There was a peculiar incidence with a lift during the work of an almost completed multi-storeyed building. The elevator in the building showed signs of malfunctions. There were incidents of elevator buttons not responding properly, stopping on wrong floors. Users were afraid to use the lifts.

The Engineers of the elevator company were baffled by the problem because all systems seemed to be working fine. There was no damaged part, nor the internal logic was wrong. Then they set about looking at grounding system. But even the grounding systems ( Earth pits) were properly done.

They finally found out the issue. There was welding work going on in the building and workers had actually connected the neutral line to Earthing line . Due to this there was lift in ground potential wrt actual ground. This had caused malfunction in the lifts.

Some time there is situations at many sites where two points have different ground potentials. Generally such issues are to be tackled at design stage by means of Earth pits. However some there are sites where such issues crop up even in case of well designed systems. They can also create an electric shock hazard or may be source of noise or interference. This situation is called Ground Lift.

Two ground points at different potential can produce a Ground loop. It there is connection between these two points via any equipment , current will flow and if the current is high then may be hazardous

Ground lift Preventor

GLP is device which senses leakage voltage between neutral and ground and gives a signal which can be given to relay or contactor to cut off the supply to the system thereby saving it from possible damages.

Applications

GLP can be beneficial various areas.

• Medical equipments
• Control panels
• Industrial equipments like CNC machines.
• Automation equipments like PLC panels
• Elevators and Escalator

Technical specifications of GLP

Write to us for more queries on queries@microsystemservices.

Also see

1. Does an AVR or surge (spike) suppressor really protect from voltage fluctuations???

2. How  does Servo Stabilizer work?

3. OVCD

About the Author (Click on the image to visit his LinkedIn profile) 

Generally a combination power protection architecture is a as per below:

Isolation transformer	+	Servo Stabilizer	+	Online UPS system	>	Your Appln

All of the above equipments are used to solve different aspects of power problem. Let see them one by one.

Isolation transformer:

• An isolation transformer is a 1:1 (under load) power transformer used for safety.
• Without it, exposed live metal in the equipment at a hazardous voltage relative to grounded objects
• Electrical isolation is considered to be particularly important on medical equipment, and special standards apply. Often the system must additionally be designed so that fault conditions do not interrupt power, but generate a warning.
• Isolation transformers are also used for the power supply of devices not at ground potential.
• Designed to block interference caused by ground loops

Servo Stabilizer

•  Designed to automatically maintain a constant voltage level.

Online UPS system

• Meant for  emergency power backup  incase of power failure.
• Provides a stable power Supply.

Seems like a foolproof protection system. However in spite of all this there are issues where equipment get damaged. Servo Stabilizer itself gets damaged. Online UPS gets damaged.  There are issues of Down time and service calls for both.

Double function – a waste

An online UPS is double conversion UPS, meaning that it converts AC –DC (Rectifier charger circuit) and DC to AC (inverter Circuit). So the output of Online UPS is stable irrespective of supply side fluctuations.

It has inbuilt AVR(Automatic Voltage Regulator) system which works as a Stabilizer circuit. It too has operating range like servo Stabilizer 150V-270V. Maximum may be 300V. After this the circuits start malfunctioning. UPS will function properly in this range and will not require a stabilizer.

So essentially Servo stabilizer before an Online UPS is big waste as it does not really protect the Online UPS and UPS will in fact does a better job at stabilizing the voltage levels than a servo Stabilizer.

OVCD – Powerful Alternative

How it works:

• OVCD is connected at before the equipment in use. Incoming current will first pass through OVCD then into the equipment. OVCD continuously monitors the line voltage.
• Whenever the voltage is above or below the set voltage limits the OVCD simply cuts the voltage to the equipment thereby saving it from the line disturbance.
• OVCD will withstand the voltage even as high as 440Volts in single phase . Most equipments get burnt or damaged at this voltage but not OVCD.
• It however does not stabilize the voltage as in the case of other devices in the same category like Stabilizer, CVTs.
• When the voltage returns to normal , the OVCD resumes the supply to the equipment automatically with short power-on delay of 3 seconds(configurable). This feature is called the Smart Start. It prevents the initial harmful transient that may damage the Equipment.

How is OVCD better than Stabilizers?

• Superior protection
• Occupies less space
• Lightweight
• Transformer less design
• Portable.

Comparison with Stabilizer

Cost comparison.

OVCD is 40% cost effective than any given stabilizer rating.

No price variations on wide range operations. Settings can be custom made.

Why should you consider using OVCD before your equipment?

• Protection against Extreme over voltage.
• No problems due to voltage fluctuation.
• Zero downtime
• Your equipment becomes more rugged
• Less service calls = Increased profitability + Increased credibility.
• Better perception of quality of your system in the minds of the customers
• Increases the chances of repeat sales or referral sales.

USP:

Now you can install your equipment in the worst electrical conditions without being bothered about service calls.

Our proposed solution

Isolation transformer	+	OVCD	+	Online UPS system	>	Your Appln

Why trust us on this solution

• 15 years of experience in this domain.
• Over 3.5 lakh live installations all across the country and counting
• Solution is accepted by many UPS manufacturers like Emerson, Delta, Numeric, Techser, Eaton, GE and many more.
• We have reduced their service issues related to power problems by more than 75%

Write to us for more queries on queries@microsystemservices.

