Another dumb queation

[Baditude]

I remember awhile back (but I can't locate the post) wrote about protecting computers from humidity..... What do I need to protect my laptop? Also I know the dutch side is 110 but I also remmeber talk about US appliances still having trouble like clocks losing time etc. Can anyone bring me up to date with this stuff?

[levator]

I remember awhile back (but I can't locate the post) wrote about protecting computers from humidity..... What do I need to protect my laptop? Also I know the dutch side is 110 but I also remember talk about US appliances still having trouble like clocks losing time etc. Can anyone bring me up to date with this stuff?

i am not sure about the humidity issue... maybe micro knows...

as far as the power issues. i would recommend both a surge protector and a UPS power back up. the surge protector will protect from surges (sorry redundant) and the UPS back device will protect against the exact oppossite (sp?) of a power surge (i am blanking on the actual name). several students have "lost" their mother boards on one of these two things... including myself....

i am not sure about off campus, but i know the dorm power is down right weird. the clocks either run fast where i have to reset them everyday or they start falling behind. i am not sure why. the appliances will also be on "steroids" sometime.. i remember trying to cook a pizza in the oven before i was used to this and i checked it five minutes after i put it in and it was burnt to a crisp... 350 in that oven was like 600... so in that apartment i did not put the oven over 200 ever and watch the food constantly. it took me a few experiment trials of food burning to get this down to an art. same with the burners. in the apartment i am in now, its a little better but i still have to watch the food because it likes to cook faster than its supposed to. usually, when the fire alarms go off at the dorms, its a student trying to cook... not me yet... :roll:

later,

[anencephalic]

I remember awhile back (but I can't locate the post) wrote about protecting computers from humidity..... What do I need to protect my laptop? Also I know the dutch side is 110 but I also remmeber talk about US appliances still having trouble like clocks losing time etc. Can anyone bring me up to date with this stuff?

The clock phenomenon, to my knowlege, was something only dorm residents experienced. Off campus, we haven't had this problem of losing time. In fact, you GAIN TIME in Beacon Hill 'cause the power's always off...

Aloha,

[wifeofDr2b]

I believe the humidity discussion was over on Saba's board not too long ago...never heard of an issue here on St. Maarten nor have we experienced it or know of anyone who has. Our electrical clocks sometimes run either fast or slow depending on the week. We also have a battery only clock so we just adjust the time once we see there is a difference with the time and the different clocks.

[ckbuffalo]

[quote=Baditude]
as far as the power issues. i would recommend both a surge protector and a UPS power back up.





Can I buy the surge protector & UPS power back up on SXM?
where?

Thanks
Christina

[rdecastro]

A few considerations:

The best kind of surge suppressor is a UPS - by their design, they protect against both sags (drops in voltage) and surges. So, having both may be redundant. If you're using a surge suppressor as a power strip (a short extension cord with multiple outlets on it), thats a different issue. UPS's usually have more than one outlet (very large ones have eight or more), so you may not need more. They're effective, available (at places like Staples, Bestbuy, etc) and relatively economical.

Also, by it's design, a laptops external power supply is a dandy surge supressor - if you can risk losing it. If you don't have a spare, you might want to protect it by plugging the AC power cord into a surge supressor.

In 20+ years of IT work (professionally), I favor the APC brand products for both UPS and surge supressors for home / small office use. They offer additional warranty for the equipment plugged into their products, and I've never had to use it. But, if using the APC brands, keep in mind that the waranty is only good if a UPS is plugged into (or has plugged into it) an APC brand surge supressor.

The symptoms described (clocks losing/gaining time, microwave weirdness) are obvious signs of AC line frequency instablilty. The power is supposed to be a pure sine wave at 60 Hz (we all remember that from the MCAT, right? :D ) and either the power is NOT a pure sine wave (typical if the power is being provided by an inverter from a DC power source) and instead of being a sine wave is a cut-off square wave (I've seen this on boats with low-end inverters), or the actual frequency of the power is variable. It should be 60 Hz =/- just a cyclle or two, and if the power is all over the place it will cause electric clocks (which are frequency dependent electric motors) and microwaves (which are dependent on the frequency, also) to work fast or slow.

Unfortuately, there isn't a lot an individual can do about it without investing in a LOT of hardware (basically, you build a house sized, online UPS - AC comes in, is rectified into DC, goes into a storage battery, then is inverted back to AC at the correct frequency and voltage and used. This is how large, expensive UPS's work (lower end ones have a detection circuit that will allow the line AC to be used most of the time, when the power exceeds hi/kow voltage limits it switches to the battery supply and inverter, really, really quickly).

[anencephalic]

In 20+ years of IT work (professionally), I favor the APC brand products for both UPS and surge supressors for home / small office use.

Ah...microphage has a "techie" soul mate... :P
(BTW, I have an APC 650 8) )

Aloha,

[microphage]

HUMMM wasnt there a UPS thread I wrote awhile back?

(no, not the shipping company..)
:shock: