Smart Strip LCG5 Energy Saving Power Strip with Auto-Switching Technology and Modem/Coaxial Surge Protection
by Smart Strip
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List Price: Our Price: $30.65 You Save: $35.47 (54%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Smart Strip LCG5 Energy Saving Power Strip with Auto-Switching Technology and Modem/Coaxial Surge Protection
Customer Review: surge suppression that worked
Summary: 5 Stars
With desktop PC plugged into control outlet, Windows "Turn Off Computer.."
also powers off monitors and other peripherals plugged into controlled outlets.
Power cord is substantial enough for a laser printer.
Perhaps 15 years ago, Radio Shack also sold well-built master/slave
power strips, but they are far too easily confused by modern products
with substantial peak current drains when nominally powered off.
Many modern products draw relatively high peak currents with very
short duty cycles. For example, a nominally-off appliance averaging 6 watts
may draw 60 Watts for 1/10 of each cycle of 60Hz power.
All external connections to a system should be surge-protected
at a single ground point; surge suppression on power without phone
and cable asks for trouble.
Our LGC5 phone surge suppressor sacrificed itself during a recent
storm; Bits Support shipped a replacement module free,
even though our strip is well beyond the 2-year warranty.
Replacing those F connector and RJ11 surge suppressor modules
is well within the capabilities of folks comfortable with
screwdrivers and a soldering gun.
Customer Review: Great idea, a bit noisy
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought a couple of Smart Strips and a Kill-A-Watt about a month ago. This is such a great idea -- we talk about how much energy is wasted by wall-warts and devices in standby mode, but it's not at all realistic to say you'll unplug every device every time you're done with it. I, for one, am always in a hurry and have to stand on my head to reach my inconveniently-placed outlets, so my wall-warts stay plugged in.
After some thought about where I have clusters of related electronics, I installed one strip in the TV area and one at the computer. The TV one has worked great -- not only are several DC converters turned off anytime the TV is off, but I also get better network security by making sure that my XBox and its router are off the Internet when I'm not actively using them.
However -- and here's why it gets four stars rather than five -- the unit hums audibly. That's fine in the living room, which remains unoccupied unless the TV is on, but it's unacceptable in my bedroom where the computer lives. I had to change back to a regular power strip on the computer, which is a shame since the savings from automatically turning off the monitor and speakers would have been significant.
Customer Review: Used for my computer system, of course
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this to replace my ten-year-old current surge protector, and I love it. Like others have said, it is very simple to use. The CPU, of course, is in the "control" outlet and my monitor and printer are in the "switched" ones. The modem, my cell phone charger (I charge my cell phone on my computer desk) and the charger plug to my Nintendo DS are on the "constant hot" outlets, and sufficient space was provided for both of the chargers' adapter-like plugs, which was a definite plus. It seems like most surge protectors I have gotten never have enough room for all of that. I like how the unit gives a choice of having something switch off with the control plug or be constantly on.
This didn't work right out of the box, though. At first, everything that was supposed to switch was remaining on. That was easily fixed by turning the small dial on the side just until the components that were supposed to be turned off did so. So, if this happens on your unit, don't be alarmed or think it's broken.
Overall, I love it and I think it's a great idea. I went ahead and bought a different model from this line to go with the home entertainment system as well.
Customer Review: Works like a dream.
Summary: 5 Stars
No problems with these strips. Been actually buying them for presents to family members. My electric bill has actually been dropped at least [...] bucks (conservative estimate) a month with these things. Considering they are not much more expensive then normal power strips you can't really go wrong. I have them on my computers to turn off everything associated with the machine when it goes on standby and on my TV with a timer switch in between... meaning that EVERYTHING in my entertainment center is OFF and uses absolutely NO POWER for 2/3 of the day while I am asleep and at work. Everything is tied to the TV so if I shut off the TV, everything else is off as well... might as well be. You can chain two of these together to product interesting results as well for a media center. But I love the product. Easy to use; just use a screw driver to adjust shutdown settings. Plenty of ports and they are spread apart in areas for larger plugs which is GREAT! A smart solution compared to the energy saving strips that require USB connections.Customer Review: Why aren't there more companies making these?
Summary: 5 Stars
My old computer set-up stopped being energy efficient when I installed a network back-up server for all the family computers. I could no longer turn off the main power strip at night since someone might still be up and using the internet. Unfortunately I had a number of accessories that didn't have power switches or it was difficult to get to them. A HP printer, an external drive, a set of speakers. Now I can have one power strip that has a set of three always-on outlets for the modem and server but the rest of the outlets are controlled by whether the computer itself is on or not. It worked right out of the box, not bad at all. However it seems to be temperature dependent. As long as the apartment is warm around 70 degrees it works perfectly. When the landlord forgets to turn the heat on and the apartment drops to under 62 degrees, the strip seems to get indecisive about whether to turn the accessories on or not. It always does but it switches on and off about three times before staying on.