Batteries Reviews

I have owned the F6C120-UNV for about 6 months. I also own a PK Electronics 1000VA and 500VA. The 500VA is now connected to my TV and VCR. PK Electronics has since gone out of business. While the PK's only have a serial port and probably lower quality software, I prefer them over the Belkin. I have not installed any software which comes with my UPS's. My PK 1000VA will switch on immediately when I need it and it makes no noise at all.

Unfortunately, this is not true with my 1200VA Belkin. I always turn my PC off at night. I never leave it on when I go to bed or leave the house. Whenever I need to turn my PC on or off, I must press the tiny bubble switch for 3 seconds which is a real bother. Every single day, sometimes twice a day, I must press and hold the tiny bubble switch for 3 seconds. When I want to use my PC, I want to switch it on immediately. I don't want to stand there with my finger on the switch. I have a fairly convenient layout for my computer room, with the UPS's on a shelf one level above the floor. Can you imagine how other owners must crawl under their desks to turn these things on? Unlike the PK's, the Belkin's switch is not located on the top front of the unit. The bubble switch can be difficult to find in a darkened area, where both UPS's are indeed located. Sometimes I must use my flashlight to locate the switch.

Unlike both my PK's, the Belkin emits a powerful low frequency hum. This hum can be heard when the PC is off. If you have a smaller computer room where you also do your studying, watch TV or movies, you will hear this hum. When I am at my desk, the Belkin is less than 3½ feet from me. Even when I am 4½ feet away watching TV or a movie, I can clearly hear this hum.

Replacing the two batteries for the Belkin F6C120-UNV is not easy. You must take the entire unit apart to remove them. In fact, I could find no information on battery removal in the instructions or Belkin's website. Most other UPS makers will give you instructions on battery replacement. Belkin seems to purposely make it a mystery.

As I mentioned before, I have never installed UPS software. I have read online reviews regarding Belkin's "Bulldog Plus" software. I am sure it is very good. However, I simply don't need it. For completeness, I will mention the other features the Belkin has. The Belkin has 2 RJ11/RJ45 and 2 surge-only outlets, 4 battery backup/surge outlets, and both USB and serial interface ports for use with their software. The Belkin has a 3 year parts and labor warranty. The F6C120-UNV includes a $500K connected equipment warranty and a "data recovery warranty", although I am skeptical they have ever paid out $500K. Finally, as with most other UPS's, the Belkin includes automatic voltage regulation (AVR). Essentially, AVR smooths out the voltage from your house to your PC, maintaining an average of 110-120 volts while eliminating spikes above 120 volts and dropouts below 110 volts. Belkin claims the F6C120-UNV can provide "up to 100 minutes backup time." I'm sure this is true, if you merely connected a 10 watt bulb to it. A more realistic figure would be 10 to 20 minutes for a standard tower system.

If you need an inexpensive, feature-rich UPS, the Belkin F6C120-UNV will suit your needs. However, if you do a lot of studying and are particular about your environment, don't buy this UPS. Moreover, if you want an "instant on" system, this UPS is not for you. I doubt I will buy any more Belkin UPS's. My next UPS will be the APC XS 1500VA. The APC has all the features the Belkin has and more. The APC is an "instant on" UPS and the button is conveniently located at the top front. The APC battery is easy to replace, simply by sliding the bottom front down, unplugging the battery, and pulling it out. The APC is a more expensive UPS than the Belkin so you might want to wait until APC has another rebate program for it. I believe the APC also uses a more expensive battery.

Based on features and price, I give the Belkin F6C120-UNV a marginal pass. However, my next UPS will be an APC XS 1500VA.

Sincerely,
Daniel L. Martinez

I'm not sure why one of the other reviewers would use a UPS to power on/off their desktop. The purpose of a UPS is the regulate electric line input and to provide power during either a power glitch/loss or total blackout.

This UPS does the job perfectly. I run a couple of home linux servers used for httpd, smtp, pop3, imap, mysqld, online game server, etc. In other words, they're always on. My house constantly gets hit by "power glitches"; the power blinks off then rigth back on at least once a week. Of course, this is bad news for any electronic equipment, especially computers. I don't mind resetting my clocks all over the house when this happens, but it's unacceptable for computers (not that I have to reset their clocks :-)).

I had a small APC 350VA before, that was absolutely horrible. It would help for the power glitches that I have, but when the power went out for more than 1 minute, it couldn't even power up one desktop cpu and a 17" CRT. It got to the point where my wife would call it the chinese torture device (no hard feelings), because it was constantly beeping when the power went off and back on. It would not reset itself, and I'd have to turn it off and back on to get it to stop. That really defeats the purpose of the UPS, as I'd have to shutdown the computer connected to it to do this.

Back to the Belkin. I currenlty have 3 desktop computers connected, a 19" lcd and 100 MB switch. I keep the USB connected to my windows desktop. The Bulldog software is very slick. It can show you current input/output stats, as well as a log of activity. Very nice function. I've had a few glitches knock the power off and on, with not one problem in the past month.

Fortunatley, I have not had to test the UPS for it's battery power in minutes. Right now, it will shutdown my windows PC when it detects and outage. I'd like to be able to write a small script that can shutdown my linux machines as well.

Conclusion:
You can't beat this UPS for the money. APCs are way overpriced, and the Belkin stacks up to their performance hands down. I work for a nation wide computer company that uses APCs, and I'd much rather spend my money on the Belkin.

I have two of these in my office and I love them. The only "real" criticism the other review had was he had to hold the power button down for 3 seconds to power the unit off. How lazy can someone be that 3 seconds is too long to press a button? The point was irrelevant considering you should never power your UPS off to make sure the batteries always have adequate power - and once they batteries are 1/2 to 1/25 low I would recommend replacing them.
I've used APC UPS's and after trying the Belkins I will never waste my money on an APC again. The Belkins provide great line conditioning with their AVR and the included software is more than enough to handle blackout situations. The operation of the Belkin units is completely silent unless your power drops below 105 volts, then they beep and produce a slight buzzing noise as they condition the line (as with every UPS that actually works). If you have a power outlet that requires excessive conditioning, I'd either move your equipment to a more stable outlet or call out an electrician to increase the amps on your outlet.
If you want to protect your system from power surges, brown outs, and black outs - I couldn't recommend the F6C120-UNV enough. If you need a UPS with remote management software for an enterprise situation, then you might be better off with an APC unit - otherwise, don't throw your money away, get the Belkin!!