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Surge Protection + Energy Consumption + Master ON OFF

Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 6:07 pm
by Sebastian
Hi

I have 2 surge protectors that are adequate for my gear

Ive been looking around online for a way to turn ON and OFF simultaneously the monitor speakers, the interface, Line 6 POD, headphone monitor all in one switch...... as opposed to turning off on one by one. Having this gear off when not using it also saves overall battery or circuit life in some of this gear and also saves in vampire energy consumption.

My surge protector where all these devices are plugged into, has a Master ON/OFF but if I turn the surge master switch protector OFF, then the gear is not protected by the surge protector.

Ideal scenario would be to TURN OFF/ON all gear with one master switch and have it still be protected by surge protector (and this would also help with vampire energy consumption)

Any suggests?

Thank you

S

Re: Surge Protection + Energy Consumption + Master ON OFF

Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 6:35 pm
by justanametouse
As I understand it, unless you expect to deal with a lightning strike, turning off the surge protectors isn't going to leave your gear vulnerable. Sounds like you have 5 inputs used up, so if you want to consolidate all of that to one device, I'd consider looking at a Furman power conditioner.

Re: Surge Protection + Energy Consumption + Master ON OFF

Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 10:51 pm
by jestermgee
Do you have a "Surge Protector" (just a power board with an active circuit that latches a very high voltage to ground) or a "Uninterruptible Power Supply - UPS" (that provides backup power in the event of power failure and optionally if you have a good one, active power conditioning)?

It should be fine in either case to switch the gear off. If you have an internet connection connected to your PC via a cable to a copper line that goes outside of your house, that is the more likely source of lightning surges and can then branch out through everything else.

The solution I employ is a custom master cutoff switch which is just a small toggle switch that sits under the shelf on my desk. This simply switches a 12v signal to a relay switch that switches a group of power boards on/off so it switches my monitors, mixers, secondary PC screens and controller plug packs on and off. My PC and main screen connect to an active UPS which is not switched by this.

There are also off the shelf solutions for this. A few that you may find at your local hardware store or electronics store can switch a power socket using an IR controller used for power saving for TV and HIFI gear that you need to press an IR button every 2 hours to keep it switched on. Good for automated off control. I have this one here:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Embertec-AV ... ctupt=true

RF remote switch that has a simple remote with on/off to control an inline socket to your gear. You can get sets that can switch a few different sources:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Doss-MRC03V ... ctupt=true

Or just a power board that has an attached foot switch:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Cabac-4-Way ... ctupt=true

Of course you will need whatever your country requires but worth doing a bit of a google on ebay for things like "power saving switch" or "remote power switch" etc.

Re: Surge Protection + Energy Consumption + Master ON OFF

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 12:44 am
by TLW
If you're worried about protecting things against mains surges/spikes while they're off you could always unplug them. You won't get better over-voltage protection than that.

And don't forget to turn monitors down before switching them off - most don't appreciate the thump caused by switching them on while they're turned up. :-)

Re: Surge Protection + Energy Consumption + Master ON OFF

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 1:28 am
by jestermgee
Not all monitors will have a sound spike on power up, most pro ones have a soft start function for this purpose that delays the audio input circuit for a moment while the amps power up. Obviously one should do a test to be sure.

Re: Surge Protection + Energy Consumption + Master ON OFF

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 4:58 am
by Tarekith
I use a Monster Pro3500 for this in my studio, it even powers up certain outlets in order so you don't get pops and thumps.

Re: Surge Protection + Energy Consumption + Master ON OFF

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 6:58 am
by fishmonkey
i also use a UPS, however my monitors are also on a footswitch so i can turn them on/off independently...

Re: Surge Protection + Energy Consumption + Master ON OFF

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 5:25 pm
by Sebastian
Thank you!