. Your resistance makes it hard for the group to conduct this conversation. I hope this constructive criticism rectifies the situation by coaxing you to transform your attitude. IC, do you see? No mho static, ok?

I've resisted long enough. Isn't there a better outlet for your biased statements?

This is getting too long, I don't have the capacity to handle it all; I'm re-coiling from it. It's time to put it through the condenser, and short circuit this discussion. At least that's what my friend Millie Farad told me.

Matt Broughton replied on :

In article michelle-2444A2.22144723022008@redacted.invalid, Michelle Steiner michelle@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article walterwego-8810A9.19113923022008@redacted.invalid, Matt Broughton walterwego@redacted.invalid wrote:

This is getting too long, I don't have the capacity to handle it all; I'm re-coiling from it. It's time to put it through the condenser, and short circuit this discussion. At least that's what my friend Millie Farad told me.

Didn't she have a brother pico? I think they were both charged with making their mother bored.

Michelle Steiner replied on :

In article walterwego-D6AECE.09413724022008@redacted.invalid, Matt Broughton walterwego@redacted.invalid wrote:

This is getting too long, I don't have the capacity to handle it all; I'm re-coiling from it. It's time to put it through the condenser, and short circuit this discussion. At least that's what my friend Millie Farad told me.

Didn't she have a brother pico? I think they were both charged with making their mother bored.

They were installed in the hall of fame for that, by the way; I saw their induction ceremony. I wanted to attend in person, but I couldn't afford it; they were overcharging, and I was repelled.