Come on guys you're talking about different things. The 2kV isolation Vik is talking about should be sufficient for normal operation across a few paddocks. I still wouldn't want to trust a length of CAT5 in my hand to isolate the 2kV inside it, so put the cable out of touch whenever possible. Steve is talking about direct lightning strikes - *nothing*[1] will ever protect against that. Not even the mains fuses in your house. People who string CAT5 around the paddocks should be aware that they are connecting lightning rods to their PCs. This can be compared to telephones, which are likewise connected to excellent lightning rods. Holding a handset against your ear during a thunderstorm can lead to Darwinian selection (but it's very unlikely). Sitting in front of a PC such connected may also lead to Darwinian selection, but it's also very unlikely. The number of lightning strikes to your CAT5 should be roughly comparable to those to your phone line. How many times has your phone blown up in the past 3 years? If I was concerned, I'd take a cheap throwaway PC with 2 NICs and place that somewhere out of the way as an isolator. This will still fry all the networked PCs, but should keep the people in front of them safe. Volker 1) Within limits of reasonably feasable. Those surge-suppressor gimmicks on sale everywhere will certainly not protect against nearby lightning strikes. -- Volker Kuhlmann is possibly list0570 with the domain in header http://volker.dnsalias.net/ Please do not CC list postings to me. ------------------------------------------------------------------- To remove yourself from this list, email nzlug-request@linux.net.nz with "unsubscribe" in the body of the message.
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