Equipment can be replaced data mostly can't . Any problem that can be fixed
by the application of money is not a problem, at most an inconvenience. Data
is not one of those. Lost data is a problem.
"Rob Stow" wrote in message
news:AqUFd.78839$6l.50962@pd7tw2no...
notritenoteri wrote:
You're right 5 years with no damage doesn't prove anything but it does
point
to the fact that the cost to take extraordinary precautions to protect
against rare events is probably not worth it. On the other hand
spending
money on the best possible lightening protection for a radio antenna
tower
may be worthwhile.
Your claim that protection is easily installed is somewhat misleading.
The
facts are "it depends"

And "easily installed" doesn't matter much to people like me.

I live in a rental apartment and I have to deal as best I can
with the existing wiring. Screwing around with the wiring is not
an option for me. I - and many others like me - have to do the
best I can with surge suppressors and UPSes.

"w_tom" wrote in message
...

We still don't build as if the transistor exists.
Principles are well proven in telephone switching facilities.
A massive improvement can be install in homes for about $1 per
protected appliance. Effective protection is just not that
expensive. But unfortunately, some spend many times more
money for far less effective (plug-in) solutions. They
purchase protectors that can even contribute to damage of an
adjacent computer. Then rumors such as 'too slow' persist.

Concepts requires comprehension of some basic principles.
Fundamental to surge protection is why a Ben Franklin
lightning rod works. Too many assume based upon what they see
- that a lightning rod is protection. Wrong. The protection
is and is defined by the quality of earth ground. That is the
art - earthing. An art only because it is not intuitively
obvious. Protectors are only as effective as the protection
connected to. Protector and protection are two different
components of a surge protection 'system'.

Protection is earth ground. Sometimes earthing installed
standard in most buildings (sufficient for human safety) is
not sufficient for transistor safety. Human safety is mostly
concerned with wire 'resistance'. Transistor safety is mostly
concerned with wire impedance. Sometimes the earthing systems
must be enhanced to also provide transistor protection.

Even ineffective protectors operate plenty fast - as did the
slower GDTs decades previous that operated so effectively.
Problems understanding effective protection even causes one to
confuse a wall receptacle safety ground (also called equipment
ground) with something located elsewhere and completely
different - earth ground. Why are they different? Wire has
impedance.

These concepts are introduced in a previous discussion
entitled "Is it safe to use computer during lightning/thunder
storm?" in the newsgroup sci.electronics.basics on 22 Sept
2004 at
http://tinyurl.com/5fu8n
Further details from same author (including figures from
industry professionals) are in two posts that precede this
above post.

Protection is so easily installed and is so effective that
damage is considered a human failure. One additional point.
Destructive surges occur typically once every eight years.
Five years with no damage proves little. Protection is only
as effective as its earth ground which is why earthing is so
important in telco buildings that must operate without
interruption during every thunderstorm.

notritenoteri wrote:

THe reason they don't operate fast enough is not really the problem
it is the fact that most of them don't. I think your comment about
building grounding is misleading. At least in this country buildings
are well enough grounded to be safe in most circumstances. In
building design it is possible to reach a very high level of
lightening and surge protection. the issue is one of cost mostly. PC
are cheap relatively. My experience (5 years as telecom guy in a
building with about 1000 networked pcs) suggest lightening or surges
are very minor problems. From what I know of lightening protection
engineering it is an art form to some degree. Sometimes the
engineers get it right, sometimes despite the best of designs the
stuff blows.
As I said its the data thats important.
BTW as I said $250 Can will buy you an 800 watt output battery
inverter pack to run your Ipod or laptop on your "camping trip".
That gets you one that plugs into the wall (110-120 here) and
outputs to 2 sockets for a total of 800 watts AC on the other side.
That's it said my piece