CharlieG;642504 Wrote: > This tech said he really didnt think the surge came from the cable. > He thought my DVR and TV would have been damaged had the cable been the > conduit. > > I told him I now have surge protectors for the cable and he was not > impressed. Everything he said (and more he did not say) is correct. For example, show me spec numbers for your protectors that claimed any protection. Good luck. A majority recommend it only because salesmen, advertising, and hearsay told them how to think. Protectors on cable are wasted money. Most cable companies recommend they be removed since it subverts cable signal. And because that short connection to earth (without any protectors) is best protection.
In every case, a surge is seeking earth ground. If the cable is earthed, then why would that surge seek earth via your TV? Well again, many people forget about electricity as taught in elementary school science. Does a surge enter on a cable, destroy a TV, then stops? Of course not. First a current is outgoing from the TV at the exact same time a surge is also incoming on another wire. If cable is the incoming path, then where is the other outgoing path to earth? If no path to earth exists, then the incoming path also did not exist. The most common reason for damage is, for example, a lightning strike to AC electric wires down the street. Now that surge is connected directly to every appliance in your house. But again, from elementary school science. What is the other outgoing path that must also exist? Lightning striking wires down the street selects which appliance makes a best connection to earth. That is the damaged appliance. All appliances have in incoming path. Only some also have an outgoing path. Meanwhile, a protector adjacent to an appliance can even give that surge even more paths to find earth - destructively. You had damage because you all but invited that surge to go hunting inside. Every wire in every incoming cable must be earthed short (ie 'less than 10 feet') to single point earth ground. AC electric is three wires. Each wire must make that short earthing connection. Informed consumers earth a 'whole house' protector (ie less than $50 in Lowes) to connect two wires to earth. And - this is more important - upgrade the only item that does any protection: single point earth ground. Protectors are more than fast enough IF the connection to earth is short. How fast are protectors? A number that increases significantly when wire is to earth is too long, has sharp bends, splices, is inside metallic conduit, or goes over the foundation to earth. Wire length to and quality of earth ground should have more than 50% of your attention. Because protection is always about the only item that must absorb hundreds of thousand of joules - with no damage even to a protector. Why did facilities even 100 years ago suffer direct lightning strikes without damage? Because the science and experience has been understood and proven for that long. Too many people today want magic solutions (fiber optic, plug-in protectors) because advertising is their information source. Instead, learn why direct lightning strikes without damage were routine long before anyone here was even born. Learn well proven science. A protector is only as effective as its earth ground. -- westom ------------------------------------------------------------------------ westom's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=39650 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=88797
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