My esteemed listmates, I have a seemingly good surge protector I plug my laptop and a weather radio into when I get home each night. No apparent issues. Some techy said my surge protector could be shot and I wouldn't know. I asked how do I test if it's still protecting and he dodged the question. I have an old UPS which needed a new battery which I got but each time I'd bring it home and plug the UPS into a good outlet and at 2:30 am it would sound off and wake everyone up. 3 different times with 3 different batteries for the UPS it did this and and the guy at Interstate Battery just shrugged. Now a guy says I need a Tripp Lite line conditioner $170! How can I economically protect my laptop plugged in for 2-3 hours and a small weather radio? Thank you, Charles. Charlotte County Public Library