[Elecraft] Battery power for the shack?

[John Clifford]

Greetings fellow Elecrafters,

I've been pondering how to have a complete battery backup system for my
shack... including my K2, my Omni VI, a laptop computer, LDG AT-11 antenna
tuner, and MFJ keyer.  After a neighborhood-wide power outage on Saturday
due to a drunk driver running over the area's ground-mounted power
transformer, I decided that it's time to act.  Hence this post, because I
know that there are many of you who know a lot more about this stuff than I
do.

I currently have ne of the MFJ deluxe multiple power outlet strips with the
banana jacks.  I feed it via an Alinco DM-330MV 32A switching power supply.
I also have a Radio Shack 3-amp power supply that I originally purchased for
my K2, that has been altered to put out 14.5 volts.  I use the RS supply
with a kit-built Micro-M+ charge controller to charge my K2 (added a
direct-to-battery charging jack on the back) as well as several 7 AH
gel-cells.  I also have a 5w solar panel and am toying with the idea of
picking up a 20w panel.

I followed the link posted a day or two ago and ordered two of the Yaesu
40AH batteries.  My plan is as follows:

 * get the small Rigrunner (4005 5-connector model) and use that as my
'battery buss'.

 * hook the RS 3A charger to the Rigrunner thru the Micro-M+, set up cables
for the batteries, and also run one cable from the Rigrunner to my MFJ buss
('radio buss').  Plug the RS charger into the wall thru one of those cheap
lamp timers so that it is on from 11 pm to 6 am or so (when power is the
cheapest here), and the batteries can be topped off every night.

 * continue to power the MFJ radio buss from the Alinco 32A power supply, at
13.8v, which will only be on when the Omni VI or K2/100 is on and operating
QRO.

 * eventually have the option of plugging in a solar panel to the battery
buss, for solar charging

My questions:

1) Do I need to protect my Alinco power supply by putting a large diode
(Shottkey?) in the power lead from it to the radio buss?  I've heard that
some power supplies can be damaged if they are off and there is voltage
applied to their terminals.

2) Will the fuses in the two power strips be sufficient protection or should
I put inline fuses between each battery and the battery buss, and between
the two busses?

3) Can anyone think of a better way to do this?

4) Has anyone ever taken a typical computer UPS, and added battery
terminals/powerpole receptor to the back so that the internal gel-cell could
be augmented by a much larger external battery?  That way I could run my
large desktop computer/DSL modem during power outages, too.

Thanks for any advice...

 - jgc

John Clifford KD7KGX

Heathkit HW-9 WARC/HFT-9/HM-9
Elecraft K2 #1678 /KSB2/KIO2/KBT2/KAT2/KNB2/KAF2
                  ...waiting _eagerly_ for KPA2!
Ten-Tec Omni VI/Opt1

email: kd7kgx@arrl.net