Just a comment burned into my experience by expensive failures over the years.... Placing a surge suppressor between the protected devices and the output of a UPS can be deadly. Most suppressors use MOV devices that clamp almost instantly about 130 VRMS (~150 V peak). The output of inexpensive UPS hardware is not sine wave, but modified square or step wave. Most square wave generators have a nasty spike at the very beginning of rise. The spike of some UPS's can be 180 V peak or more (an oscilloscope with very fast rise time will show this). The constant clamping and dissipation of voltage and current at a rate of 120 times per second can cause an MOV to become a fuse. The problem is that MOV's are not designed to contain an arc and or flame like a fuse and they often burn with a flame. If anyone would like proof, I have a toasted TowerMax ( a top brand) surge box that almost burned surrounding material. Place your surge arrestors in front of the UPS, not behind it (as recommended by more than one surge equipment manufacturer). A much better approach is to use UPS hardware that contains a ferroresonant transformer. The "ferro" is, without question, the best way to kill a surge (only a direct lightening hit on the UPS is enough to jump the air gap in the ferroresonant transformer!!). I easily find old top quality expensive ferro based UPS's for free because data centers don't want to replace the batteries every 5 years. Just replace the batteries and you have an expensive UPS for about $150.00. -----Original Message----- From: Pj [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2000 4:58 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [expert] Electrical Outages and Linux Ditto Benjamin!! I've been using APC since I lost my modem to lightening. Mine sounds on line problems 40 more miles from my box. I added one other little precaution. I use two MAX brand Serge protectors(the $50+ per unit kind) to separate my box from the APC plus I have my system on a seperate circuit in a GFI box. I haven't lost any hardware since. Pj
