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AC messes up the internet.

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3v0

Coop Build Coordinator
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I and one of my students are having network problems that we have traced down to our AC.

In my case I have a window AC in the computer room in addition to the central air. It is the window AC that causes the problem. Every time the compressor kicks in the DSL modem resets.

Looking for a quick and dirty solution I picked up an old (dead battery) UPS from school and put it between the power line and the DSL modem but it did not help. I am thinking the low end UPS drives the AC out from the power line when there is power.
 
Is your model low voltage DC ? If so maybe you could run it off a battery and keep a small charger connected to the battery - That way if it's a "dip" which is causing the problem the battery will keep it running.
 
Is your model low voltage DC ? If so maybe you could run it off a battery and keep a small charger connected to the battery - That way if it's a "dip" which is causing the problem the battery will keep it running.
12V DC.

The computer room is on the end of the house furthest from the service enterance. Maybe a few caps on the 12V side will fix the problem. Need to figure out if it is low voltage or a spike causing the problem. I am thinking low voltage, the DSL is the only processor with a problem, including the one in the AC unit.

EDIT: Maybe the thing to do is to call the ISP (phone company) but I am not quite ready to do that yet. The DSL is a wind river/ westel A90-740110-06.
 
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I once had a Linksys router that started to cause flakey odd behavior. It ended up that the wall wart used to power it was on the blink. New one fixed the problem.
 
You could try adding a filer to the PSU for the modem but I don't think it's an EMI problem.

If the cap across the DC output doesn't work then maybe a small SLA will work?

The only other thing I can think of is re-wiring the whole place with thicker cable.
 
I think it is a problem with too many things on one circuit. Not enough to blow the breaker but enough to brown out the weakest link. I move the wall wart for the DSL to an extension cord plugged into the bathroom next to the computer room and the problem seems to be gone. With another 3 or 4 feet of heavy cord I can move the AC too that outlet. That would be better for the computers.

I need a dedicated circuit for the AC and the computers down on this end.

You could try adding a filer to the PSU for the modem but I don't think it's an EMI problem.

If the cap across the DC output doesn't work then maybe a small SLA will work?

The only other thing I can think of is re-wiring the whole place with thicker cable.
 
You really need to put the computers and AC on a different circuit.
 
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