On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 19:50:06 -0500, (Paul) wrote:

......
wiring exposure to just the power lines. A real ($1K purchase
price) UPS would reduce the risk of an AC power event from
getting you, and would help protect the PSU from getting
damaged. Cheap UPSes offer no protection at all, as they are
actually SPS (standby power supplies) - they are a "straight wire"
to power spikes, and the unit only cuts over to batteries if
the AC power dies for enough milliseconds.


I think that you are being unduly negative about cheap "UPSes". You
are absolutely correct that they are not true UPSes, since:
a) they normally connect the mains power (effectively) straight
through to the controlled devices, thus offering no _intrinsic_
protection from spikes; and
b) they have to switch to inverter mode when the power fails, which
takes finite time.
However:
a) almost all SPSes include at least as much separate surge protection
on the mains supply line as a decent standalone surge protector would
provide; and
b) All except the cheapest, no-name, ones switch fast enough so that a
normal computer system power supply does not "notice" the transient
power loss (though network switches, hubs, and the like may "glitch").
For most home and SOHO users, an SPS will provide cost-effective
protection against most of the data loss problems which might
otherwise be caused by brownouts and/or power outages, while their
built in (but unrelated) surge protection circuitry is a _lot_ better
than nothing as insurance against damage from power line spikes.

Please respond to the Newsgroup, so that others may benefit from the exchange.
Peter R. Fletcher