It all started when a friend of mine was going to throw out the old uninterrupted power supply (UPS)
that came with her previous Internet set-top box. All it needed was a
new lead-acid battery, but she did not know that until she had two of them. The newer one did not cost her anything, but she had no use for it and was ready to trash it.
After saving the old UPS from the trash heap I made sure to dispose of the old lead-acid battery responsibly by taking it to a toxic waste disposal facility. Next I purchased a new lead-acid battery for $30 at my favorite home improvement store. In no time at all, I had a good-as-new 120VAC to 12VDC battery back-up power supply on my hands. It did not take me long to
figure out what to do with it...
Now, I am using it to keep some "mission critical" 5V-powered home electronics up and running, even when the power goes down. (FYI: those 12VDC AutoPlug-to-USB converters can be bought really cheap, under $10.) And in an emergency, I can use this setup to charge our mobile phones. (I love USB.)
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