[gui-talk] serge protectors

Wed May 14 14:05:02 CDT 2008

Dave, thanks. I have long known what this device was, but forgot what it was 
called, and the initials didn't bring the words back to me. Thanks.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 10:31 AM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] serge protectors

An UPS is an uninterruptable power supply.  Basically it is a giant
battery that goes between your computer and the electrical
outlet.  If you loose power, the UPS instantly takes over, powering
your computer so that you don't loose data etc.  It will then power
your computer etc., for a period of time, depending on the size and
capacity of the UPS, until either power comes back on, or you can do
an orderly shut down.

Dave

At 11:39 AM 5/14/2008, you wrote:
>I never heard of such a problem, and don't think it's ever happened to me.
>Nevertheless, I'm interested to know what a UPS is. Certainly not a guy who
>comes in a brown truck to check your computer's power. :-)
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Loy" <loyrg2845 at gmail.com>
>To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 5:19 AM
>Subject: Re: [gui-talk] serge protectors
>
>
>I would suggest that everyone should use a UPS on there computer equipment
>rather than just a surge protector. This combines a surge protector and
>battery backup. I have had instances of low power  where the UPS kicks in
>and prevents the computer from shutting down. I had a problem with a copier
>that caused low power when it was in use and the computer would shut down
>because it did not get enough power. After connecting a UPS this was no
>longer a problem, because the battery kicked in when this happened. I don't
>know if low power could damage a computer like a surge , but I suspect it
>could.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Joel Deutsch" <jdeutsch at dslextreme.com>
>To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:17 PM
>Subject: Re: [gui-talk] serge protectors
>
>
>Dave,
>
>Yes, you're right. In fact, I've never known that minor, perhaps
>unnoticeable, electrical events can wear away the protective capability of 
>a
>surge protector. I wouldn't  mind knowing what sorts of events those might
>be, and how you could be alert to recognize them when they occur. . I think
>like most people, I only understand "surge" to be something like what 
>you're
>referring to as catastrophic, or at least dramatically noticeable. Like
>there is a power outage in the whole neighborhood, and your computer dies
>along with whatever other appliances and lights are turned on. Then the
>power problem is fixed by the power company, and the first jolt of renewed
>electricity is much stronger than the normal constant output, and fries 
>your
>computer and stereo amplifier unless you've either unplugged them or 
>they're
>plugged into a surge protector. In which case the surge protector circuitry
>gets fried and you have to buy a new surge protector.
>
>That is all I thought this was about. I know nothing about there being
>periodic surges of electricity no one would notice that nonetheless eat 
>away
>incrementally at a surge protector's functionality.
>
>So shoot me, Dave. What can I say. I never heard about the slow death sort
>of surges.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
>To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 7:04 PM
>Subject: Re: [gui-talk] serge protectors
>
>
>Joel:  Be careful about lecturing Lloyd (smile) he is an electrical
>engineer.
>
>I think he was talking about small surges that cumulatively take away
>the surge protection, while it seems like you are talking about a
>catastrophic strike.
>
>Dave
>
>At 01:37 PM 5/13/2008, you wrote:
> >Lloyd,
> >I don't think that's what they were talking about. Everybody knows that 
> >if
> >a
> >surge protector is forced to break the current during a power surge, then
> >it
> >loses its capacity to protect and needs to be replaced, even though of
> >course it still can provide electricity to what's plugged into it. and 
> >just
> >because you can't see the pilot light, that wouldn't matter if you knew
> >you'd had a dramatic power surge, like a lightning strike. If that were 
> >to
> >happen, or the house current would go off and suddenly come back on, or
> >that
> >sort of thing, I'd certainly get a friend or neighbor to take a look at 
> >my
> >power strip and, if the light was out, install a fresh replacement.
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Lloyd Rasmussen" <lras at loc.gov>
> >To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
> >Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 11:26 AM
> >Subject: Re: [gui-talk] serge protectors
> >
> >
> >As far as I know, surge protectors can fail in a way that you cannot 
> >detect
> >without sight.  Failure can occur if there was a nearby lightning strike 
> >or
> >other sudden spike of voltage on your AC outlets.  The metal-oxide 
> >varistor
> >or other device inside the unit is supposed to short much of that charge
> >out, so your computer is not exposed to it.  But it can only do this a
> >limited number of times.  An L E D on the power strip may change color or
> >go out to indicate that the surge protection function is no longer
> >working.  But the strip will still supply unprotected power.
> >
> >This is not a matter of aging, but only a matter of exposure to large
> >electrical surges.
> >
> >Having said all this, I have never had one of my surge protectors 
> >inspected
> >to see whether it has sustained damage or not.
> >
> >At 02:07 PM 5/13/2008, you wrote:
> > >Denise --
> > >
> > >If Best Buy, and every other retailer for that matter, could convince 
> > >us
> > >of
> > >it, they would have us replace everything we own as frequently as
> > >possible,
> > >just to keep their bottom lines as profitable as possible.
> > >
> > >As for the surge protector going bad, yet still providing output power,
> > >that
> > >comes as quite a shock to me.
> > >
> > >It sounds to me like the technicians there simply don't know what 
> > >caused
> > >the
> > >problem in the first place, so they're coming up with a bogus excuse to
> > >explain away their ineptness.  And if your computer is still under
> > >warranty,
> > >then you'd better believe that they're trying to find some way of 
> > >blaming
> > >you and your equipment for being at fault, so they can charge you some
> > >real
> > >bucks to repair or replace your computer.
> > >
> > >-- George
> > >
> > >
> > >Denise avant recently said ...
> > >
> > >"i recently had to take in my computer TO BEST BUY FOR REPAIR. I WAS 
> > >told
> > >that some hardware inside of the computer may be causing my problem. 
> > >and
> > >the
> > >damage to the hardware in the computer may have been caused by my serve
> > >protector going bad. i explained that i had the protector for about 5 
> > >or
> > >6
> > >years, and i was then advised that a replacement every two years was
> > >adviseable. so thus my question.
> >
> >Lloyd Rasmussen, Acting Head, Engineering Section
> >National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
> >Library of Congress    (202) 707-0535   <http://www.loc.gov/nls>
> >HOME:  <http://lras.home.sprynet.com>
> >The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent
> >those of NLS.
> >
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