Posts Tagged ‘battery’

Configuring APCUPSD on Gentoo for APC SmartUPS Over Serial

Both of the Gentoo wiki links at the bottom of this article are more-or-less USB-oriented so here’s a quick start for Serial connections. I use a USB to serial adapter so my serial device is named /dev/ttyUSB0, yours may be different if you use a regular serial port (i.e. /dev/ttyS0).

Emerge apcupsd:

# emerge apcupsc

Calculating dependencies... done!
[ebuild  N     ] sys-power/apcupsd-3.14.8-r1  USE="cgi nls snmp usb -gnome" 

Be sure to include the snmp USE flag if you will be configuring any UPSes with a networked management card later.

Edit /etc/apcupsd/apcupsd.conf to reflect:

## apcupsd.conf v1.1 ##
# 
#  for apcupsd release 3.14.8 (16 January 2010) - gentoo
#
# "apcupsd" POSIX config file

#
# ========= General configuration parameters ============
#

# UPSNAME xxx
#   Use this to give your UPS a name in log files and such. This
#   is particulary useful if you have multiple UPSes. This does not
#   set the EEPROM. It should be 8 characters or less.
#UPSNAME

# UPSCABLE <cable>
#   Defines the type of cable connecting the UPS to your computer.
#
#   Possible generic choices for <cable> are:
#     simple, smart, ether, usb
#
#   Or a specific cable model number may be used:
#     940-0119A, 940-0127A, 940-0128A, 940-0020B,
#     940-0020C, 940-0023A, 940-0024B, 940-0024C,
#     940-1524C, 940-0024G, 940-0095A, 940-0095B,
#     940-0095C, M-04-02-2000
#
UPSCABLE smart

# To get apcupsd to work, in addition to defining the cable
# above, you must also define a UPSTYPE, which corresponds to
# the type of UPS you have (see the Description for more details).
# You must also specify a DEVICE, sometimes referred to as a port.
# For USB UPSes, please leave the DEVICE directive blank. For
# other UPS types, you must specify an appropriate port or address.
#
# UPSTYPE   DEVICE           Description
# apcsmart  /dev/tty**       Newer serial character device, appropriate for 
#                            SmartUPS models using a serial cable (not USB).
#
# usb       <BLANK>          Most new UPSes are USB. A blank DEVICE
#                            setting enables autodetection, which is
#                            the best choice for most installations.
#
# net       hostname:port    Network link to a master apcupsd through apcupsd's 
#                            Network Information Server. This is used if the
#                            UPS powering your computer is connected to a 
#                            different computer for monitoring.
#
# snmp      hostname:port:vendor:community
#                            SNMP network link to an SNMP-enabled UPS device.
#                            Hostname is the ip address or hostname of the UPS 
#                            on the network. Vendor can be can be "APC" or 
#                            "APC_NOTRAP". "APC_NOTRAP" will disable SNMP trap 
#                            catching; you usually want "APC". Port is usually 
#                            161. Community is usually "private".
#
# netsnmp   hostname:port:vendor:community
#                            OBSOLETE
#                            Same as SNMP above but requires use of the 
#                            net-snmp library. Unless you have a specific need
#                            for this old driver, you should use 'snmp' instead.
#
# dumb      /dev/tty**       Old serial character device for use with 
#                            simple-signaling UPSes.
#
# pcnet     ipaddr:username:passphrase
#                            PowerChute Network Shutdown protocol which can be 
#                            used as an alternative to SNMP with the AP9617 
#                            family of smart slot cards.ipaddr is the IP 
#                            address of the UPS mgmtcard. username and 
#                            passphrase are the credentials for which the card 
#                            has been configured.
#
UPSTYPE apcsmart
DEVICE /dev/ttyUSB0

# POLLTIME <int>
#   Interval (in seconds) at which apcupsd polls the UPS for status. This
#   setting applies both to directly-attached UPSes (UPSTYPE apcsmart, usb, 
#   dumb) and networked UPSes (UPSTYPE net, snmp). Lowering this setting
#   will improve apcupsd's responsiveness to certain events at the cost of
#   higher CPU utilization. The default of 60 is appropriate for most
#   situations.
#POLLTIME 60

# LOCKFILE <path to lockfile>
#   Path for device lock file. Not used on Win32.
LOCKFILE /var/lock

# SCRIPTDIR <path to script directory>
#   Directory in which apccontrol and event scripts are located.
SCRIPTDIR /etc/apcupsd

