When I first bought this product a couple of years ago, the driving reason was APC's reputation and the price of the unit. I had worked with some APC UPSs in my job and was impressed with the quality of the product.Well, last week this product earned it's keep. Lightning struck a tree not more than 30 feet from our house. It fried one TV, 2 VCRs, and other items (not protected by APC products, but by other generic power strip surge suppresors).
However my computer was hooked up to one of these units, and it came through without a scratch. Our phone lines took a hit and had to be replaced from the street. Fortunately I had my modem line run through the Surge Arrest, so the modem was fine. The Surge Arrest does appear to have lost it's telephone line protection capability (dial tone at the wall, no dial tone after the Surge Arrest), but it's a small price to pay.
APC does have a product replacement policy for lightning strikes. I probably could get my unit replaced, but you know, I'm just going to buy a new one. The power outlets still work and I'll just use the old unit for other electronics.
One final note, the lightning strike apparently also entered our cable TV system. Our area is getting cable modem service soon and I am concerned about protecting that path into my computer. APC does make two products tha protect cable lines, but not many places sell them yet. I'm looking for them now as I want to protect my new TV/VCRs.
