[conspire] Fwd: Another motherboard was _not_ burned out today

[Ruben Safir]

On 02/16/2015 04:59 PM, Rick Moen wrote:
> Quoting Ross Bernheim (rossbernheim at speakeasy.net):
> 
> First, thank you for trying to help.
> 
>> We tend to think of AC power as being reliable and consistent. In many
>> areas it is not.
> 
> Well, I know that, but West Menlo Park had always seemed a _very_ unlikely
> example, because it's California and because it's the rustic suburbs.
> We don't have heavy industry anywhere near (e.g., no switching on and
> off of big motors), and almost never have lightning storms.  There are
> places that are famous for power fluctuations such as Long Island
> (mostly industrial interference) and northern Ohio (lightning), but
> we're very unlike those.  So, I've been slow to believe that it's likely
> a problem _here_.
> 
> I was concerned enough after a couple of the incidents I mentioned (the
> ShuttlePC, the VA Research model 500) to buy the two power conditioner
> units I mentioned.  I'd been slow to deploy them for reasons that might
> bear some discussion.
> 
> One, I'd devoted some thought to making sure I was setting out to solve
> the right problem.  Solving the wrong problem is almost ubiquitous in
> IT, and a little caution goes a long way.  There were variables that
> needed to be taken into account before jumping to conclusions about
> cause.
> 
> Two, I had to carefully weigh well-intended but actually bad advice from
> friends to deploy a UPS and/or MOV (metal oxide varistor) device.  An
> MOV is so extremely slow-blowing that it's almost completely useless, as 
> equipment will be destroyed long before it blows.  MOVs are common not
> because they're good but because they're cheap.  A UPS is a more-complex
> problem:  As a class, such devices are primily big honkin' lead-acid
> battery packs (that must be replaced every few years as a recurring cost
> equal to about 80% of your original purchase).
> 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/584417-REG/Furman_PL_8C_PL_8_C_Power_Conditioner.html