Floppyshop 2/Floppyshop - 2.zip/Floppyshop - 2.iso/diskmags/0022-3.564/dmg-3446/text/zaps.txt

Text File | 1991-08-30 | 15KB | 272 lines

    LIGHTNING STRIKE !!!
    ====================

                                  from Michael Lee (ST REPORT)


 The ST Roundtable on Genie has recently had an interesting discussion
 about surge protectors, lightning strikes and more.  I hope you find it
 as interesting as I did.

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 All Questions and Answers are from the ST Roundtable on Genie, Cat. 28,
 Topic 12...
 Message #1 - Question from Anthony Dipietro....
    I'd like to know if the following is a good practice:

    Since I use my computer almost every nite, I've decided to keep it
    running continuously. I shut off the monitor when not in use to
    reduce the heat. I shut down the whole system once a week to let it
    "cool" down. Any things I should be looking for? Does the computer
    attract more dust, etc. because it's on all the time? Should it be
    cleaned etc, more often? Anything to look for due to heat build up
    (ie, any chips that could fail faster due to being left on
    continuously).

 Message #2 - Question and answer from John Spande...
    I suspect that the internal hard drive in particular would last
    longer if you turned off the computer when it's not in use, however,
    others who know more will hopefully give you a more definitive
    answer.

    I also have a question. I anticipate getting into a situation where I
    will want to operate my system without benefit of connection to the
    electric power company and would like to know if inverter (square
    wave) power for extended periods will shorten the life of computer,
    monitor, etc? Sine wave UPS's are available, but expensive.

 Message #4 - From Mike Dorman...
    Anthony--My 520 ST has been on constantly (i.e. down for periods of
    no longer than, say, 2 weeks, and that maybe once a year, while I'm
    home from school) for about the last two years. I haven't had any
    problems.

    I *do* shut it off during thunderstorms, however, and I have a hefty
    power- strip/surge-suppressor.

 Message #7 - From Jim Allen (Fast Tech)...
    While I worked for a living, we had 12 HP9000 workstations, an HP3000
    business system, various lab equipment...usually HP or TEK...and in
    later years 10 Sun systems and a big server, and in 6 years we turned
    then off for 2 hurricanes and one Tstorm. No HP ever failed, in
    nearly 6 years of continuous operation.

    I've been gone for two years, and its all still working ;-)

    Guess I'd say leave it on.

 Message #11 - From Kyle Cordes...
    John, using square wave power (if it works, I haven't tried it) would
    probably at most only shorten the life of your power supplies, which
    can be replaced for much less than the cost of a whole computer. (Not
    being an EE, I couldn't tell you whether it will affect the supplies)

    Many many systems, St and otherwise, run continuously for years on
    end; they're called BBSs.

 Message #12 - From WAYNED...
    RE: Thunderstorms.....
    And I might add.... unplug......unplug......unplug.....

    When our lines got zapped I lost my modem, printer, and about $200
    internal damage to my Mega IV (Yamaha chip, IO drivers, 68000, trace
    on motherboard, etc). I wasn't home, the machine wasn't on, but it
    was plugged in. It also fried the 27" tv in the living room which
    also wasn't on, but was plugged in.

    Just an FYI for all of ya! Oh yeah, ALL the computer equipment was
    plugged into surge protectors which don't do diddly in even of a
    lightning strike. They're only for normal everyday voltage surges
    which happen all the time on most power lines.

 Message #13 - From Randy Walters...
    Wayne, I have to disagree with the assessment on surge suppressors
    not doing diddly for lightning. The type that I use not only protects
    the power line but also the phone line. This company will also
    GUARANTEE their suppressors and any equipment plugged into them from
    power damage, Including Lightning. They will replace the suppressor
    and pay for the repair of any of the attached equipment that is
    damaged. (unlimited dollar amount on attached equipment) This unit is
    an under the monitor type with a clock and several independent power
    switches. That way you never have to reach for the back of a machine
    again.

