Preparedness for when

nuatha

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

In the event of a CME - would it be the quickest/easiest method to "unplug all the electricals" to just throw the main switch on the consumer protection unit for the house (ie what used to be a fusebox)?

Harder?/impossible? if the house is so outdated that its still an old-fashioned fuse box. But, for those of us with modern-style consumer protection units instead of those fuseboxes - then wouldn't this do the trick in about 5 seconds flat? Sounds easier than running through our houses trying to think if we've pulled out every single appliance. I'd much prefer to just open the cupboard door and flick that one switch and think "Sorted"...

The old fashioned fuseboxes still have a mains isolation switch - ie a big red throw switch that will turn everything off.

This won't give any real protection against a CME or EMP. Assuming all you are concerned about is damage to appliances inside your house, then the longer the connected cable the more possibility of a large surge current being generated, therefore minimising the length of cable runs will help (this includes the amount of wiring in the wall). Of more use would be surge protectors fitted to appliances, preferably those that prevent surges on all three wires.

With a CME the bigger problem will be the amount of damage to the grid, with sub-stations likely to be fried restoring an electrical supply to homes is not going to be a quick job.

GreyQueen wrote: »

Morning all.

I'm wondering if flipping up the switch on the consumer unit would achieve anything in terms of protecting items plugged into sockets, as they would still be connected to the wiring?

See above though I haven't seen a domestic consumer unit which isolates all three wires and the copper piping which tends to be connected to the earth wire - all of which have the possibility of carrying an inducted current.

Quick Q for the electrically minded amongst us. I have my pooter (which includes a 6-speaker set) plugged into a surge protector. This is as old as the pooter (13). What's happening is that every now and again, if the pooter is on or off, the speakers make a single loud WHUMP noise.

This is happening more frequently than it used to and, apart from making me jump, I have some concerns that it might indicate a power surge not being countered by the surge strip, which might need replacing.

I'd value your thoughts.

I could argue the the value on my thoughts is worth precisely what you've paid for them (which isn't as trite as it sounds, just how many thousand hours have you invested in the ability to read, consider conflicting information then act on it)

Is your speaker system connected to an anti-surge protector? Is this the same device that is connected to your computer and monitor? Is the timing of the "whump" consistent? Is there any associated flicker of lights?

In reverse order, flicker of lights and consistent timing is more likely to be the switching of sub-stations (there isn't sufficient surge to trip an RCB (or even an RCBO) but there is sufficient to notice effects, or in the case of one building I know to trip the fire alarm)
If all the devices are connected to the same anti-surge device then they are not protected from each other, this creates several possibilities, which I'll return to in a mo. If the speakers aren't connected to the same anti-surge protection then you only have one likely signal source (the unlikely one is inducted current, are you playing with large magnets) this being a capacitor suddenly discharging - next time you have your Computer Expert on hand ask him to check for swelling caps on the mobo (its also possible that they are in the PSU, but that is a far more difficult prospect to investigate for most IT bods (and I'd just replace the PSU, it being far more cost efficient than the time spent testing it) If the monitor is also connected to the same anti-surge, then you also have this possibility in the monitor.
Prognosis is even more difficult, you could be looking at a relatively imminent failure, you could be looking at kit that will become increasingly annoying but continue to function well for a decade or more. If its a blowing cap, I'd replace the relevant component sooner rather than later - unfortunately if its a motherboard capacitor then, that probably means new motherboard, CPU and RAM (in other words, re-use the case, PSU and drives)
HTH

Frugalsod

nuatha wrote: »

The old fashioned fuseboxes still have a mains isolation switch - ie a big red throw switch that will turn everything off.

This won't give any real protection against a CME or EMP. Assuming all you are concerned about is damage to appliances inside your house, then the longer the connected cable the more possibility of a large surge current being generated, therefore minimising the length of cable runs will help (this includes the amount of wiring in the wall). Of more use would be surge protectors fitted to appliances, preferably those that prevent surges on all three wires.

With a CME the bigger problem will be the amount of damage to the grid, with sub-stations likely to be fried restoring an electrical supply to homes is not going to be a quick job.

Exactly and this is why I am unplugging. The length of cable is not just in your home but includes all the line right back to the power station. The longer the cable is, the greater the risk of damage. It is why I simply unplug so if the current does strike you are not going to lose all your appliances and gadgets.

Also a CME will give us three days warning, so you have three days to unplug everything, hardly a Herculean task. In fact it gives you three days to charge up all your batteries before you unplug everything so you will be fine afterwards.

Also not running anything also helps. If there is a current running in the device this will be magnified during EMP and so will damage your device. This is why they turn the satellites off when a CME is close.

[Deleted User]

In the event of an EMP attack, it won't make any difference, whether it's plugged in or not. If it has a microchip in it (and what doesn't nowadays?), it'd dead

The only protection against an EMP, is a Faraday cage.

thriftwizard

Re the "whump" - we had something similar on our old Mesh Matrix original setup; that's about 14 years old now and still works, but is no longer in command of the household network. It was on a surge plug, but what was causing our noise (more of a "flump" than a "whump" in our case) seemed to be the freezer going on or off. No idea why, but it stopped when we changed speakers & the 5-point surround sound went off with DS1.

