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How to secure your expensive computer equipment in quake zones.
This is a past episode of TOW. Go to current
episode to see the newest installment or any other past TOW's.
The material presented on this page is intended to you start thinking about
what you can do today that might save your life someday in the future.
If nothing else, our "Tip o' da Week" might just make your life a bit easier
when a disaster strikes. We do not present ideas cost a lot of money.
These are "do it yourself" projects and are relatively inexpensive.
How to secure your expensive computer equipment.
We've looked at several ways to secure our own computers and monitors.
We thought that there must be a way to take advantage of the screw holes
on the bottom and back side of our PCs and monitors. We looked at
using braided ground straps with crimped and soldered eye hole lugs, and
attaching them to the equipment with the existing screws. We gave
up on the idea for several reasons:
-
In the case of the monitor, the screws hold the plastic case together,
and any attachment would only be as solid as the strength of the plastic
at the attaching point.
-
Our PCs are in desk type cases and don't have screw locations in the front
of them. The only screws near the front are located underneath the
case. This poses a problem in making the attachment point accessible
when the top of the case is installed. It would be quite a pain if
we need to remove the case cover just to move the PC, or to clean the desk
top!
We recently discovered a few new products we found so cool, we wanted to
pass the info along. Although our "Tip o' da Week" is not a product showcase,
this week we can't help sharing a few products produced by a company in
California that solved our problems; they might solve yours as well.
We will start carrying these items in the near future. In the meantime,
we have several sets that we will make available to visitors to the Tip
o' da Week.
You might be able to find these kits at emergency suppliers in your
area.
Lots of colors, lots of bucks.
We all know how expensive computer monitors are. If you live in a
quake zone, that expensive monitor might end up a pile of broken glass
and plastic if it shimmies off your desk. Even worse, your monitor
is typically at eye level and is near the edge of your desk. It could
end up in your lap, or impede your pathway to safe cover (under your
desk) if a quake hits. (Safety is number one in our minds.
Remember to duck and cover!)
We found a product that will help prevent catastrophic damage to your
monitor. Better yet, this product can also be used for securing your
CPU box (desk type) as shown below. It can also be used on your printer,
scanner, fax machine, and even your stereo!
Monitor and computer secured.
The product is called "VersaBUCKLE". (The diagram above shows
two kits installed.) A VersaBUCKLE kit consists of four buckles and
two nylon straps. The buckles are high strength plastic and have
3M VHB (very high bond) adhesive on the back side. These buckles
use a 1.0"x 1.25" piece of VHB adhesive tape, resulting in a strength of
100 pounds per buckle!
How do I get them off to get inside the equipment?
This was a major concern of ours, since we mess around with the guts of
our equipment regularly. With this securing system, all you need
to do is release the buckle locking lever, and pull the strap through as
shown below.
Release lever, and lift computer up.
Now for the down side:
The problem comes when you want to remove the buckles from your
desk or computer equipment. The VHB adhesive that is used is so strong,
you will need a small pry bar tool to remove it. A screwdriver will
work, but you run the risk of marring the desk top or scratching the paint
on your computer equipment.
Once the buckle is removed, it is not difficult to remove the adhesive
in small pieces, starting from a corner. When all the adhesive is
removed, a new adhesive pad can be installed on the buckle, and the buckle
can then be reinstalled at another location, or on another piece of equipment.
What about tower cases?
Many CPU boxes are of the tower type and are located under a desk.
There is another product that is ideal for this application. It is
called a GrommetGRIP. This uses a buckle like the above product, but the
strap is longer and has Grommets installed at one end to allow screws to
be installed through the nylon.
A tower case installation.
To install this kit, you first install the buckles on opposite sides
of the tower. Then you install the straps to the underside of the
desk with screws and tension the straps via the buckle release levers.
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No matter where you live, you're at the Epicenter.
TheEpicenter.com
Epicenter Supplies, LLC
384 Wallis St. #2
Eugene, OR 97402
(541) 684-0717 Voice
(541) 338-9050 Fax
E-mail: bjnelson@TheEpicenter.com
