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Thread ID: 37536	2003-09-10 04:37:00	Surge Protectors...	beetle (243)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
174337	2003-09-10 04:37:00	ok back to basics for beetle here.... explain to me why and how these things work and whether i need one for just power or for my phone lines as well? as i went shopping and came back totally lost as to the sale man (person) said about this that and it has and wot it does and we sell this brand and oh dear lost.... i want one for each computer to replace each existing multi box thing which only has a fuse thing in it. (at different ends of house so cannot get one extremely large one). but then the guy said i need one for phones as well and more than phone line means a different type box / protector? and here i was thinking all i needed was a power protector...??? is their something specific i need or a brand or ? have not had to worry before but am worried about all things electrical going by the past experiences. and have not had a chance for the leisurely shop to check these things out before and am relying on the other multi boxs at present ... we are talking multiple dollars here but nothing compared to multiple dollars of replacing puters..... been there done that not doing it again.... help anybody? why both sorts needed? sigh.... more brain juice needed..... beetle	beetle (243)
174338	2003-09-10 04:53:00	If electricity was always nicely begaved you wouldn't need them. Everything designed to be plugged into the mains has to withstand about plus and minus about 340 volts. That's not difficult. If lighning strikes the power lines, it likes going through the copper wires twords ground. If youe expensive electric toys are plugged into those wires, they suddenly see very high voltages. They don't like it up them. The smoke escapes, and they don't work. So there are surge protectors. They are usually a special form of resistor connected across the wires, and as long as the volts are normal, they just sit there. If the volts rise above a set level, they start to conduct, and put a "short" on the line. This holds the peak down, and your gear has a chance of surviving. That relys on the overload being for a very short time ... and it usually is. A sustained high voltage will blow up the surge protector, but any fault like that will usually have blown the fuses or circuit breakers, so the gear might still survive. You telephone, and fax, and modem are designed to work on lower voltages, and the highest voltage they see normally is the 90V ringing sigbnals. So a mains protector won't really safeguard them, as well as being a bit slow acting. The telephone line protectors usually take a different form : a spark gap which breaks down (very quickly) and shorts the line if there is a sudden high voltage surge. The old telephone system used pairs of carbon blocks with a very thin piece of mica with a hole in it as a spacer. If you had one of these, I think your modem speed would be a bit diminished. :D Some of the power strips have both the MOVs (name for the variable resistors in yhe power section) and phone line protectirs in the same unit. You pay more for that of course. You can get units which protect just one circuit, too. If there has been a lightning strike, and the protoctors have worked, they should be replaced. They are internally damaged each time, and they are often non functional, but not "exploded".	Graham L (2)
174339	2003-09-10 05:00:00	so what are you telling me i need one or not? or just a power one? not a phone one? gonna have to put that on the run again mode i feel . . . thanxs wait for it to sink in and ill get back to you . . . lol beetle	beetle (243)
174340	2003-09-10 05:05:00	You need both Beetle, but if your phone lines are above ground then a phone surge protector is "more" important... from bitter experience of a blown modem and motherboard. www.epanorama.net	Terry Porritt (14)
174341	2003-09-10 05:05:00	You should have them . On both . They won't save your stuff from a big strike . But it will protect it from smaller ones . It's like locking your house . If someone wants to break in they can break in . But you keep out "honest thieves" .	Graham L (2)
174342	2003-09-10 05:26:00	oh so lots a $$$$ any recomendations on what types or brands may be good? and im presuming itll slow th whole system down then? phone net speed? thats not a good look or feel . what sort do you use ??? thanxs beetle	beetle (243)
174343	2003-09-10 05:36:00	personally i see way more telephone strikes than power ones so make sure you have a GOOD telephone protector (not an elcheapo hpm or other generic brand). a cheap powerboard with surge protection is better than notheing and will proberly do ok. good ones are around $100-$150. also beaware just because it has a big price tag dosn't mean its any good. i have seen a few expenice ones that where of poor design and a $40 one would have been better.	tweak'e (174)
174344	2003-09-10 05:45:00	> oh so lots a $$$$ any recomendations on what types or > brands may be good? > and im presuming itll slow th whole system down then? > phone net speed? thats not a good look or feel . > > what sort do you use ??? i personally use panamax . not cheap but far cheaper than the locally nade products i looked at . not sure of current price but was $150 for the power surge board and $50 for the phone . advoid zapcatcher . far to exspencive for what you get . they do make a couple of good models but for the equivilent of the panamax they where double the price . hpm/pdl/generic electrial brands, hard to tell as there is little testing done on how they actually perform and they change models fairly regularly . personal favorite for a cheapy is PDL . hpm where a joke . one i saw even had a label stating "will not protect over 375 volts" (memorys a bit rusty on that quote so take with a grain of salt) .	tweak'e (174)
174345	2003-09-10 05:45:00	thanxs tweak'e i went into DSE and Noel Lems and had a look and they had same brand of something the guy showed me, most popular make they sell... about $99 but he said i should go for the next one up for $140 as it would be better for multiple lines? more than one phone line, it had a multi plug of 4 sockets have no idea what brand as did not remeber to shut the mind once it reeled at the price he quoted.... LOL oh and also best to get some thing that does both options? or seperate for each item ... phone or power? or a both do the whole hog job the best possible needed ? so may go back tomorow and have a look, price may be not a problem for one as i can get work to pay for the work puter but as my phone line comes out at same spot for both computers one with multiple points and one with only single may do? or get both multiples for the future of multiple computer nett working :D :p ???? cant say i trust the guy to know what he was talking about, but will hopefully drag a male with me and then i may get some better action.... blonde females dont always get the desired result ive worked out. thanxs beetle	beetle (243)
174346	2003-09-10 05:49:00	where do you get these things from otherwise? have yet to walk into any local computer shops round here, and as only others ive seen is DSE and NL cant remember what PJ said was good round here. may have to check the book for guidance. beetle	beetle (243)
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