Obviously the gremlin that works the freezer didn't like that set of speakers. Sorted...

[Deleted User]

My lamp test went quite well, last night.

The three LED lamps gave out plenty of light.

All three happily ran from a 1A USB socket, so, I reckon I should easily get 12+ hours, from my car jumper pack.

GreyQueen

nuatha wrote: »

I could argue the the value on my thoughts is worth precisely what you've paid for them (which isn't as trite as it sounds, just how many thousand hours have you invested in the ability to read, consider conflicting information then act on it)

Is your speaker system connected to an anti-surge protector? Is this the same device that is connected to your computer and monitor? Is the timing of the "whump" consistent? Is there any associated flicker of lights? Yes, no and no.

*snip*
If all the devices are connected to the same anti-surge device then they are not protected from each other, this creates several possibilities, which I'll return to in a mo. If the speakers aren't connected to the same anti-surge protection then you only have one likely signal source (the unlikely one is inducted current, are you playing with large magnets) this being a capacitor suddenly discharging - next time you have your Computer Expert on hand ask him to check for swelling caps on the mobo (its also possible that they are in the PSU, but that is a far more difficult prospect to investigate for most IT bods (and I'd just replace the PSU, it being far more cost efficient than the time spent testing it) If the monitor is also connected to the same anti-surge, then you also have this possibility in the monitor.
Prognosis is even more difficult, you could be looking at a relatively imminent failure, you could be looking at kit that will become increasingly annoying but continue to function well for a decade or more. If its a blowing cap, I'd replace the relevant component sooner rather than later - unfortunately if its a motherboard capacitor then, that probably means new motherboard, CPU and RAM (in other words, re-use the case, PSU and drives)
HTH

I'm struggling a little here, nuatha, please bear with me. Am I right that mobo = motherboard? But what the heck is the PSU?

It's a couple of years, approx, since the Pooter Wizard had the side off the beast and I remember him pointing out what I think was a capacitor without a problem, and explaining when they start to go, they start to develop a domed shape (?). I think I will contact him in the next few weeks for advice and ask him to mosey down here at his convenience. He's only 10 mins up the road but has a peripatetic job so could be anywhere in the UK or even anywhere on the continent. Hell, he even spent a year travelling the world but I didn't have any IT problems so didn't know until after the event.:rotfl:

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

But what the heck is the PSU?

Power Supply Unit.

I's basically a combined transformer/rectifier, which converts the incoming mains voltage, to the DC voltage required, by the computer's various components.

BTW. Have you noticed, your post is number 34567?

GreyQueen

Thanks, Bob.

nuatha

GreyQueen wrote: »

I'm struggling a little here, nuatha, please bear with me. Am I right that mobo = motherboard? But what the heck is the PSU?

It's a couple of years, approx, since the Pooter Wizard had the side off the beast and I remember him pointing out what I think was a capacitor without a problem, and explaining when they start to go, they start to develop a domed shape (?). I think I will contact him in the next few weeks for advice and ask him to mosey down here at his convenience. He's only 10 mins up the road but has a peripatetic job so could be anywhere in the UK or even anywhere on the continent. Hell, he even spent a year travelling the world but I didn't have any IT problems so didn't know until after the event.:rotfl:

Sorry, mobo is motherboard, cap is capacitor, and Bob is correct PSU is power supply, basically the box in the corner of the biege box.
Capacitors (in this context) are basically cylinders with prongs at one end (into the motherboard) and an end that is either flat or may have a cross shape in an otherwise flatish surface and if they are domed then they are on their way out (and if they are covered in gunk, then they've died). I'm guessing capacitors since they function as a storage battery and the whump is almost certainly a mini surge or a switching effect (either power substations, not in this case as you'd notice the lights flicker, or the compressor switching on in Thriftwizard's case).
You could move the monitor to a different anti-surge device (or even an ordinary socket) and see if this eliminates the noise, and at least tells you whether the problem is in the system box or monitor (if the later then its almost certainly replacement time - I don't know anyone who will still work on CRT monitors who is even remotely affordable).

Tis the nature of the job, I generally chose to work in the UK, had a couple of nice jobs on the continent, and turned down a few across the pond. These days I'm rarely out of the county (pay isn't as good, but I'm rather used to sleeping in my own bed these days).

GreyQueen

Thanks, nuatha, I remember the Wiz pointing out a capacitor to me and it did have a flat head with a cross on it and he told me once that head started to dome it was on its way out.

When I put the pooter off tonight, I'll move the monitor plug to a strip connected to a different socket and see if I get any more WHUMPs. It used to happen very rarely and now happens several times a week. Poor SuperGran, she was over here sitting on my only chair which is by the desk (she can't get up off the sofa due to her artritus) and just about levitated when the speakers WHUMPed loudly - I have 5 tiddly ones and a bigg sub-woofer tucked into the crannies of this big ole blockboard desk.