Cheaper Smart Surge protector

[idsane]

Was going to get a smart strip but then saw this for half the price. Should work the same right? Anyone have one?

http://www.amazon.com/ZuniDigital-ZG7000B-15-Outlet-Digital-Protector/dp/B003YH9DWC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1366127945&sr=1-1

[PL1]

The only thing that it seems to be missing is a sensitivity/level adjustment.

Might work, might not.  Depends on what you plug into it. 

Several people have encountered problems with the non-adjustable strips like this one, Belkin, etc.


Scott

[severdhed]

i have used two different smart power strips, both of which i picked up for $20 or less, and they both worked great.  the first one i got was the craftsman auto switch from sears.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-auto-switch/p-00924031000P?PDP_REDIRECT=false&s_tnt=39869:4:0

no sensitivity adjustment, but i have never any any issues with it working the way i wanted it to...the only problem with it, is the form factor, and the lack of outlets.

i also used a philips unit that i picked up at walmart. 
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SPP3225WA-Outlet-Energy-protector/dp/B0014Y1PQY

this one doesn't have a sensitivity adjustment either, but once again, it has worked flawlessly.

[mgb]

The belkin one is just over $20

it has no sensitivity adjustment but I haven't had any issues with it.

[PL1]

True that many setups won't have issues, but some will.

Ahofle mentions here about having to adjust the sensitivity on his after a while to make it work consistently.

ABACABB upgraded his PSU and had problems getting his to shut off here.

Clavius mentions here that his smart strip fried the flyback on Betson monitor twice because it was switching on + off "like a turn signal on a car" during the night.

I'm just saying that buying a good quality adjustable strip and setting the sensitivity to the proper range may end up saving you money in the long run.


Scott

[mgb]

Yeah that's a good point. It does make sense to purchase a good one.
I haven't had issues (yet, anyway) with my Belkin strip but I also have a main shutoff switch that I use to hopefully keep problems like that from happening

[TheShaner]

I have the belkin as well and it is rock solid.  I wouldnt skimp out on this relatively cheap, but vital, piece of your cabinet.

[idsane]

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't realize some had adjusters and some didn't. Maybe half the price isn't twice as nice after all.

[Gray_Area]

I remember hearing when people were having problems with their Smartstrips; couldn't get the sensitivity right. I think the problem is people's power in combination with the PC hooked up. A slight drop and it wants to draw. Also, if your PC bios is set to power on after power resume, that'll do it every time. But I'm betting the power is the first part of it, because this would happen to my vert rig, where the PC bios is set for on/resume (got to change that, no reason for it there). Might happen with some laptops, too, that like to go into stand-by on resume.

[mgb]

If you really have to save money on the smart strip, you can always get a 5volt or 12 volt relay with 10 amp rated contacts and power it off the pc power supply so that when the pc is powered on, the relay kicks on and the contacts would make for powering a plug strip.
It's easy enough to do and it is cheap but personally I just found that it wasn't worth more than just dropping $25 on the Belkin strip

[GoYouSalukis]

I just modded my surge protector with a 12 volt relay using DaOldMan's thread, and it turned out great. Everything turns on with the press of a button, and turns off once the cpu powers down.

I am tempted to make some sort of delay circuit with a 555 and another relay that would delay the power to the monitor for an adjustable time, so that the monitor doesn't turn on until it is booted up all the way. I know I could just make changes to Win7 to minimize the startup sequence, but I kind of like the idea of the hardware solution since I'm pretty sure I can't hide my BIOS screen.

[lowgunn]

I bought this one and it works fine.  I have the pc controlling it and have an arcade monitor and speaker plugged into the controlled socket.  the controlled socket gives 30 secs before they power off.

[Gray_Area]

I bought this one and it works fine.  I have the pc controlling it and have an arcade monitor and speaker plugged into the controlled socket.  the controlled socket gives 30 secs before they power off.

Says 90s seconds. That seems to address the general 'sensitivity' issue.

For some noobs here regarding avoiding the bios screen: look up SailorSat and 'dummy card'.

[idsane]

So I ended up going with the Zuni after I found it only takes 14 watts for the master to start it. My kill a watt meter shoes me pulling 45 with the just the computer so I knew it would work. Half the price and works well!

[MTPPC]

THread necro-monger here. The big problem that causes smart strips to require sensitivity adjustments is the setting that controls whether USB ports have power while the computer is shut off. I have found that this setting is sometimes in bios, sometimes a jumper on the mobo. I struggled with the belkin smartstrip until I learned this. Once the power setting of the PC is optimized, I think they all work fine.