Bad Weather - Unplug Router ? (Plusnet)

Used to have Sky broadband and unplugged router on occasions especially if
bad weather expected, no problems upon reconnection.

Since changing to Plusnet I have kept the router on 24hrs. Plusnet "blurb"
indicates they want the equipment to remain "ON" 24hrs, but don't say what
would happen if users don't keep to this or what to do in the event of a
lightning storm.

What do other Plusnet users do ? I have the basic Thomson 1 port router.
Thanks.

Ds

Mike wrote:
> Used to have Sky broadband and unplugged router on occasions especially if
> bad weather expected, no problems upon reconnection.
>
> Since changing to Plusnet I have kept the router on 24hrs. Plusnet "blurb"
> indicates they want the equipment to remain "ON" 24hrs, but don't say what
> would happen if users don't keep to this or what to do in the event of a
> lightning storm.
>
> What do other Plusnet users do ? I have the basic Thomson 1 port router.
> Thanks.
>
> Ds
>
>
My router went into a dwall twice during a severe storm. Didn't kill it
but buggered up it's state enough to need a hard reboot..twice

Mike wrote:
> Used to have Sky broadband and unplugged router on occasions especially if
> bad weather expected, no problems upon reconnection.
>
> Since changing to Plusnet I have kept the router on 24hrs. Plusnet "blurb"
> indicates they want the equipment to remain "ON" 24hrs, but don't say what
> would happen if users don't keep to this or what to do in the event of a
> lightning storm.
>
> What do other Plusnet users do ? I have the basic Thomson 1 port router.
> Thanks.

If you do anything at all unplig it from the mains and disconnect it
from the phone line. That should stop the lightning getting in. If it
gets in despite this, then it's probably got you as well ...!

--
Graham J

On 22/08/2011 18:18, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> Mike wrote:
>> Used to have Sky broadband and unplugged router on occasions
>> especially if bad weather expected, no problems upon reconnection.
>>
>> Since changing to Plusnet I have kept the router on 24hrs. Plusnet
>> "blurb" indicates they want the equipment to remain "ON" 24hrs, but
>> don't say what would happen if users don't keep to this or what to do
>> in the event of a lightning storm.
>>
>> What do other Plusnet users do ? I have the basic Thomson 1 port router.
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Ds
>>
> My router went into a dwall twice during a severe storm. Didn't kill it
> but buggered up it's state enough to need a hard reboot..twice

Have recently been in contact with Plusnet re BB speeds.

CS commented on several disconnects.

I told him that it was preventative - because of lightning.

He seemed a bit taken aback but said "fair enough".

There have been several reports of damage [Google "Router + lightning"].

For a short period of time it is inconvenient - but much less than a
burnt out system.

PN want routers left on to enable the exchange to stabilise the speed.
But they have also advised switching off and rebooting to allow the
router to synch. However, this really is only appropriate after a new
install.

Flop

Thanks for the info. I also thought it worth a call direct to Plusnet this
evening and was told switching off and unplugging was ok on an occasional
basis if bad weather expected but to keep it plugged in at other times.

Ds

Graham J wrote:
> Mike wrote:
>> Used to have Sky broadband and unplugged router on occasions
>> especially if
>> bad weather expected, no problems upon reconnection.
>>
>> Since changing to Plusnet I have kept the router on 24hrs. Plusnet
>> "blurb"
>> indicates they want the equipment to remain "ON" 24hrs, but don't say
>> what
>> would happen if users don't keep to this or what to do in the event of a
>> lightning storm.
>>
>> What do other Plusnet users do ? I have the basic Thomson 1 port router.
>> Thanks.
>
> If you do anything at all unplig it from the mains and disconnect it
> from the phone line. That should stop the lightning getting in. If it
> gets in despite this, then it's probably got you as well ...!
>
if a direct strike, yes, but a nearby surge will burn out the DSL
receiver or zap the CPU/RAM state.

In my case it zapped the RAM. Lost password!

"Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ...
> Used to have Sky broadband and unplugged router on occasions especially if
> bad weather expected, no problems upon reconnection.
>
> Since changing to Plusnet I have kept the router on 24hrs. Plusnet
> "blurb" indicates they want the equipment to remain "ON" 24hrs, but don't
> say what would happen if users don't keep to this or what to do in the
> event of a lightning storm.
>
> What do other Plusnet users do ? I have the basic Thomson 1 port router.


It is a lottery really. A close lightning strike can destroy electronic
equipment even if it is unplugged. I have never bothered with doing so and
in ten years have not lost one despite some intense thunderstorms locally. I
have lost a central heating control unit in the same storm.

Peter Crosland

"Peter Crosland" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed) o.uk...
> "Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed) ...
>> Used to have Sky broadband and unplugged router on occasions especially if bad weather expected, no problems upon reconnection.
>>
>> Since changing to Plusnet I have kept the router on 24hrs. Plusnet "blurb" indicates they want the equipment to remain "ON"
>> 24hrs, but don't say what would happen if users don't keep to this or what to do in the event of a lightning storm.
>>
>> What do other Plusnet users do ? I have the basic Thomson 1 port router.
>
>
> It is a lottery really. A close lightning strike can destroy electronic equipment even if it is unplugged.

But you would have to be really unlucky to lose a router that is truly isolated on all ports,
like being in its box on a shelf.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

Graham. wrote:
> "Peter Crosland" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed) o.uk...
>> "Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed) ...
>>> Used to have Sky broadband and unplugged router on occasions especially if bad weather expected, no problems upon reconnection.
>>>
>>> Since changing to Plusnet I have kept the router on 24hrs. Plusnet "blurb" indicates they want the equipment to remain "ON"
>>> 24hrs, but don't say what would happen if users don't keep to this or what to do in the event of a lightning storm.
>>>
>>> What do other Plusnet users do ? I have the basic Thomson 1 port router.
>>
>> It is a lottery really. A close lightning strike can destroy electronic equipment even if it is unplugged.
>
> But you would have to be really unlucky to lose a router that is truly isolated on all ports,
> like being in its box on a shelf.
>
That's true.

Stuff I have lost on a direct strike was wherever the charge jumped to -
and it sure jumped around. Glad I was out.

Had a LOT of experience with close strikes in S Africa..always lots to
repair the day after..it was pretty much what happens when you put
200v-1Kv on any long piece of wire.

- outdoor loudspeaker cables would blow power amp outputs. We went 100v
line after the first 5-6...
- burglar alarms lost their input circuits - ended up with opto coupled
modules and simply replaced em.
- in UK lost PABX line drivers. Sadly they were on the mother board.
Got replacement PABX..


Not had much problems apart from aforementioned ram corruption on router
this year, since that.

On Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:16:03 +0100, "Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Used to have Sky broadband and unplugged router on occasions especially if
>bad weather expected, no problems upon reconnection.
>
>Since changing to Plusnet I have kept the router on 24hrs. Plusnet "blurb"
>indicates they want the equipment to remain "ON" 24hrs, but don't say what
>would happen if users don't keep to this or what to do in the event of a
>lightning storm.
>
>What do other Plusnet users do ? I have the basic Thomson 1 port router.
>Thanks.
>

Until recently, I used to turn off all my computer equipment at the
wall when I went to bed - this included the router.

Then the BT systems (note - this is BT exchange programming, nothing
to do with Plusnet) decided that such frequent disconnections must
mean my line was unstable, and upped the target SNR from 6 to 15.

Meaning my speeds fell from just under 2Mb to around 1Mb

Plusnet were able to reset this for me, but advised then that I keep
the router turned on as much as possible to avoid it doing the same
again.

Since then, I have left it on pretty well permanently. My line speed
has remained constant at 2Mb, with synch speeds being between 265000
and 285000.
--
Alex Heney, Global Villager
*Four hours* to bury a cat? Yes - it wouldn't keep still
To reply by email, my address is alexATheneyDOTplusDOTcom