# PWRFAILDIR <path to powerfail directory>
#   Directory in which to write the powerfail flag file. This file
#   is created when apcupsd initiates a system shutdown and is
#   checked in the OS halt scripts to determine if a killpower
#   (turning off UPS output power) is required.
PWRFAILDIR /etc/apcupsd

# NOLOGINDIR <path to nologin directory>
#   Directory in which to write the nologin file. The existence
#   of this flag file tells the OS to disallow new logins.
NOLOGINDIR /etc


#
# ======== Configuration parameters used during power failures ==========
#

# The ONBATTERYDELAY is the time in seconds from when a power failure
#   is detected until we react to it with an onbattery event.
#
#   This means that, apccontrol will be called with the powerout argument
#   immediately when a power failure is detected.  However, the
#   onbattery argument is passed to apccontrol only after the 
#   ONBATTERYDELAY time.  If you don't want to be annoyed by short
#   powerfailures, make sure that apccontrol powerout does nothing
#   i.e. comment out the wall.
ONBATTERYDELAY 6

# 
# Note: BATTERYLEVEL, MINUTES, and TIMEOUT work in conjunction, so
# the first that occurs will cause the initation of a shutdown.
#

# If during a power failure, the remaining battery percentage
# (as reported by the UPS) is below or equal to BATTERYLEVEL, 
# apcupsd will initiate a system shutdown.
BATTERYLEVEL 2

# If during a power failure, the remaining runtime in minutes 
# (as calculated internally by the UPS) is below or equal to MINUTES,
# apcupsd, will initiate a system shutdown.
MINUTES 3

# If during a power failure, the UPS has run on batteries for TIMEOUT
# many seconds or longer, apcupsd will initiate a system shutdown.
# A value of 0 disables this timer.
#
#  Note, if you have a Smart UPS, you will most likely want to disable
#    this timer by setting it to zero. That way, you UPS will continue
#    on batteries until either the % charge remaing drops to or below BATTERYLEVEL,
#    or the remaining battery runtime drops to or below MINUTES.  Of course,
#    if you are testing, setting this to 60 causes a quick system shutdown
#    if you pull the power plug.   
#  If you have an older dumb UPS, you will want to set this to less than
#    the time you know you can run on batteries.
TIMEOUT 0

#  Time in seconds between annoying users to signoff prior to
#  system shutdown. 0 disables.
ANNOY 300

# Initial delay after power failure before warning users to get
# off the system.
ANNOYDELAY 60

# The condition which determines when users are prevented from
# logging in during a power failure.
# NOLOGON <string> [ disable | timeout | percent | minutes | always ]
NOLOGON disable

# If KILLDELAY is non-zero, apcupsd will continue running after a
# shutdown has been requested, and after the specified time in
# seconds attempt to kill the power. This is for use on systems
# where apcupsd cannot regain control after a shutdown.
# KILLDELAY <seconds>  0 disables
KILLDELAY 0

#
# ==== Configuration statements for Network Information Server ====
#

# NETSERVER [ on | off ] on enables, off disables the network
#  information server. If netstatus is on, a network information
#  server process will be started for serving the STATUS and
#  EVENT data over the network (used by CGI programs).
NETSERVER on

# NISIP <dotted notation ip address>
#  IP address on which NIS server will listen for incoming connections.
#  This is useful if your server is multi-homed (has more than one
#  network interface and IP address). Default value is 0.0.0.0 which
#  means any incoming request will be serviced. Alternatively, you can
#  configure this setting to any specific IP address of your server and 
#  NIS will listen for connections only on that interface. Use the
#  loopback address (127.0.0.1) to accept connections only from the
#  local machine.
NISIP 0.0.0.0

# NISPORT <port> default is 3551 as registered with the IANA
#  port to use for sending STATUS and EVENTS data over the network.
#  It is not used unless NETSERVER is on. If you change this port,
#  you will need to change the corresponding value in the cgi directory
#  and rebuild the cgi programs.
NISPORT 3551

# If you want the last few EVENTS to be available over the network
# by the network information server, you must define an EVENTSFILE.
EVENTSFILE /var/log/apcupsd.events

# EVENTSFILEMAX <kilobytes>
#  By default, the size of the EVENTSFILE will be not be allowed to exceed
#  10 kilobytes.  When the file grows beyond this limit, older EVENTS will
#  be removed from the beginning of the file (first in first out).  The
#  parameter EVENTSFILEMAX can be set to a different kilobyte value, or set
#  to zero to allow the EVENTSFILE to grow without limit.
EVENTSFILEMAX 10

