|  Panamax,
recently acquired by Linear LLC, has responded to a demand for emergency backup
power for today's A/V products, venturing outside its traditional power protection
market. The new MAX® 1500-UPS offers customers a powerful 1500VA / 1000 watts
of uninterruptible power with a true sinewave output and improves upon conventional
UPS designs by adding the ability to send IR commands to connected equipment in
the event of a power failure. Furthermore, the unit has the capability to learn
IR commands directly from any existing remote control with its built-in IR detector
and sampling system. The unit has a slick contemporary look instead of the industrial
face seen on most UPS designs and offers noise filtration and the patented over/under
voltage protection circuitry. A 10-foot heavy-duty detachable power cord, a pair
of rack mount ears, a phone cord, DB9 serial cable and the Home Cinema Power Control
software are included.
 Front
Panel
The front panel has a separate Power and Test button.
The Test button is used to test the UPS by switching to battery power momentarily.
If the unit passes the test, it returns to the on-line state. If not, the batteries
may need to be recharged. The Test button can also be used to silence the
audible alarm when running in the battery mode. The front display panel has separate
four step indicators for both battery and load levels. Five indicators provide
status information about the unit's operation. Under normal conditions the Power
On light is illuminated indicating the presence of utility power. If the wiring
from the wall is problematic such as a floating ground, the Line Fault
light will illuminate. The AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) Mode indicator
will stay on constantly if an over-voltage condition is detected and will flash
if an under-voltage condition exists. In this case the UPS will lower or raise
the input voltage to compensate for the condition. In the event the incoming power
is too far out of range, the UPS will switch to the Battery Mode as indicated
by the light.
 Inside
The MAX® 1500 UPS has a solid chassis design and weighs a hefty 58 pounds. Almost
half of the weight is due to the battery tray, which weighs 27 pounds and is balanced
out by a pair of large and heavy iron core transformers used in the power supply.
The tray is occupied by four 12V/7AH lead-acid batteries connected in series supplying
the backup power and is located behind the front removable panel that is held
in place by four screws. The rear panel fan automatically turns on when the unit
switches to the battery mode. We were glad to see the fan as the unit does generate
considerable heat when loaded and operating from backup power. Heavy gauge wire
and ferrite cores are used on the power lines that feed the rear panel outlets.
The IR electronics is located on a separate circuit board in this densely populated
chassis.
Rear
Panel
 The
rear panel of the MAX® 1500 UPS has six outlets grouped into two critical load
outlets and four non-critical load outlets, with each group having an independent
circuit breaker. The main circuit breaker limits current from the incoming utility
power. The unit is designed to sample one or two IR signals from an existing remote
control. Holding down the Program/Test button for more than five
seconds, puts the unit in the sample mode. The user can then send a command to
each of the IR channels and the unit will respond with a blinking green light.
The user can also test the programmed IR command by simply pressing the Program/Test
button momentarily. Two IR outputs are designed to interface to IR flashers available
from a variety of manufacturers. Independent IR delay switches select the delay
time (30 seconds or 5 minutes) from when the power failure occurs to when the
first IR command is sent out. If both IR outputs have the same time delay then
IR-1 is sent two seconds before IR-2. This mode works well for projectors that
require two back-to-back presses of the power button. The RS-232 port runs at
a modest 2400 baud with 8 data bits and one stop bit. The DTR and RTS signals
are used along with the data signals for handshaking. The
unit also provides protection for Ethernet or telephone connections using a pair
of RJ-45 connectors. Pins 4 & 5 have a 260-volt clamping level while pins
1, 2, 3 & 6 are clamped at 7 volts. This allows the RJ-45 connectors to be
used for either computer or phone applications.
Software Interface
The MAX® 1500 UPS includes a CD, which contains the Home Cinema Power Control
software used for communication with the unit. Using the provided RS232 cable
with a PC, the user can get the UPS status that includes input voltage, input
frequency, battery capacity, output voltage, output load and temperature. The
panel also displays the schedule for powering the unit on and off as well as a
countdown clock when power is lost. When power is lost, the Input voltage
is displayed in red along with the Countdown timer. The unit appoximates
Backup Time based on the battery capacity and the load.  The
Setup button opens a new window that allows the user to select the communications
port as well as various delay times. The time to initiate a shutdown sequence
when a power failure occurs is set for 5 minutes (300 seconds), but can be adjusted
through the software interface. The time between the power failure to the initial
warning can also be defined in this panel. Pressing the red Run button
initiates a self-test for a duration defined by the UPS Self-Test time.
The software also provides the user with an audible voice and an alarm, both of
which can be disabled through the user interface.
 The
Advanced settings allow the user to set
the low battery cut-off voltage. The Low Voltage Failure (88V-97V) and
High Voltage Failure (137V-147V) values determine when the UPS switches
to battery backup. The Battery-Mode Output Voltage setting defines the
output voltage of the UPS when running from the inverter. The user can select
from 110V, 120V or 130V. If a HTPC (Home Theater PC) is used with this unit, the
user can determine the when the shutoff occurs based on Low Battery HTPC Shutoff
setting (in percent). The NCL (Non-Critical Load) outlet on the rear panel shuts
off based on the Low Battery NCL Shutoff setting. If the HTPC is connected
to the NCL outlet, the user must be sure to set the Low Battery HTPC Shutoff
value higher than the Low Battery NCL Shutoff setting. The Cold Start
checkbox allows the UPS to start-up in the absence of AC power.
Performance
The MAX® 1500 UPS performed well in our setup and had no problem maintaining
power to our Optoma H77 high definition DLP projector when power was lost. The
projector only required about 28% of the load capacity of the unit. Our projector,
like many, requires two sequential IR commands to shutdown. Panamax has implemented
their IR outputs in a manner that sequences the IR outputs making it a perfect
match for virtually all of the current projectors on the market. Once power is
lost, the UPS starts a timer based on the setting on the back of the unit. When
the time expires, the preprogrammed IR commands are sent in sequence. We successfully
shutdown our projector with plenty of reserve power left in the unit. While
most users will want to power off their projector immediately after power is lost,
the design allows up to 5 minutes before any powerdown sequence begins. The advantage
of this is if power is returned within this time period, the user can continue
to view their video without interruption assuming all other components are powered.
We happen to have a separate UPS for our HTPC, so this worked great for us. Panamax
has done an excellent job executing their MAX® 1500 UPS product and making
it capable of controlling today's A/V components. Projectors with their costly
internal lamps that require proper cooling when turned off will especially benefit
from the new design. Failure to properly cool down the hot lamp can result in
damage to the expensive bulb or projector. The design ensures the projector will
shut down without user intervention. Panamax does not supply the IR flashers,
so they must be purchased separately. -
Kevin Nakano | 
