At 7:15 AM -0500 10/26/01, Carolyn Shere wrote:
>  >  I haven't had a completely
>>debilitating failure since the lightning storm of '96 (was away from home
>>and wasn't able to unplug my stuff, must have hit twice because my surge
>  >protector was blown and it still got some of my stuff).

  A close lightning strike can blow through any number of surge 
suppressors and blast your equipment in one shot, no problemo.  Surge 
suppressors are designed to handle spikes induced by other equipment 
and normal stuff coming down the power line.  Nothing will stop a 
lightning caused surge if it strikes close enough.  Heck, if it hits 
close enough it can induce a surge in something that is unplugged but 
that is rare.

>I always unplug my modem, even the DSL modem I now have, during a
>lighting storm, because most of the trouble goes through the phone
>lines, or so I've heard. Am I safe with my computer turned on
>otherwise (everything is in surge protectors)? Since I'm working on
>it all day, I can't afford the large amount of down  time during
>rainy seasons. I completely lost a monitor last year that was only
>three years old and I suspected it might have been from a storm
>although I don't really know. Is it likely that it was? People in
>offices don't shut down whenever there is a storm and since they have
>T-1 lines, they don't have to worry about phone lines.

A T-1 is a phone line, that is it's a pair wired from the phone 
company.  It's just as easily hit by lightning as any other phone 
line.

Basically you take your chances with lightning.  Phone lines are 
somewhat less likely to get hit by lightning as the lines are mounted 
lower.  But they are somewhat more likely to do damage as there is 
nothing else on your pair to absorb the energy and they connect into 
more sensitive circuitry.


-- 
Clark Martin
Redwood City, CA, USA
Macintosh / Internet Consulting
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

"I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway"

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