** Reply to message from "J R FOX" <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com> on Wed,
21 Apr 2010 08:33:13 -0700 (PDT)
> If the power center (and these sell for up to $500. retail,
> depending on model, features, and where you buy them) really
> does what they claim, or at least imply, it should die
> immediately in a really bad strike, *without* passing any
> current beyond itself. I'll have to review what was said
> in the thread, but I suspect that's a major exaggeration,
> OR it would not happen fast enough. Yes for rolling brownout
> surges and spikes, but Not for lightning. OTOH, these units
> do include a hefty amount of "attached equipment insurance."
> Probably mainly a marketing ploy to justify their high cost,
> and I haven't read the fine print on the guarantee. (I wonder
> how it goes when someone tries to collect, on a legitimate
> claim . . . ?)
We had a few customers try collect on those insurance policies with mixed
results. The devil is in the details (the REALLY fine print). Reminded me of
filing claims against an auto insurer. Some are a fight from the "hello" while
others act like an actual service company and are fairly reasonable. The
successful claims either went in fully prepared with documentation and details
submitted by a lawyer who prepared them or they were trivial cases but again
well documented.
The only fool proof (and fools are SO ingenuous!) scheme I ever saw would have
made Rube Goldberg proud. We had a high security military computer system that
took mains power to run an electric motor which in turn spun a multi-ton
flywheel. This was coupled via a non-conductive shaft (about 4 inches in
diameter and 8 feet long) to a generator that actually supplied power for the
electronics over an isolated, shielded power loop. Great idea - but the
ingenuous fools then proceeded to plug in the phone cable directly to the
system. The best laid plans....