On 1/16/04 11:23 AM, "chris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> My track record is poor... >> My 350 Mhz iMac died after 18 months, my eMac kept failing and died after >> six months, >> this iBook has lasted less than six months. >> PC's before that would last about three months, and they'd die.; >> My new IBM laptop lasted about four months before it died, its >> replacement last two months. >> Maybe electronic devices aren't my forte? > > Have these all died at the same location? > > I had a similar track record at one of my offices. Computers would last 4 > months, monitors one or two before up and dying for no apparent reason. > > Turned out to be a bad building transformer. As stores shut off their > power at night, the transformer would begin to spike as less and less > load was on it. Eventually, it would move beyond "acceptable" fault and > push into the 130+ volt range. > > It seems this is low enough that the surge protectors being used didn't > notice it, but high enough that repeated occurances eventually burned out > equipment (and not always the power supply, in many cases the surge was > passed on to other parts, so the 130 volts on the power supply would > translate to 15 volts on a 12 volt line inside the computer). > > My problem was solved by unplugging equipment at night. Made for much > more wear on the CMOS batteries, but I stopped loosing hardware. > (Eventually the problem went away, so I'm guessing the power company > eventually replaced the transformer, many of us had complained, but they > kept telling us it was working within spec... of course it was, they kept > checking it in the middle of the day when it was under full load) > > > You may want to have someone come check out your building power, or get a > small plug in meter and watch it at multiple times during the day and > night and see where it peaks. > > -chris > <http://www.mythtech.net> > Another thought: this is a likely cause for your gremlins. I had a similar situation as a kid with a ham radio set many years ago. Now, however, there is another solution. There is a type of uninterruptible power supply that continuously conditions and regulates the power. It completely removes you from dependence on an incompetent power company. This would be a good solution for computer or other sensitive equipment. The cost is several hundred dollars, but it would be worth it if you would like to improve the survival of your far more expensive equipment. -- Bruce ____________________________________________________ B R U C E K. klutch-at-erols.com
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