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Specifications Pure sinewave battery backup Boost and Trim Automatic Voltage Regulation Power conditioning (AVR Network manageable Serial Connectivity: RS-232 Sequenced turn on/off Input Nominal Input Voltage: 120V Input Frequency: 50/60 Hz +/- 3 Hz (auto sensing) Cord Length: 10 feet (3.05 meters) Input voltage range for main operations: 90 - 140V Maximum Input Current: 12A Output Output Power Capacity: 1250 Watts / 1500 VA Nominal Output Voltage: 120V Efficiency at Full Load: 90.
Front Panel Controls Overall I like the styling of the black S20 with its lighter colored metal accents. It goes very well with the rest of my components that are a mixture of black and brushed aluminum. The front panel of the S20 has a master on/off button, four buttons for navigating the menu system, changing values and displays, and eight LEDs indicating the status of the unit, e.g. on “Battery”, Line OK, Voltage Regulation, Filtering, Overload and the on/off status of two of the AC outlet banks.
areas, as well as in major metropolitan areas, is not as dependable as one may wish, and a power conditioner such as the APC S20 can really help protect your AV gear while assuring peak performance. So let’s look in a little more detail at what one really needs for AC power control and protection in a home theater audio video system and how the S20 addresses these needs. The various things one might want in such a power controller are: 1. Sequenced on/off and remote control of power to various components 2.
The APC S20 senses the incoming line voltage and acts accordingly to assure that the output voltage remains close to the nominal 120V output voltage. The S20 accomplishes this in two stages using a Line Interactive topography that combines battery backup with a tap-changing transformer. The first stage of voltage regulation therefore is, accomplished by adjusting transformer taps as the input voltage varies. If the input voltage drops, a change in transformer taps boosts the output voltage.
depend on a cool-down cycle when the projector is turned off where the bulb is off, but the projectors cooling fans are running for a few minutes to remove the heat from the bulb. With projectors, power failures are not cool, and a battery backup system can allow the user time to shut off the projector after the end of the cool down process. It is also common today to have hard disc-based components incorporated into an AV system, such as a media server or a satellite receiver and Digital Video Recorder.
Also very handy with the S20 is a temperature probe that can be used to monitor the temperature inside your component rack or cabinet. A temperature/humidity probe is available as an option for the S20. Communications and Control This is the area where the S15 and S20 differ the most. The S20 is network enabled allowing control and status monitoring via either RS-232 and/or a network management card to connect to any Ethernet network.
Things got a little more complicated when I upgraded my power amplifiers to a seven-channel Theta Digital Dreadnaught II. While the Dreadnaught II is a wonderful sounding amplifier, I love it, it loves AC power – 295 watts at idle and 160 watts in the standby mode. The “greener” side of me could not handle having 160 watts “on” 24/7, so I decided I had to switch it on and off, as I had with my previous amplifiers.
I do want to be careful not to take the above analogy to hybrid cars too far. With hybrid cars, battery power is used every few minutes or seconds to deal with the changing demands of the road or traffic. The APC S Type Power Conditioners however are designed for battery power to be used only in extraordinary circumstances, e.g.
had a similar problem in the past and wanted to control the Theta amplifier operate/standby and surround modes via RS-232, I found a company, Celadon (www.celadon.com), that specializes in custom IR control devices and especially IR to RS-232 converters. I have been using one of their converters ever since to control the Theta amplifier’s modes, but unfortunately not power as that is a hard switch on the back of the amplifier.
Another aspect of the S20’s capabilities that deserves a brief discussion is the ability to the S20 to monitor and display relevant information about the AV environment. At various times I have had the default display set to monitor input and output voltage, power used, battery run time, and the temperature in the rack above the Theta amplifier using the supplied termperature probe.
components against voltage sags or dropouts, via voltage regulation and battery backup, the S20 has made a significant difference in the performance of my system in my environment. Your mileage may vary, but mileage with hybrids mileage is typically very good, and I really think that the APC 20 has many of the same advantages of hybrid cars – intelligent storage of power in a battery for use when it is really needed. It was easy to install and easy to use once installed.