    It cost about $170 but that is a small investment compared to the
    damage that could be incurred using an inferior unit. If you would
    like any other info. I would be very glad to mail it to you. I do
    agree that there is a lot of garbage out there that is being sold and
    people are finding out the hard way. All that I am really trying to
    say is that "All surge suppressors are NOT created equal!"

 Message #19 - From C.GRIMSBY...
    Just a quick note here..."Surge suppressors" are not _designed_ to
    handle lightning. That doesn't mean that having one on your system
    won't protect the system from a strike only that they are not desig-
    ned to do so. Something on the order of using the "claw" on a hammer
    as a screwdriver. In _some_ cases it'll work.

    To protect from lightning you need a "Transient Suppressor." Tran-
    sient Suppressors cost significantly more than a surge suppressor,
    but if you live in an area that has frequent thunderstorms, they're
    worth the investment. It should be noted that Transient Suppressors
    are not designed to stop small power surges that surge suppressors
    are designed to to. You _need_ both if your equipment is in a
    thunderstorm area, and there are voltage surges on the line from such
    things as vacuum cleaners, intermittent fans, etc.

    With the growth of the computer industry, a few devices have shown up
    that are combinations of these two. So far, no name has 'worked it-
    self out' yet so make sure before you buy what you are getting! In
    terms of prices, Surge suppressors usually cost around $20, Transient
    Suppressors around $100 and combined units around $150.

    Recently, some articles have appeared questioning the ability of both
    suppressors working after a period of time. Small 'hits' to the units
    _tend_ to degrade the components that they use to protect your sys-
    tem. (I'm talking of both Surge Suppressors and Transient Suppressors
    here.) To date, the question still rages.

    In the lab however, it's been shown that after 5 years of 'normal'
    use, the units degrade to uselessness. In 'real life' experiences,
    the units have been shown to still be effective after 10 years in
    use. (One major strike will still take both units out however!) What
    this means to the consumer is that you _may_ want to replace your
    suppression units after 5 years, if you haven't suffered a strike,
    and if you want to be sure. Or you may want to take your chances.
    It's basically up to the user at this point. Personally, I've had
    units function quite well after 10 years, and some that are useless
    after a couple of months. I'm still not sure what to do myself...

 Message #20 - From DARLAH (RT Sysop)...
    I lost 2 modems to a surge of electricity. I was upset and the local
    electricity company told me although these surges were higher than
    usual, it was my problem that they bit the dust. I bought a better
    surge protector and never a problem afterwards. We did have surges
    after that but I didn't get the effect. Part of my problem was the
    way my house was wired. (I have since moved). Some electricians
    should be shot. They are as bad as some plumbers I know. <grin> Get
    yourself protected. It is worth it.

 Message #22 - From John Spande...
    Anthony, thunderstorms are not the only source of line surges and
    transients and your system is more vulnerable when turned on. If you
    use it 8 hours a day but leave it on always you have increased your
    chances 3X.

    Suppose your unattended system developed a fault that caused a fire?
    Extremely improbable yes, but not impossible and the consequences way
    out of proportion to undemonstrated benefits.

    Then there is the matter of energy stewardship. In the US we use much
    more energy per person while maintaining a slightly lower standard of
    living than western Europe and Japan. Conservation is vital and while
    a few computers may not make a big difference we need to start
    'sweating the small stuff' everywhere possible if we are to put our
    environmental (and economic) house in order.

    BTW, I think a hard drive will last longer running 8 hours (therefore
    with one power up cycle per day) each day than running 24 hours (and
    no power up cycle). You might want to check this with a manufacturer,
    but remember they rate them in MTBF (Mean TIME Between Failures) not
    mean number of power up/down cycles.

 Message #27 - From Mike Jenkins...
    Anthony, in my experience in the "mainframe" world (21+ years):

    If the area in which the computer resides is relatively free of dust,
    and has sufficient cooling (nothing sitting on the cooling vents),
    and has sufficient power protection (surge protector and "clean"
    electrical lines), has a low humidity (40%), then leave the machine
    and disk drive on. However, if excess heating occurs, turn the unit
    off.

