Consumer Electronics introduced
Smart Strip LCG4 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology and Fax/Modem Surge Protection
- Superior EMI/RFI filtering
- Up to 60db line noise reduction
- 84,000Amp, three-way protection
- 4 way wall mountable
- 2875 joules three-way protection
BITS LIMITED LCG4 10-OUTLET SMART STRIP (WITH FAX MODEM PROTECTION) 10 OUTLETS; 2875 JOULES; 3-WAY, 130V PROTECTION; 6-FT HEAVY-DUTY POWER CORD WITH 45 ANGLED SPACE-SAVER PLUG; FULL EMI/; RFI NOISE FILTERING WITH 2 SPIKE BLOKING CHOKES; WITH FAX MODEM PROTECTION
Rating: 
(out of 64 reviews)
List Price: $ 86.19
Price: $ 27.58
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#2 written by Jen F 1 year ago
Review by Jen F for Smart Strip LCG4 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology and Fax/Modem Surge Protection
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I love the concept of this item. I really like being able to shut down all my items with the touch of one button. It makes a lot of sense. It did take some tweaking though to get the product to work properly for me. It took several days of making adjustments each time we turned our computer on and off before it worked properly. You just have to keep adjusting the little wheel until it works. I read some reviews where people said it just did not work, I think they may not have given it enough time. After I got it right (within a few days), I had to adjust it one more time. Now it has worked fine for a month or two. -
#3 written by D. Dalessio 1 year ago
Review by D. Dalessio for Smart Strip LCG4 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology and Fax/Modem Surge Protection
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I bought this because I found out that my home theater receiver is a power hog. It uses 60 watts even when “off”. I did the math, and assuming I want it on 6 hours a day, this would pay back fast. I added a few extra things: a sub woofer (6w at idle), VCR (7w when “off”), and a DVD player (2w when off). I measured all this with my Kill-a-Watt.Add that up and you get 75w that’s wasted. Multiply 75w * 18 hours a day * 365 days * $0.18 (cost of a kwh of electricity here)/1000 = $89/year in savings. This thing will take less than 6 months to pay for itself. You can plug in your own numbers and figure your payback time.
Installation was a breeze. I plugged my tv into the “control” outlet. My receiver, VCR, sub woofer, and DVD player got plugged into the switched outlets. There are some always on outlets too, and I plugged the UPS that has my Wii and TiVo into one of those.
Then I turned on the power switch. No adjustment was necessary.
Now when I turn on my TV, the receiver and sub (and the rest) turn on with it. When I turn off the TV, the rest of the stuff turns off too.
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#4 written by Kevin M. Hubbard 1 year ago
Review by Kevin M. Hubbard for Smart Strip LCG4 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology and Fax/Modem Surge Protection
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I really wanted to like this product. It is a great idea and the design is almost perfect. The major problem with the design is a single $0.20 trimmer pot ( variable resistor ) that is used to set when your device is ON versus OFF. It is VERY hard to set. My computer in Sleep mode consumes 50W and in normal ON mode consumes 100W. Tuning the strip to recognize the difference between the two power states required about 1/10 of a degree turn – hard to do. What is worse is that even after I got it working once, temperature variation in the circuit would cause it to stop working the next day. For many applications ( for example, computer hibernate=5W, vs ON=100W ) this device works just fine. I can’t recommend it for computer Standby however. If they would improve the circuit with a multi-turn pot, it would probably work great. I might try this myself after the warranty period is over. Should have been a great “Green” product, sigh…. -
#5 written by GreenGuy 1 year ago
Review by GreenGuy for Smart Strip LCG4 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology and Fax/Modem Surge Protection
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The switched outlets in my unit wouldn’t turn on unless at least 60 watts was plugged into the control outlet, no matter how the sensitivity control was adjusted. My 50 watt halogen desk lamp wasn’t enough. A 70W incandescent lamp worked. Of course, the 20W desk lamp I’d originally planned to use didn’t work at all. The user guide, included in the package, claims 40W incandescent is enough, but I doubt it. Why not increase the range of the sensitivity control so even a 5W lamp would work? The advertising should clearly state the minimum load required. If I have to connect a 60W lamp everytime I use my laptop and peripherals, I may actually use more energy with the Smart Strip than without it. Not so smart.Update – January, 2008. My review was based on a *discontinued*, according to BITS LTD, model shipped by Amazon in December, 2008. I purchased a recent model directly from BITS LTD and it works fine with a new MacBook Pro laptop and acceptably (sensitivity control needs to be set very precisely) with a 5-year old Powerbook (GHz Ethernet). In each case, the power brick was plugged into the control outlet. Considering that BITS LTD and I corresponded several times to understand and correct the issues, I’d give it four stars now. I give BITS LTD five stars for support, but not the unit Amazon sold.
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Review by J. B. Lehrer for Smart Strip LCG4 Energy Saving Power Strip with Autoswitching Technology and Fax/Modem Surge Protection
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I purchased a Smart Strip and use it to power my PC, monitor, printer, speakers and other peripheral devices. I find that it performs quite well. My PC is plugged into the control outlet, so the other outlets turn on when the PC is turned on. When the PC turns off, the other outlets shut down, so I no longer worry about shutting off my monitor, printer, or speakers. Sometimes there is a few minutes of delay before the peripherals power down, but this sensitivity can be tweaked with a setting on the Smart Strip – it is adjustable because some devices continue to draw a small current even when powered off, which can be enough current to keep the other outlets from shutting down. But with some adjustments, it can be set to work in most situations. The energy savings/environmental benefits make this a worthwhile purchase, but the convenience factor of not having to power on or off my devices just adds value. I plan to buy another one for my stereo system.