#
# ========== Configuration statements used if sharing =============
#            a UPS with more than one machine

#
# Remaining items are for ShareUPS (APC expansion card) ONLY
#

# UPSCLASS [ standalone | shareslave | sharemaster ]
#   Normally standalone unless you share an UPS using an APC ShareUPS
#   card.
UPSCLASS standalone

# UPSMODE [ disable | share ]
#   Normally disable unless you share an UPS using an APC ShareUPS card.
UPSMODE disable

#
# ===== Configuration statements to control apcupsd system logging ========
#

# Time interval in seconds between writing the STATUS file; 0 disables
STATTIME 0

# Location of STATUS file (written to only if STATTIME is non-zero)
STATFILE /var/log/apcupsd.status

# LOGSTATS [ on | off ] on enables, off disables
# Note! This generates a lot of output, so if         
#       you turn this on, be sure that the
#       file defined in syslog.conf for LOG_NOTICE is a named pipe.
#  You probably do not want this on.
LOGSTATS off

# Time interval in seconds between writing the DATA records to
#   the log file. 0 disables.
DATATIME 0

# FACILITY defines the logging facility (class) for logging to syslog. 
#          If not specified, it defaults to "daemon". This is useful 
#          if you want to separate the data logged by apcupsd from other
#          programs.
#FACILITY DAEMON

#
# ========== Configuration statements used in updating the UPS EPROM =========
#

#
# These statements are used only by apctest when choosing "Set EEPROM with conf
# file values" from the EEPROM menu. THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NO EFFECT ON APCUPSD.
#

# UPS name, max 8 characters 
#UPSNAME UPS_IDEN

# Battery date - 8 characters
#BATTDATE mm/dd/yy

# Sensitivity to line voltage quality (H cause faster transfer to batteries)  
# SENSITIVITY H M L        (default = H)
#SENSITIVITY H

# UPS delay after power return (seconds)
# WAKEUP 000 060 180 300   (default = 0)
#WAKEUP 60

# UPS Grace period after request to power off (seconds)
# SLEEP 020 180 300 600    (default = 20)
#SLEEP 180

# Low line voltage causing transfer to batteries
# The permitted values depend on your model as defined by last letter 
#  of FIRMWARE or APCMODEL. Some representative values are:
#    D 106 103 100 097
#    M 177 172 168 182
#    A 092 090 088 086
#    I 208 204 200 196     (default = 0 => not valid)
#LOTRANSFER  208

# High line voltage causing transfer to batteries
# The permitted values depend on your model as defined by last letter 
#  of FIRMWARE or APCMODEL. Some representative values are:
#    D 127 130 133 136
#    M 229 234 239 224
#    A 108 110 112 114
#    I 253 257 261 265     (default = 0 => not valid)
#HITRANSFER 253

# Battery charge needed to restore power
# RETURNCHARGE 00 15 50 90 (default = 15)
#RETURNCHARGE 15

# Alarm delay 
# 0 = zero delay after pwr fail, T = power fail + 30 sec, L = low battery, N = never
# BEEPSTATE 0 T L N        (default = 0)
#BEEPSTATE T

# Low battery warning delay in minutes
# LOWBATT 02 05 07 10      (default = 02)
#LOWBATT 2

# UPS Output voltage when running on batteries
# The permitted values depend on your model as defined by last letter 
#  of FIRMWARE or APCMODEL. Some representative values are:
#    D 115
#    M 208
#    A 100
#    I 230 240 220 225     (default = 0 => not valid)
#OUTPUTVOLTS 230

# Self test interval in hours 336=2 weeks, 168=1 week, ON=at power on
# SELFTEST 336 168 ON OFF  (default = 336)
#SELFTEST 336

Start APCUPSD:

# /etc/init.d/apcupsd start

Add apcupsd to the default runlevel:

# rc-update add apcupsd default

If you want apcupsd to power off your UPS when it shuts down your system in a power failure, add apcupsd.powerfail to the shutdown runlevel:

# rc-update add apcupsd.powerfail shutdown

Verify you are able to communicate with the UPS with this configuration:

