[olug] One Point Twenty-One Jigawatts

Tue May 13 17:34:03 UTC 2003

One more reason we should switch to fiber for the last mile cable,
internet, and telephone.  Then we only need to protect the power line. ;)

Eric

> I found a link the the OPPD site.
>
> http://ww1.oppd.com/prodsvc/resprodsvc/surgeguard.cfm
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: olug-bounces at olug.org [mailto:olug-bounces at olug.org]On Behalf Of
> Trent Melcher
> Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 12:19 PM
> To: Omaha Linux User Group
> Subject: RE: [olug] One Point Twenty-One Jigawatts
>
>
> It covers Phone line, Cable and powerlines coming into the house, I
> think its around $6 a month to have it.   Installation I think was $50.
>
> They cover up to $50,000 in damages.  Again, I think you have to jump
> through a few hoops to porve lightning fried the equipment though.
>
> Trent
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: olug-bounces at olug.org [mailto:olug-bounces at olug.org]On Behalf Of
> Jon H. Larsen
> Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 11:36 AM
> To: Omaha Linux User Group
> Subject: Re: [olug] One Point Twenty-One Jigawatts
>
>
> Maybe this could be a OLUG meeting subject?  I don't mind discussing it
> at the next meeting...(did I just volunteer?)
>
> One thing to remember about Surge Supression is that the supressor you
> buy is only as good as the power runs in your house.  A prerequisite for
> a Surge Supresser is a properly gounded three-prong outlet.  For about
> $5 to $7 bucks, you can pick up an outlet tester at Menards.  This is a
> standard item in my toolkit.  Very useful for Lan Parties.
>
> Plug it into the outlet you plan to put your UPS/Supressor on - there is
> usually three lights on the end, with instructions on how to read the
> lights printed on the side.  If the outlet tests anything beyond normal,
> don't use it, you may be sorry (most likely No Ground, or Hot Neutral).
> Also, Two-prong outlets are not considered safe.  These are non-grounded
> plugs, don't trust an adapter.  Also, if you have a house with a mix of
> two-prong and three-prong, chances are the three-prong outlets were
> installed to avoid the use of a three-prong to two-prong adapter.  Best
> bet, always test your outlets.
>
> Putting Surge Supression on an AC power line is only part of the
> picture. Telephone, Cat-5, and RG-6 (coax cable) all need protection, as
> any one of them plugs directly into your PC.  These are often overlooked
> items. The APC BackUPS Office has Phone/Cat5 protection.  Having Surge
> Supression on your cable/satellite coax lines is essential if you have a
> Home theatre system, which often has more investment values than some PC
> setups.
>
> I do not remember if the Whole-House surge supression covers Telephone,
> CAT5, Coax runs.  Spending a little money in these areas will save you
> later.  Does anyone have whole-house suppression from OPPD?  What fee do
> you pay per month for the service?  Installation?
>
> A good habit to get into is to check your surge supressors after each
> electrical storm.  You never know if any of them have been hit.  Check
> the LED status.  A medium to high-end supressors, you will usually have
> a "Protection" status LED - if this is not on, replace the supressor, as
> it has done it's duty.
>
> Surge Supressors with higher Joules ratings are always better.
>
> Underground wiring will help with some surge situations.  I moved last
> December to a subdivision that has underground wiring -
> we lost power around 4 AM on Sunday May 4th.  I saw
> the light from a few OPPD trucks inspecting the above-ground lines in my
> area (120th and Military) - power was back on about 30 minutes later. I
> know it was May 4th because I had to re-program my VCR to record the F1
> race at 6:30 AM.
>
> I have several APC UPS units at home.  My main unit, APC SmartUPS 900,
> is a bit older, but still works great.  I followed the directions from
> the NUT site to build my own APC cable using a couple DB-9 plugs and a
> Cat-5 cable.  Using PowerChute, I can have my PC shut down automatically
> after a given amount of time.  I have a small APC BackUPS 300 for my
> cable modem and router.  The smaller current draw allows the 300 to stay
> up longer.
>
> NUT is the Network UPS Tools.  I believe you can have one host monitor
> the UPS through the signal cable, and notify other hosts on the same UPS
> to shut down.  Very handy for multi-host environments on one UPS.
>
> Check it out:
> http://www.exploits.org/nut/
>
> If you want the extreme in surge supression, check out PolyPhaser corp.
> http://www.polyphaser.com
>
> Check out their Engineering Notes area (LAN, Phone, equipment rack,
> roof-top grounding):
> http://www.polyphaser.com/ppc_pen_home.asp
>
> Jon L.
>
> On Tue, 13 May 2003, Joe Catanzaro wrote:
>
>> Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 09:39:13 -0500
>> From: Joe Catanzaro <joecatanzaro at cox.net>
>> Reply-To: Omaha Linux User Group <olug at olug.org>
>> To: olug at olug.org
>> Subject: [olug] One Point Twenty-One Jigawatts
>>
>> I didn't grow up in a place that has lots of lightning like the
>> Mid-west, so I have several questions regarding best practices for
>> lightning and computers. Just like many of you, I have about 6
>> computers running 24/7
> and
>> would like to prevent the loss of data and fried hardware as much as
>> possible. And bear with me here, I'm not very smart when it comes to
>> lightning strikes.
>>
>> When a storm rolls in, do you turn off the computer? Rely on a cheap
>> surge protector? Rely on an expensive surge protector? Unplug
>> everything?
>>
>> How does the lightning get to my computer? Does it strike the power
>> pole
> in
>> the back ally and then travel through the circuits in my house? Or
>> does it hit my house directly?
>>
>> Are lightning strikes common and is it worth getting that OPPD "whole
> house
>> surge protection?"
>>
>> I grew up in Hawaii and the last thing we were concerned with was a
>> bolt
> of
>> lightning.
>>
>>
>>
>> Joe Catanzaro
>> joecatanzaro at cox.net
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> OLUG at olug.org
>> http://lists.olug.org/mailman/listinfo/olug
>>
>
> --
>  [ Jon H. Larsen  - email: relayer at omahadirect dot net         ] [
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