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New Power Adapter Fixes Space Issues
Tributaries has just announced a solution to all or your oversized power adapter woes. The new T12 power strip features 12 different outlets and eight of them are located on the edge and can be rotated by as much as 90 degrees. The adapter also provides surge protection for RJ-11, RJ-45, and Coax if you so desire.
other than the price, that is a good value. what is also nice are the other surge protected ports.
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Why is a press release "stuff that matters?"
For $120, I'd rather buy a couple regular power strips that would fit just as many, if not more power bricks, and have a bunch of money left over.
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You can just buy one foot sections of "extension" cable that allow you to use all the outlets on your strip...plus they're cheap.
I'm not impressed by a power bar. I am impressed by a mini-box.com pico psu! Now THAT is space saving ;)
What we really need is standardized low voltage supplies, target devices and connectors. Then the "outlet" strip could have a single, high efficiency converter with multiple outputs.
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Ok, 12 rotating power outlets and surge protection for $120.00 US....
Or I could just get 3 of these: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/81f6/
for less than that, still have surge protection, and get 3 MORE outlets to work with.
How the hell does this garbage rate Slashdot front page status?
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The Power Squid or PowerSquid Surge are better, since you can get the same amount of outlets for cheaper, and they can be plugged into larger wall-warts easier. Even better is that you can often get the Power Squid for free from ThinkGeek through the geekpoints program.
/. advertisement is just silly, this isn't news, and is barely stuff that matters.
This
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Currently in my home theater, I have a 65" mitsuibishi dlp tv -- Wii, ps3, and a 360 w/hd drive - sony reciever/amp then on the sides, on top of each speaker, I have a set up for my dell w/linux on it, and the otherside is plugged up to bring my hp laptop into it.. all the while.. having to unplug certain things quite often on a night when entertaining.. moving from one system to the next, displaying the laptops on the tv -- also connected in the back is a wireless router, a 4 port usb2 hub that plugs in, and my charger for my remote control plane(airhog) so.. sometimes I have wires going all over the place... you see? this works for me!
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...of course, I hadn't come across the PowerSquid Surge that another poster pointed to at ThinkGeek. That looks like it does the same thing better and cheaper so you can pretty much forget my previous comment.
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To a discerning Eye --
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ScuttleMonkey just got two of these free!
They rotate, but along the wrong axis.
This design doesn't help accommodate more transformers at all.
I must be missing something major.
From what I see this strip won't be able to handle more than 5 oversized wall warts (two on each side, one on the top) without interfering with other plugs, which is not something I'd spend $120 on.
Frankly, the plugs look rather jammed together on there. I have some power strips like that were even regular three prong plugs occasionally have problems (some manufacturers go crazy on the plastic around the plugs).
For the next version of this strip, I suggest a few changes:
I read the internet for the articles.
Now that's what I call innovation! An oversized power strip which will, eh, save space! I mean, the thing is so huge that it needs a handle! Imagine it with 12 adapters plugged in.
Gee, and all for the low, low price of $120.
Or, for $29.99[Not a paid/sponsored link, I have no connection to Amazon except as a normal customer], you could get a real power strip, suitable for mounting along the back or side edge of your desk (keeping the plugs off the floor where fallen drinks tend to go).
Hmm, decisions decisions...
There you are, unable to keep your head above the undulateing masses of wires... er, let's just say your drowning. Easily available to you is your pick life vests, rafts, and other simple flotation devices. Even small boats are ready to be had. But no, your not satisfied until the coast guard flies out and airlifts your lame ass out of some backyard swimming pool? How you can rationalize needeng a $120 powerstrip when much cheaper solutions can fill the same need is beyond me.
ThinkGeek has the PowerSquid, which has 5 outlets and costs $15. Much better than this thing.
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I always wonder why companies make wall warts which won't play with others. Who gains from this? How?
Chain these things together
http://media.doitbest.com/products/543268.gif
They cost less than $5 and each one in the chain gives you 2 usable outlets.
That's $2.50 per outlet, which is less than a PowerSquid,
and you can expand the chain incrementally.
I bought one of these about 8 months ago. What's so great about this new one?
These 6-inch extension cords, while they not have grounded outlets, are just the right thing for all those gadget power bricks that have the plug coming right out of the brick (and most of those are non-grounded anyway).
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I got excited thinking someone presented a new form factor for powerbricks. I wish I could rate stories -5 lame.