# apcaccess status
APC      : 001,051,1223
DATE     : 2012-08-14 21:19:08 -0400  
HOSTNAME : mdma
VERSION  : 3.14.8 (16 January 2010) gentoo
UPSNAME  : UPS_IDEN
CABLE    : Custom Cable Smart
MODEL    : SMART-UPS 1400 RM
UPSMODE  : Stand Alone
STARTTIME: 2012-08-14 21:16:51 -0400  
STATUS   : ONLINE 
LINEV    : 120.9 Volts
LOADPCT  :  40.5 Percent Load Capacity
BCHARGE  : 100.0 Percent
TIMELEFT :  10.0 Minutes
MBATTCHG : 5 Percent
MINTIMEL : 3 Minutes
MAXTIME  : 0 Seconds
MAXLINEV : 120.9 Volts
MINLINEV : 119.6 Volts
OUTPUTV  : 120.2 Volts
SENSE    : High
DWAKE    : 000 Seconds
DSHUTD   : 020 Seconds
DLOWBATT : 02 Minutes
LOTRANS  : 103.0 Volts
HITRANS  : 132.0 Volts
RETPCT   : 000.0 Percent
ITEMP    : 43.6 C Internal
ALARMDEL : 5 seconds
BATTV    : 28.0 Volts
LINEFREQ : 60.0 Hz
LASTXFER : Automatic or explicit self test
NUMXFERS : 0
TONBATT  : 0 seconds
CUMONBATT: 0 seconds
XOFFBATT : N/A
SELFTEST : NO
STESTI   : 336
STATFLAG : 0x07000008 Status Flag
DIPSW    : 0x00 Dip Switch
REG1     : 0x00 Register 1
REG2     : 0x00 Register 2
REG3     : 0x00 Register 3
MANDATE  : 06/04/98
SERIALNO : XXXXXXXXXXXXX
BATTDATE : 10/19/07
NOMOUTV  : 115 Volts
NOMBATTV :  24.0 Volts
EXTBATTS : 0
FIRMWARE : 72.9.D
APCMODEL : KWD
END APC  : 2012-08-14 21:19:51 -0400

Now we’ll do a serious test; tail the log and unplug the UPS then plug it back in. You should see something like:

# tail -f /var/log/apcupsd.events 
2012-08-14 21:17:05 -0400  apcupsd 3.14.8 (16 January 2010) gentoo startup succeeded
2012-08-14 21:23:04 -0400  Power failure.
2012-08-14 21:23:10 -0400  Running on UPS batteries.

Broadcast message from root@mdma (Tue Aug 14 21:23:10 2012):

Power failure on UPS UPS_IDEN. Running on batteries.
2012-08-14 21:23:11 -0400  Mains returned. No longer on UPS batteries.
2012-08-14 21:23:11 -0400  Power is back. UPS running on mains.

Broadcast message from root@mdma (Tue Aug 14 21:23:12 2012):

Power has returned on UPS UPS_IDEN...

If you would like to be notified of events by e-mail edit the scripts in the /etc/apcupsd directory and change the SYSADMIN variable to your preferred e-mail address.

More Reading:

Fun with Vapour Part Three: Back in the Game with the Joye 510 L E-Cigarette

In the first part of this series I reviewed the Health E-Cigarette. Unfortunately, it shipped with nicotine-free cartridges so it spent some two months on the shelf before I obtained a vial of 10mg e-juice. In full compliance with Murphy’s Law by this time the atomizer had mysteriously broken. In the mean time I have been smoking cartons of Native cigarettes. When you get your cigarettes in a giant ziplock bag by the 200s it begins to put in perspective the amount of tar one ingests.

I was eventually compelled to cough up the dough to try a new model. Today – after a very long wait – that model arrived:

Or models, I should say. I wised up this time and made sure to get two full units. Meet the 510:


I purchased this model from lightinthebox.com because when shopping hung over I am easily frustrated and moved to make compulsive decisions. The downside to lightinthebox is that their “Super Saver Shipping” adds a 15-day handling period before they even send the damned thing out. In total I was dinged USD$47.48.

Assembled, next to King Size native

The first thing I noticed about this model is how bloody long the battery is. Obviously, it should translate into longer runtime. I have a thing for long cigarettes and cigarette holders so it doesn’t bother me. The second most noteworthy feature is the “steel wool” pad-style atomizer element which is apparently favoured by experienced vapers for its ease of use in “dip” or “drip”ping e-juice directly. While it shares this design with my Health E-Cigarette the 510′s element is recessed almost an inch into the atomizer housing which, upon first inspection, seems to eliminate the possibility of dipping and increase the complexity of dripping.

