Anne Cartwright <cartwrig at aye.net> wrote: > My whole set up is hooked to a surge protector which in turn is plugged > into a UPS/surge protector, however as I understand it, if lightnig > hits close enough it will fry them too. A surge protector cannot > protect against a strong hit by lightening.
Me, too. I have run everything through an APC BackUPS battery since 1997, and last winter had to get a larger BackUPS for my new DP G4 and dual monitors. The BackUPS does a good job. At odd times and during storms it frequently emits short squeals, indicating it filled in when a surge or a flicker occurred, and so saved the setup from a crash. One time during the day, it squealed and would not stop, so I powered down the setup. Unless I had tried to turn on a lamp, I would have known the power was out, and would have had a crash. But a lightning strike on the power lines is much different from a simple utility company surge. Lightning has millions of volts and will jump wide gaps in a circuit - it might melt the BackUPS and everything connected to it. During a lightning storm, I unplug my two surge strips from the wall, thereby disconnecting the BackUPS and everything else in my computer center from the clouds. Allan Atherton | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be September 23. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | This list's page is <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>.