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I bought two of these Fellowes Mighty 8 Outlet surge protectors for about 6 bucks each at a Big Lots. It is sort of triangle and it is pretty compact, but with the outlets arranged in such a way that you can pack quite a few wall warts into it. One of mine has 3 wall warts plugged into the outlets on top, and one in one of the lone side sockets. You could probably squeeze 7 clunky adapters into it and only block one outlet.
It was definately the best 6 dollars I've ever spent on a surge protector. I think it even has an 8 foot cord.
While a lot of people are complaining about the price and pointing out Power Squids, it seems to me that with this item it's a matter of getting what you pay for. It provides SUBSTANTIALLY more surge protection than the Squid, and seems to also cover all your common cables (Coax, CAT-5) and not just power. I'm inclined to say that if you're in a position where any of that would be important, this might be a solid piece of engineering to suit your needs. You just pay for it.
(Not that I've actually tested it--might turn out to be a cheap piece of crap that doesn't live up to its specs despite the price--but that's another matter really.)
It's an interesting design, however, with that many plugs, I'd be afraid of all the "less intelligent" amongst us that will plug everything and its sister into this strip. Each circuit in a home is rated for so many amps, and with the huge TV's, power sucking computers, game consoles, lights, etc, etc that get plugged into these, I'd just be afraid it'd start a fire, or at the very least keep blowing a breaker (leading to the moron taping the breaker so it can't trip...)
bork bork bork!
In fact, these type of devices can often provide a false sense of security for the user.
In order for a surge protector to function effectively, it needs a short. low impedance path to the building's main electrical service ground. Devices that plug in at the receptacle are connected to ground only through the branch circuit wiring, which may be a hundreds feet of more in length before it gets back to the main electrical panel. All that wire length adds resistance and inductance, which can completely negate the effectiveness of the surge protector. The situation is even worse in older buildings, where the receptacle ground may not even be copper wire, but the galvanized steel spiral armor on "BX" type cable.
The only surge protection that is worth a damn is installed (hard wired, by a qualified person) at the main building electrical panel, where the diverted energy can be dumped directly into the main building ground with a heavy gauge conductor. These type of units protect ALL the wiring in the building, rather than just selected receptacles.
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Why don't we just make power adapters with a pass-through, like a string-light plug, so we can just plug on right into the other?
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As I understand it, neither the main service panel surge suppressor nor the power bar are sufficient alone. In other words, you're certainly right that you want one on your main service panel, but for smaller surges and as a backup on larger ones (Or hell, maybe the surge originates between the service panel and your appliance? Lightning striking your house? I know it's a stretch, but hey), you'll want one at the point of use too.
At least, that's the way I understand it.
I can't imagine anyone who would pay $120 for this. Bricks are un-sightly problem, but you can buy 20 $6 power strips at the meglo-mart for this and string them along.
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First off, NOTHING is going to prevent serious damage in the case of a direct lightning strike onto the electrical wires feeding your house. The energy levels involved are far beyond what any type of household surge suppressor is going to handle.
The problem with installing surge suppression at the outlet is that the surge current being dumped into the far end of a grounded wire will simply cause the voltage on that end of the conductor to spike upwards, due to the conductor's resistance, and more importantly in the case of a fast risetime transient, the wire's inductance.
You now have the grounded case of the computer system or whatever you were trying to protect elevated hundreds or thousands of volta above earth ground. This voltage then looks for alternate paths to ground via ethernet cables, phone lines, or anything else plugged into it.
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I recently saw a few strips with this "rotation" feature at Fry's and I can't figure out if I'm missing something. The outer outlets all have the ground pole on the outer edge, which makes sense when not rotated, because the large plugs will have their cords facing outwards.
However, when they are rotated, the ground poles are on the bottom, meaning the plug cords will be against the ground or whatever surface you have it mounted on. How is this an advantage? You wouldn't be able to mount it on a wall or even leave it on the floor unless all the rotated plugs are regular sized (non-converter), which negates the need for rotation anyway.
I purchased a 3' long 12 outlet strip from wal-mart for $25. Outlets are spaced about 2" apart. It handles everything except for the massive wallwarts without blocking the next outlet.
5 pack of 12 inch extension cords (3 prong)
5 pack of 12 inch extension cords (2 prong)
What you do with the $100+ savings is your business.