At 04:19 PM 8/10/97 -0400, you wrote:

>FWIW, my primary desktop just needed a new power supply.  A transistor blew
>after 5+ years of being on almost continuously.  Anybody out there ever
>hear of "inrush current" and the damage it does?!?!?!

Almost every switch mode supply I've seen use Barium Titanate inrush
current limiters - these are great devices - we used them on the output
of a handheld inverter they protected the transistors very well indeed.

I still would not ever leave a switchmode supply unattended - especially
knowing that even switchmode transistors are susceptible to static
damage during assembly and you never know when a fire could be caused.

So if I wished to have a PC in a unattended environment I'd design my
own supply with a heck of a lot of safeguards...

Rgds

mike
Perth, Western Australia