Subject: Isolation, Global Warming & the New Sun Belt 

Dear friend & subscriber, 

You know, there are some people out there who think 
Midwest, USA is a pretty un-happening place. 
After all, how sexy is Ottawa, Illinois, 
population 18,307? Next to fashionable locations 
like New York and Paris and Madrid, small town 
Illinois seems a bit... well, dowdy. 

Right? 

But any Ottawa inferiority complex I may have had 
suddenly changed after I saw the movie, 
"The Day After Tomorrow." 

This movie is very scary. It's rated PG-13 for "Intense 
situations of peril." According to this movie, it gets 
warmer and warmer until suddenly the entire planet snaps 
into a brand new ice age. 

I dunno about the ice age part, but one thing's 
for sure: When the polar ice caps melt, New York 
will be under water, Paris will be 55 degrees C 
in the summer and Madrid will be snowbound. 

One place people are going to want to live is 
right here in Northern Illinois. Southern snowbirds 
will be coming north and settling in the NEW Sun Belt, 
right here with us. 

Yes, Global Warming is about to increase the 
resale value of my house (let's keep that between 
us or I'll be looking at another increase in my 
property taxes). 

Now the good news for B&B customers is all the 
High-Temp industrial grade hardware you buy from 
us is still going to be working - Yes, even if you 
stay in Paris where it's 55 degrees. Like I learned 
in the Boy Scouts, it always pays to be prepared. 

Speaking of preparation, let's talk about some 
serious stuff you need to be paying attention to. 

There's one single thing you can do to increase 
the reliability of your data connections. Using 
this single tool can make you a master of connectivity. 
It's not like I've been keeping it a secret, so I'll 
share it with you again. 

Isolation. 

Ground faults, dirty power, poor quality grounds, 
lightning strikes - all those things are a serious 
pain in the rumpus. And they always wreak their 
havoc when you're least prepared to deal with them. 
Like when Roger, who's normally in charge of 
maintenance, is on vacation. So today I've got 
some isolation advice. 

-Isolation for Serial Connections: A lot of serial 
connections are, unfortunately, carelessly strung 
through all kinds of electrically hazardous areas. 
Not only are replacements a huge hassle, legacy 
equipment may be hard to obtain. 

4000 Volts of Protection for RS-232, and powered by 
the port itself making it a simple drop-in install 
for existing RS-232 connections. 
http://www.bb-europe.com/product.asp?sku=232SPHI4&dept_id=12&s=e84 

And I recommend that *every* RS-422 and RS-485 
system be isolated. This convenient DIN rail 
mount isolator slips easily into any system. 
http://www.bb-europe.com/product.asp?sku=485OPDR&dept_id=16&s=e84 

-Isolation Protection for USB: Lately I've seen 
a lot of USB migrating off of the desktop and 
into industrial applications. Convenient, but 
not necessarily robust without a little help. 

Industry's First Isolated USB Hub for Harsh 
Environments Put this device between your PC's 
USB port and up to four USB peripherals when 
you're in less than ideal environments: 
http://www.bb-europe.com/product.asp?sku=UISOHUB4&dept_id=76&s=e84 

Connecting Serial to USB? USB is a great way to 
connect RS-232 devices to a desktop, laptop or 
industrial PC, but don't do it without 2000 Volts 
of isolation: 
http://www.bb-europe.com/product.asp?sku=USO9ML2&dept_id=77&s=e84 

-Protect your Ethernet! Fortunately, Ethernet 
has some basic isolation built-in and that works 
just fine for most office installations. But out 
on the shop floor not only is the environment 
noisier, but the cost of downtime is much higher. 
Two solutions. Segment your LAN with Industrial 
Switches and install an Ethernet Surge Protector 
in front of critical equipment. 

Segment with this DIN Rail Switch to provide 
additional isolation 
http://www.bb-europe.com/product.asp?sku=IASW5P&dept_id=108&s=e84 

And, add DIN rail mount Ethernet Surge Protection 
in front of any important nodes: 
http://www.bb-europe.com/product.asp?sku=IASP1P&dept_id=128&s=e84 

Just a reminder - we're here to help YOU. That's 
why we've got a special email for your tech support 
and questions - mailto:support@bb-europe.com. And yes, 
we do answer our phones, in the Midwest US and 
in Europe as well. 

Just call +353 91 792444 and our friendly folks 
will be ready to help you. 

Happy Connections, 

Mike Fahrion 
B&B Electronics 
support@bb-europe.com