    The only caveat I had, was from a DEC engineer: "The room temperature
    must be less than 85 degrees F with a humidity level less than 50%."
    Apparently, at 85 degrees, the temperature inside the computer would
    exceed 95 degrees and the components would begin to have problems. We
    (my old company) placed PC's, Mac's, DEC MicroVAX's, and DEC PC/
    Clones in the normal office environment for over 5 years. With the
    above suggestion, we never had a failure (I'm talking about 30
    MicroVAX's, several hundred (each) PC's, Clones, and Mac's!

    Personally, I shutdown whenever I'm done. And that's because I don't
    have an UPS, and living in one of the Midwest's "tornado alley"
    areas, I don't trust Mother Nature (the last lightning strike hit the
    Cable TV box--about 30 feet from my STe, which was off at the time. I
    do have a Surge Protector for all of the computer peripherals, the
    computer, and the phone lines. So far, no problem.


 Message #29 - From Randy Walters...
    Jonesy, I use the EFI EDP-2000 TLS Power Control Center. It has 6
    power outlets on the rear panel along with the RJ11 phone plugs.
    Thus, it protects the equipment from any spikes coming down the phone
    line. It also has a mode light on the front which is a three way
    indicator. If it is clear, then there is no power, if it is green
    then you have power and suppression is working, if it is red then the
    suppression is no longer working and you need to have the unit re-
    paired. It has front panel switches to control the rear power plugs.
    It also uses sine wave tracking and voltage smoothing to insure that
    clamped spikes do not distort the sine wave. A minor point , it does
    have a built in clock. Last of all is the warranty. They will
    replace/repair the unit and any of its attached equipment at NO cost
    to you.

    If you don't need the Power Control Center, there are other units
    which you can get. Those are power strips or wall units with just
    power protection or with Phone line protection, or with Cable TV
    protection, or with RS232 protection. They even have better diag-
    nostic lights, besides the codes that I described above, they also
    tell you whether your wall outlet is wired properly. i.e. inverse
    polarity, no ground and a few others. I have been installing these
    units now for 4 years and they have performed very well.

    I do agree that the best defense for lightning is to have the
    computer/cable tv/ phone lines all unplugged from every device!!!
    BUT, if you're like most people who do not do that, buy an EFI. If
    anyone would like pricing, I will post it. If anyone would like
    brochures, e-mail your address to me and I will send them. If you
    would like to buy one, I can help you with that too. I hesitated to
    go into this detail before because I thought that people would think
    that I'm just trying to sell the EFI. I am a CE, I have to fix the
    equipment that is damaged due to power problems!! Thus, I only will
    advise my customers to use things that will lessen their downtime.
    (Their downtime = My downtime)

 Message #31 - From Gary Gray...
    I regularly see ST system boards that are damaged. Here in Texas
    thunderstorms can occur for days in a row. I have only seen one ST
    that wouldn't run after damage by an electrical storm. But its
    failure mode was the same as all the others. They fail at the I/O
    ports. What happens is the 1488,and 1489 serial drivers get knocked
    out. Sometimes the MFP and sound chip also are damaged. Not in one
    case had the power supply failed. The typical failure is at the
    printer port card. We see these failure over and over. Lighting
    strikes push current all around a room, the walls, the floor, the
    desk, the air for that matter. Like Jim Allen said nothing you do if
    you get a direct strike will make any difference.

 Message #32 - From Mike Hill...
    Darlah, don't forget that with modems the surge generally comes from
    the phone lines and not the electrical lines. Everyone should get a
    surge protector on the phone line too.

    I have had three modems since my 8-bit days get shot by surges. And
    not once did the phones in the house get damaged! One surge went
    through the modem and into my Mega ST. Blew the MFP chip and the
    RS232 drivers. Luckily I got an MFP sample from work and fixed all of
    that.

    Needless to say, I unplug the phone line from the modem whenever
    storms are near and when I leave for a long period of time. Ohio has
    some nasty storms this time of year. And they can come in very
    unannounced!

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