Message-ID: <3.0.32.19981102123400.00696c14@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 12:34:12 +0100 From: Cliff Missen <mailto:cmissen@BLUE.WEEG.UIOWA.EDU> Subject: Low cost power protection? To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
Hey AFRIK-IT and DEVEL-L'ers!It's been some time since I last posted, so I should let you know that I've abandoned the ivy covered halls of the University of Iowa and taken up residence at the University of Jos in central Nigeria. We're constructing a WAN and setting up an Intranet (cargo culting in anticipation of a real Internet connection...) and running into serious power protection problems.
It turns out that the city of Jos was once listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as being host to the most lightning strikes. On top of that, our electricity disappears several times a day. Finally, and unfortunately, our wiring isn't all we could hope for.
All of this adds up to large piles of expired equipment (modems and monitors seem particularly hard hit) and users who are leery to plug in and participate.
Of course, there are a large number of UPSs around here, but not enough to handle all the computers and network hubs. These too are vulnerable to surges and get fried pretty regularly.
Shipping new equipment to Jos essentially doubles (even triples) the original cost of the equipment (especially in the case of the UPSs).
So I'm looking for information on home-grown power protection. Is it possible to couple a UPS with a larger battery to handle a larger amount of computers? (We have two classrooms with 30 computers each.) What are other solutions you've found to protect your power, data, and telecomm lines from surges and lighting? How about building-wide power protection? Classroom power protection and conditioning?
Any and all info would be greatly appreciated.
I should mention that I've got a copy of the PolyPhaser web site (www.polyphaser.com) as well as their very informative book, "The 'Grounds' for Lightning Protection."
If you have Web sites for me to explore, please send the pertinent pages or the URLs. We do not have Internet access, but I have a grad student in Iowa who can grab the Web site and burn it onto a CD for me. (Called "DHL-Net"...)
Cheers!
-- Cliff
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Cliff Missen
University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria University of Iowa, Iowa, USA
mailto:MissenC@unijos.edu.ng mailto:CMissen@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
Internetworks in International Development http://www.uiowa.edu/~intlinet
Cliff Missen's Home Page http://www.avalon.net/~cmissen