Re: My PC was hit with lightning and now Microcenter is looking at it.

On Jul 12, 8:59 am, "xpyttl" <xpyttl_NOS...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
WOW - you really don't have a clue how lightning damages electronics, do
you?

Not only is nothing on the outside of the house going to matter, long lines
from your protective device are also a problem. No "Quality UPS" is going
to protect you if you have long lines from the UPS to the device.

All nice rationalizations. Therefore phone service is routinely
down for four days as the telco replaces a switching computer
connected to overhead wires all over town. Even late 1950s Bell
research demonstrated that electronic switch can sufffer a hundred
surges during one thunderstom. So what did telcos do?

Every wire in every cable is connected to earth ground, either
directly or via a 'whole house' protector, where wire enters the
building. That earthing connection is short. The telco prefers
separation between protectors and computer to be up to 50 meters.
That longer separation enhances protection.

But xpyttl says telcos have it all wrong. Somehow he knows that
solutions standard in Central Offices all over the world don't work.
Clearly a $100 UPS without earting is a superior solution. Clearly we
"don't have a clue how lightning damages electronics". We have been
doing it all wrong for 100 years. Only xpyttl can save us from our
mistakes?

Best protector is as close to single point earth ground as is
possible. That distance between protector and electronics makes even
better protection when distance is many times longer than the earthing
connection. Superior protector are short to earth ground and distant
from electronics.

Meanwhile, we have been discussing 'secondary protection.
Homeowners are strongly adviced to also inspect their 'primary'
protection system:
http://www.tvtower.com/grounding_and_bonding.html

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Surge Protectors
    ... First, five power problems can exist: ... Surges are excessive voltage AND require a different 'system' to make ... A typical computer grade UPS does not smooth electricity or remove ... located elsewhere in the building and called a 'whole house' protector. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.hardware.misc)
  • Re: Lightning and computer?
    ... recommends that 'less than 10 foot' connection. ... ground defines an ineffective protector. ... you 'just know' was provided by a UPS. ... > had not damage to the devices protected by it. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: Building foundation. Trying to locate ground rod
    ... Hate to tell you this but strikes nearby come up through your grounding system to take out a lot of electrically fragile stuff, ... Go with a quality whole house surge protector at the breaker box and also individual protector strips at point of use. ... I use one UPS per computer. ... Most of the UPS units now available on the consumer market are of the switching type that transfer the load to the battery powered inverter before the output of the computer's power supply can fall low enough to cause disk damage or data loss. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: brown-out
    ... Brownouts: lights dim so low as to ... A UPS is not for hardware protection. ... using a protector, is called a 'whole house' protector. ... Others may mention that a power strip surge protector should ...
    (comp.security.misc)
  • Re: Power surge safety
    ... Just need drivers (so windows and the UPS can talk to each other). ... >> replacing your surge protector every once in a while. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics)