Smart Strip LCG3 Energy Saving Surge Protector with Autoswitching Technology, 10-Outlet
by Smart Strip
|
List Price: Our Price: $31.20 You Save: $20.52 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $27.00 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
|---|
Tools and Hardware Reviews of Smart Strip LCG3 Energy Saving Surge Protector with Autoswitching Technology, 10-Outlet
Customer Review: I love it.
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought another model like this for my computer first, then picked this one up to use for my home entertainment system. It is very straightforward--even my mom was able to figure out how to use it. The TV went into the blue outlet (the control outlet) and my older game consoles and the DVD player went into the white ones. My newer game consoles and cable box went into the "constant hot outlets" in red, which, as it implies, are always on whether or not the device in the control outlet is powered up. This sets it apart from other surge protectors and I find this feature very convenient.
It may not work at first. There is a place on the side of the unit where it can be adjusted (with e screwdriver) so the "switched" outlets will switch on and off with the control outlet if it doesn't do so right out of the box. I didn't have to adjust this one, but I did with the model that I bought for my computer system. It's very easy to do--just twist it until the "switched" outlets go off. So, if you encounter this problem, don't be alarmed. It isn't hard to fix.
Customer Review: Solid product, even more solid company. Caveats for iMac/Laptop owners.
Summary: 5 Stars
I had to make an exchange for a "generation 3" model, in order to get it work with an iMac. After that, it's great. The company Bits LTD really stands behind this product.
Thus, all my little warm transformers for speakers, docks, hubs and other accessories are a thing of the past. This power strip auto-senses when the computer sleeps, and turns other stuff off also. This auto-detection is both the strip's greatest strength, and the greatest weakness. You may have to tune the device to get the switching to work right.
Mac users: Mac OS X has various weaknesses that can prevent automatic sleeping... you may have to upgrade certain printer drivers or fiddle with mystery reasons for lack of sleeping.
PC users: your PC has several sleep modes, most notably "S1" and "S3". Many PC's come set to S1, which results in very little power savings in sleep mode (so little your power strip might not activate). Switch it in the BIOS to ACPI mode S3 for much better savings. Google "S3 Standby Done Right".
Customer Review: I love saving $ and the environment!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have purchased 3 of the LCG3 Smart Strips and I love them. I have all of my computer accessories/peripherals connected to one of the strips with the computer as the the control. When I shut off my computer (or put it on standby) it shuts everything else off! I use the other two on my entertainment centers. When I shut off the t.v., the Wii, receiver, speakers, and dvd player all turn off. The great thing is that I can also put items that I don't want to shut off on the same strip (always on feature). It's handy for my TIVO which I don't want off. It gives me peace of mind that when I'm not using it... I'm not paying for it.
Cons: I've noticed that when I have things connected on my USB portion of my Apple iMac, the Smart Strip doesn't turn things off when I put the computer on standby. The computer just powers back up. I've tried changing the sensitivity knob but the only thing that works is unplugging the extra USB powered items. Then it goes to standby while turning everything off.
Customer Review: Great if you get a recent model - but there are multiple versions of this product
Summary: 5 Stars
Beware that there are multiple revisions of this surge protector. The first 2 I got came in fairly old school packaging (boring blue box, no mention of equipment warranty) and they did not work very well. Within a few days usage the sensitive adjustment would keep on decreasing its effectiveness until basically the unit was on all the time regardless of the power draw.
The third one I got came in a blue/green box with a slick logo and a mention of the equipment warranty - it works great! It's really fantastic and once calibrated it works perfectly with my PC whether it is a low power sleep mode or a complete power down. The manual does mention that some of the internal specifications are different, but other than that there are no model number difference or physical markings that I can see which would different the old versus the new model.
It is sort of a gamble on Amazon if you will get the new version; the ones I got were purchased around 10/2009 and hopefully the inventory moves fast.
Customer Review: A product that works as advertised
Summary: 5 Stars
There isn't much to say about this other than it works as advertised. For a long time my fiance and I have been manually shutting off one powerstrip when we left home. The sad thing was we couldn't unplug 2 electronic devices (TV and wireless network that had to be left on) and, as a result, have had our home theater on 2 different power strips, one of which we shut off manually. While surfing amazon, we found this "smart strip" and we thought why not give it a shake and see.
We are not disappointed and am happy with the purchase. When we shut off the TV, all the power sucking electronic devices in stand-by mode shut off too. When the TV is powered up, all of them magically get power back. Since we occasionally forgot to shut off the one power strip when we left for work, we were losing money compared to now. Now if the TV is off, all the electronics are off too.
A simple and elegant solution to a problem with modern electronics. THANK YOU!!!!