Also see

1. Does an AVR or surge (spike) suppressor really protect from voltage fluctuations???

2. How  does Servo Stabilizer work?

3. OVCD

About the Author (Click on the image to visit his LinkedIn profile)

Amit Manjrekar
Owner at Micro System Services

Based on recommendations from Open Port IT Community, Solera Networks Threat Research Labs and Security News Daily, here are several security tips for Non-Techies to keep their devices and data safe while on the road:

• Back up everything before you leave town and leave the backup in your house, office or other secure location. The backup should include the entire laptop hard drive and everything on your phone (the whole SD card)

• Don’t let your devices out of your sight. This sounds like it would be common sense but you would be surprised at what I have seen folks leave unattended in public places.  Unless there’s a solid, trustworthy, well-secured safe in your hotel room, it’s best to keep your gadgets, including your laptop (when possible), with you at all times. That means not locking it in the trunk of the rental car and definitely not leaving it out in the open in the hotel room, even if it’s locked to the desk. Leaving an expensive device visible in a parked car, on a restaurant table or in a hotel room unattended is just asking for trouble

• Be sure to have robust anti-virus running on the system. Download and install all available updates to your anti-virus program as well as all other software updates before you leave home.  From time to time, there have been reports of bogus “update” notifications that appear to be very legit. If you update before you leave, you will be protected from the latest malware and you will also know that any update request is probably bogus.

• Lock your device.  Enable screen passwords.  It may be an annoyance to you, but it is very problematic to someone who is trying to steal your information.  If they can’t do it quickly they will move on to an easier target. Don’t make yourself an easy victim.

• Try to avoid using a cybercafé or shared hotel computers except for very basic, low risk tasks.  While they offer a measure of convenience, you have to treat any cybercafé computer as if it is a cesspool of malware. ( it usually is)  Absolutely never log into any kind of financial website from a cybercafé or hotel business center.  After logging into a social media or email account from a public computer, you should change your passwords as soon as you get home.

I think that the general lack of security knowledge by the average consumer is one of the reasons for the success of malware. The above are just a few simple Non-Techie tips for protecting yourself on the road. The bottom line is that you need to be more knowledgeable about all the “bad juice” out there.  Dig a little deeper, talk to your IT folks and be proactive in protecting your devices and the data they contain.

Happy trails !

Steve Durham

Sr. Account Manager, FSIoffice

110/120 VAC is common in many countries like US, Japan, Taiwan. Equipments manufactured in such countries are meant for such voltage levels. If exported to other countries will need a convertor/adaptor for it to operate.

If accidently plugged into 230VAC socket, the equipment can get damaged.  For 230V system 110V is a very low voltage and there aren’t many protection devices for such applications.

OVCD can effectively protect the equipment against such problems. OVCD has been hugely popular in India with over 4 lakh installations of various capacities.

For more queries, write to us on queries@microsystemservices.com

Also See:

Over Voltage Cut-off Device

Notebook guard

some facts about over voltage

Does an AVR or surge supressor really protect your equipment.??? 

Visitors to the Birmingham City Council website last week found themselves unable to check council tax payments, find out about council meetings and check library opening times as the website was taken offline as a defensive measure against online hackers.  A group of unknown hackers outside of the UK attempted to hack into the council’s £2.8 million state-of-the-art website and breach the private details of all city residents.

In the same week, BBC’s Inside Out programme asked students at Coventry University’s ethical hacking class to hack into the private details of former boxer Richie Woodhall, through which they easily obtained his full name, date of birth, educational achievements and more crucially, his internet protocol address through which viruses and malware could be spread. All this at the time the UK embraced Internet Safety Day (February 7), a nationwide campaign designed to promote safer use of online technology throughout the world.

The threat of hacking has never really gone away since last year’s widely reported hacks on the Sony Playstation Network, blogging platform WordPress and Facebook but these latest events highlight the danger of hacking as a regional worry for local businesses as well as one that can affect larger corporations. 

Falling victim to hacking can not only cause your business stress and worry but can also impact on your working hours as you spend days, weeks or even months looking for the most effective way to restore and protect your IT systems. Cybercrime is estimated to cost £1 trillion a year worldwide and £27 billion in the UK alone so it is no surprise that the latest Chamber of Commerce investigation into business crime found that firms in the region were losing more than £7,000 a year due to hacking and cybercrime.

There are many ways that we can protect your IT systems from the threat of hacking and our managed services include 24/7 monitored anti-spam and anti-virus software, email management services, data leakage protection, backup and replication services and multiple quarantine management. You can pick a bespoke security package to suit you to ensure that it is right for the line of  business you work in or alternatively you could adopt our Cloudmetix cloud computing solution that will look after all areas of concern.

Cloudmetix contains software as a service and offers built-in protection against all hacking attempts and data threats. Cloudmetix eliminates the time spent constantly updating your anti-virus, searching for the right software on which to store data and the expense paid when it all goes wrong. With data replicated and stored at an offline location as well as anti-virus and anti-spam software running around the clock, you can be sure that with Cloudmetix or our individual managed services, your business data is protected and safe from online attacks and you can get on with the day to day concerns of running your business, leaving the technical issues to us!

Find out more about Cloudmetix at www.cloudmetix.net or follow us on twitter @cloudmetix to see for yourself how we are helping fellow businesses stay protected against the constant threat of hacking.

OVCD is a power protection device which protects your electronic equipment from extreme over voltage.
The video demonstrates the effects of over voltage on a test device and how OVCD protects the equipment under similar conditions.

In this test we have done a destructive test to show the effect of extreme over voltage on devices and then shown that if you have connected OVCD before the device you can save it from any kinds of power fluctuations.

If you have any queries email us at : queries@microsystemservices.com

please visit our website: www.microsystemservices.com

Also See:

Over Voltage Cut-off Device

Notebook guard

some facts about over voltage

Does an AVR or surge supressor really protect your equipment.???