[G4] LCD Monitor Question

[Tracker at aol.com]

The best protection is the complete unplugging of your entire system during 
electrical storm activity.

Unless you have been extremely dedicated to safety, you probably only have a 
"normal" protection surge protector installed in your set-up. That "normal" 
surge protector WILL NOT provide enough protection against a lightning strike 
and the accompanying voltage/amperage. It most likely cost you less than $40.00 
at your local market place.

A single lightning strike to your local electrical supply system can deliver 
enough power to pass completely through a "normal" surge protector before it 
is able to detect the spike and protect your equipment by disconnecting itself 
from the circuit.

I discovered that the cost of proctection sufficient to guarantee that my 
equipment would not get fried by a lightning strike was going to be in excess of 
$500.00. That was enough to convince me to unplug the equipment during periods 
of storm activity instead of leaving the plug connected and turning off 
everything at the surge protector.

A UPS unit will usually do nothing to protect against spikes. It is designed 
to charge an internal battery and switch to that battery power in the event of 
a failure in your local electrical supply. That will allow you the time to 
keep running while you save your data and shut down your system in the normal 
fashion.

They are good to have if your local electrical system is subject to frequent 
brown- and black-outs. It can save your bacon if you have the power to run 
when everything else is shut down. Most UPS units have a minutes/devices rating 
and I suggest you get the highest rating you can afford.