Gripes about APC Surge Protector

A very basic question about the operation of this surge protector was not clear to me after reading the User Guide. Does it provide surge protection when it is turned off?

On the front there is an on/off switch which the User Guide says "controls power to the On/Off outlets". Of the 8 outlets, two are always on, the On/Off switch governs the other six. It is not clear, after reading the User Guide, if any of these six outlets are surge protected with the device turned off. There is a Protection Working Indicator, a large green light. My confusion however stems from the fact that this green light indicates two things rather than one thing. Quoting the User Guide: "this indicator lights when the SurgeArrest is switched on and is supplying conditioned utility power to the outlets." Does this mean when its off that is not providing protection? I asked APC.

The User Guide says to email apcinfo@apcc.com for questions. However on their web site if you go to the contact section there is a web page to ask questions. This is what I did. APC was excellent about responding to questions entered on their web site.

APC said that the six outlets controlled by the On/Off switch are not surge protected when the unit is Off. They also pointed out that the two always-on outlets are always surge protected.

The product manual discusses "conditioned power". Normally this term is used in reference to a UPS or Line Conditioner that will raise or lower the power as needed to keep it in the normal range. I asked APC what the term "conditioned power" meant in relation to this surge protector. They said:

The term "Conditioned Power" with reference to SurgeArrest unit implies that the SurgeArrest provides conditioned power as it filters out the surges in the AC power from the main supply. Mike, you are correct, it does not correct the low voltage condition in the main power supply, as in the UPS units.

The User Guide is available on the APC web site and it appears to be the same as the one that shipped with the product. There is also a link to a General Information manual. The link did not work on April 26, 2003. The error was: Error 500. HTTP Web Server: Unknown Command Exception. It still did not work on May 21, 2003.

One final documentation gripe. The following excerpt from the User Guide made no sense, at least to me:

"SurgeArrest models with telephone or network protection are designed to provide maximum protection from surges present on standard two and four wire "dial up" telephone service or UTP communication networks. Other communication networks which happen to use modular jacks may not benefit from this protection"

FYI: You are not supposed to plug extension cords into this surge protector.