[gui-talk] serge protectors

Wed May 14 14:36:10 CDT 2008

Andy,

Wait a second. You know we've had a few power outages here over the past few 
years,when the aging infrastructure has broken down, especially under heavy 
loads in midsummer. Which can make you feel just as Third World right in the 
middle of Westside L.A. as if you were somewhere quite different. Burma 
after a cyclone. Sichuan province after an earthquake. New York City after a 
power grid failure in the North country. No harm in being careful, I guess. 
Although, wisely or not, I don't feel too anxious around this particular 
issue, for my own sake.
To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 9:45 AM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] serge protectors

Well, this is because you and I live in L. A., where power generation is
dependible, and thunder storms are rare, but if you lived in the south
or midwest, you'd be singing a different tune.

Andy

-----Original Message-----
From: gui-talk-bounces+andrew.baracco=va.gov at nfbnet.org
[mailto:gui-talk-bounces+andrew.baracco=va.gov at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Joel Deutsch
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 9:39 AM
To: NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] serge protectors

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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