Decibel! wrote:
> <dons EE hat>
> Pretty much every surge supressor out there is a POS... 99.9% of them
> just wire a varistor across the line; like a $0.02 part is going to stop
> a 10,00+ amp discharge.
>
> The only use I have for those things is if they come with an equipment
> guarantee, though I have to wonder how much those are still honored,
> since as you mention it's very easy for equipment to be fried via other
> means (ethernet, monitor, etc).
My UPSs, from American Power Conversion, have one of those impressive
guarantees. It specifies that all connections to my computer must be
protected: power, modem, ethernet, etc. It further specifies that everything
must be UL or CSA approved, and so on and so forth.
Well, that is what I have.
>
>> net to eliminate any direct electrical connections between machines that
>> are not on the same power circuit (the aforesaid burned motherboard
>> taught me that particular lesson). And yet I still fear every time a
>> thunderstorm passes over.
>
> Wired is safe as long as everything's on the same circuit. My house is
> wired for ethernet with a single switch running what's going to every
> room, but in each room I have a second switch on the same power as
> whatever's in that room; so if there is a strike it's far more likely
> that I'll lose switches and not hardware.
My systems are all in the same room. The UPS for the main system has a
single outlet on a circuit all its own all the way back to the power panel
at the building entrance. The UPS for my other system also has a outlet on a
circuit all its own all the way back to the power panel at the building
entrance -- on the other side of my 240 volt service so they sorta-kinda
balance out. The only other UPS is a little 620 VA one for the power to the
Verizon FiOS leading into my house. That is fibre-optic all the way to the
pole. I will probably get less lightning coming in that way than when I used
to be on copper dial-up. ;-)
>
>> Then of course there are the *other* risks, such as the place burning to
>> the ground, or getting drowned by a break in the city reservoir that's
>> a couple hundred yards up the hill (but at least I needn't worry about
>
> Invest in sponges. Lots of them. :)
--
.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642.
/V\ PGP-Key: 9A2FC99A Registered Machine 241939.
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