Tel/modem surge protection

[Blair]

I have two PC's networked (one XP and the other 98SE) and wish to know if I
fit a surge protector to my phone input socket which will protect my phone,
will this protect my two PC's as far as the modems are concerned as well or
do I have to fit surge protectors to the Tel input cable to the PCB's as
well?

Blair Malcolm

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

I have two PC's networked (one XP and the other 98SE) and wish to
know if I fit a surge protector to my phone input socket which will
protect my phone, will this protect my two PC's as far as the modems
are concerned as well or do I have to fit surge protectors to the
Tel input cable to the PCB's as well?

Your main concern should be a nearby lightning strike. Be aware
that surge protectors will essentially provide *no* protection
against this, regardless of where you put them. The only real
protection is unplugging both the power line and phone line
whenever there are nearby electrical storms.

 

[CS]

In


Your main concern should be a nearby lightning strike. Be aware
that surge protectors will essentially provide *no* protection
against this, regardless of where you put them. The only real
protection is unplugging both the power line and phone line
whenever there are nearby electrical storms.

And I might add to your excellent advice, also remove the cable
connector from your cable modem and TV sets. I had a near lightning
strike last summer that destroyed my NIC, cable modem, two TV sets,
and home air conditioner controller motor. Very costly. Lesson
learned!

 

[Blair]

In


Your main concern should be a nearby lightning strike. Be aware
that surge protectors will essentially provide *no* protection
against this, regardless of where you put them. The only real
protection is unplugging both the power line and phone line
whenever there are nearby electrical storms.

Thanks for your comments. While I accept that what you say is true I am led
to believe that Belkin surge protectors give you insurance cover if any of
your equipment is damaged. Is it not worth fitting them for that reason?
Regards
Blair

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

Thanks for your comments. While I accept that what you say is true I
am led to believe that Belkin surge protectors give you insurance
cover if any of your equipment is damaged. Is it not worth fitting
them for that reason? Regards

Yes, there are units sold with insurance. In my view the
insurance is a sales gimmick: they are bundling a surge protector
with a cheap insurance policy.

I don't know anyone who has ever collected on such insurance or
even tried to collect, so my following comment is just a guess
and should be taken with a grain of salt. My guess is that if you
do sustain damage, it's hard to prove and not easy to collect,
and if you do collect, it will be the amount *they* value your
equipment at, and probably much less than what you value it at.

But more important to most people than whether or much you
collect, is the data loss you may sustain, and the down time. To
a home user, the down time may not be very important, but to a
small business, it can be crippling. And the insurance doesn't
cover that.