These rather novel cartridges insert into the atomizer housing and supply e-juice to the element from a permanent compartment stuffed with loose polymer fibres. The design of the compartment and two small air slits suggest that in theory this particular model is very good at keeping unvaporized droplets from getting sucked into the user’s mouth.

Update: The charger is sensitive to touch. Wonderful. It’s sealed shut too, there is no opening it without breaking it.

Alas, I am a rebel.

Very cheap construction all around. You can see that the tip of the charger’s connector is a metal bar with a position tab to keep it from protruding past the internally-insulated nut. The spring doesn’t have much force so my second thought was to lengthen it a bit (the first was to clean the contacts). Still no change. It seems that the moulded cavity that is supposed to hold the nut securely has a little give to it and this is enough to make the connection impermanent.

I hope this won’t be the second e-cig I have to take up with PayPal. :/

Update: The morning after. It is presently 09h30 and my last cigarette was at 17h00 last night. So far I FEEL GREAT! My biggest concern was that the e-cig wouldn’t be man enough for my morning nic-fit; I think it has passed the test. The cartridges don’t seem to hold anywhere near as many puffs as advertised but I was expecting that after my experience with “the blanks”. Maybe they do – but they certainly don’t come out creamy enough after a while. I probably went through six drops of e-juice plus the contents of two cartridges last night alone.

If a cartridge is supposed to be 36 cigarettes is it possible I am over-dosing it a little? I’m banking on the belief that this is just typical marketing crap and 6 or 7 puffs is about half a cig to a cig because it “feels right”.

Both my little vial of e-juice and the cartridges that came with it surprised me in how actually cigarette-like they were. Don’t get me wrong, they taste nothing like cigarettes as we know them but it was a far better simulation than I expected. It doesn’t taste like smoke so much as the really clean, bare tang of a cigarette. It even seems to tickle the nose a the same way. There are hints of the other flavouring agents but I applaud the restraint with which they were added – it doesn’t pretend to be smoke but it delivers the point without being obnoxious. The glycerin will probably always leave a slightly sweet taste no matter what flavour you use but it’s not exactly the worst thing in the world. With my luck I’ll end up on candy canes when I try to get off of e-cigs :\

I’m feeling pretty optimistic about quitting. I figure if I can make it three days I can make it all the way. Paws crossed :3

Update: Almost day 6! I got drunk on night 2 and figured if I didn’t have a cigarette it would stay in my mind and bother me all night. I didn’t even finish half of it before I had to put it out. I’ve been tempted since then but all it takes is three puffs off the e-cig and I’m back to normal. I had no idea quitting could be so easy and I’ve made all of my friends interested. Right now I’m putting together an order for six (that’s right, SIX) eGo T starter kits. Since most 510 and eGo parts are interchangeable I don’t feel particularly bad about settling for the 510 first. If you want an e-cigarette that works and looks like a cigarette the 510 is certainly for you. If you want something that HITS like a real cigarette… well I’m hoping that’s what the eGo will deliver.

I dropped one of my batteries while I was out. Now the button likes to stick unless one only presses the far edge. It doesn’t seem to stay on when it’s stuck like this but it has fire hazard written all over it.

Noticed that all of the cartridges that shipped with my 510s are stale. The juice didn’t go brown so much as it congealed into a very robust translucent white gel very firmly attached to the polyester which does not so much wash off in warm water as it does break apart, leaving the filling looking a lot like a wad of loose Velcro fibres. Unlike Velcro, the globules do not act as hooks and re-matting the filler remains quite difficult.

It didn’t take even 24 hours for me to try my first modification: Fun with Vapour Part Four: Straw Air Pressure Cartridge Modification. This cartridge modification makes using stuffed cartridges daily conceivable but from what I have seen they are no match for the longevity of tanks. I was very interested in pursuing the brass screen modification but don’t feel I can afford to risk breaking my atomizers before their time. The next modification I hope to try is the “Pyramid Teabag Mod” which supposedly provides better capacity and wicking through the use of tea bag material for cartridge filler.

I went to a local flea market on Sunday where I got my first vial of nicotine-containing e-juice many months ago but the vendor I purchased from was no longer there. Nobody had juice (nicotine-free or otherwise), but three vendors had taken up selling cheap nicotine-free e-cigs. Two of them were pushing the Health E-Cigarette which I have already reviewed (crap). One of these vendors ripped my 510 out of my hand and TWISTED the cartridge off (anyone with a 510 knows that’s a great way to break your atomizer) then told me with a straight face that it was a “knockoff.”

I very nearly punched him in the mouth.

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