Lightning Season Is Here...is your modem wearing protection?

[Swimmer]

so.. there is protection from the box, the cable hub that is shared between house, to keep the modems from blowing?  Interesting..

[Guest thecableguy]

so.. there is protection from the box, the cable hub that is shared between house, to keep the modems from blowing? Interesting..

Minimal....your best friend is your groundblock.....in fact....that brings up a very good point.....everyone who has cablemodem service needs to go out to their groundblock (thats the little box on the side of your house where your cable drop meets the house), open it up and inspect it....making sure that you have a proper groundstrap attached and of course grounded.  After inspection if you find that the groundblock is missing or not properly grounded contact your ISP have them fix the problem at once.  They will thank you as this protects not only your home but also their network.  Remember, lightning follows the path of least resistance....no GB or a improperly installed GB makes your home electrical that path.

[netmasta]

my modem belongs to the isp. its brick is in an unprotected outlet. the coax is unprotected. there is an ethernet surge protector between modem and router. if lightnong strikes, i say burn motherfucker, burn. let the isp replace it...

lol, but does your ISP cover acts of nature? Not all do, I'm sure. So you could possibly have to pay for a fried modem.

[Shug7272]

You could also invest in a GFI plug that will help provide a lil extra protection for not much investment.

[disturbed]

the surge protector for my home entertainment system has the inputs for coax also - im guessing its doing its job

[FallowEarth]

This is very true. Lightning hits a lot of cable modems through the coax line. Most people don't realize it is possible, but in fact it is very common this time of year, and throughout the summer and fall. If you are in a any danger of getting hit, get the proper protection (don't worry, it should not affect your speeds).  Good tip, thecableguy

[netmasta]

You could also invest in a GFI plug that will help provide a lil extra protection for not much investment.

GFI outlets are designed to protect you, not things plugged into it. I'm not sure if that's what you meant, which is why I replied.

[cholla]

I think both are correct about the GFI.I'm not sure of the exact amount of current to ground necessary to trip the breaker inside the GFI.Less than the amount that should electrocute a child or what would be the point of having them.But they might allow enough current to fry any electronics plugged into them.I didn't try to find how much current if someone knows please post it.

[resopalrabotnick]

cholla, a gfi will usually trip at 30 mA. there are of course more sensitive ones available.

the gfi outlet will not protect equipment behind it however. a gfi operates in the following fashion:

it monitors wether or not the same amount of current going out of the outlet (or the circuit) returns via the circuit. if there is less current coming back through the circuit that means that somewhere along the way current is going into a grounded connection (hairdryer in bathtub, kid in socket etc.) this is what is termed a ground fault in the circuit hence it gets interrupted.

if you say stand on a rubber mat to insulate yourself from ground and grab the two ends of a wire that you plug into a gfi protected socket you can fry on that circuit all day long without it tripping.

[cholla]

resopalrabotnick;Full of good info as always.Thanks that saved me looking up the info.

This would drive the forensics team crazy fry some guy with a GFI on a rubber mat then take the mat.   

[dlewis23]

cholla, a gfi will usually trip at 30 mA. there are of course more sensitive ones available.

the gfi outlet will not protect equipment behind it however. a gfi operates in the following fashion:

it monitors wether or not the same amount of current going out of the outlet (or the circuit) returns via the circuit. if there is less current coming back through the circuit that means that somewhere along the way current is going into a grounded connection (hairdryer in bathtub, kid in socket etc.) this is what is termed a ground fault in the circuit hence it gets interrupted.

if you say stand on a rubber mat to insulate yourself from ground and grab the two ends of a wire that you plug into a gfi protected socket you can fry on that circuit all day long without it tripping.

resopalrabotnick very well said, you got it 100% compleatly correct.

[Guest thecableguy]

cholla, a gfi will usually trip at 30 mA. there are of course more sensitive ones available.

the gfi outlet will not protect equipment behind it however. a gfi operates in the following fashion:

it monitors wether or not the same amount of current going out of the outlet (or the circuit) returns via the circuit. if there is less current coming back through the circuit that means that somewhere along the way current is going into a grounded connection (hairdryer in bathtub, kid in socket etc.) this is what is termed a ground fault in the circuit hence it gets interrupted.

if you say stand on a rubber mat to insulate yourself from ground and grab the two ends of a wire that you plug into a gfi protected socket you can fry on that circuit all day long without it tripping.

A GFI will not protect you from lightning damage derived through your drop (the coax cable connected to the modem).  In fact you can have the modem unplugged from pwr and still have your entire investment killed by a close lightning strike that visits through your cable drop.  The purpose of this thread was to remind people that there are other ways lightning will kill your equipment and the most common way is through your cable modem, dsl modem and/or telephone line connected to your multi-printer (thus through your USB, ETHERNET or LPT ports).  Isolation of all of your devices from each other is critical because a weakness in one will definately affect them all.  The investment to isolate them is minimal in comparison to the damage done just by one errant lightning strike.  Proper isolation means that you isolate all devices from each other (not just the power but all interfaces).

That reminds me....multi-printers are one of the biggest culprits and also one of the most sensitive devices in your investment....make sure you properly protect this device or you will lose it.  The strike in this case does not even need to be a close call....for whatever reason these devices are unacceptably prone to this type of damage so protect your investment before they get cooked.  Mfr's of these devices have become very adept at detecting exactly this cause of damage and are quick to void any warranty claim of this type so be warned.....protect or pay....the choice is yours!

[Shug7272]

Edit: Removed my explination due to reading cholla's. I must have misunderstood. 

[cholla]

Shug7272;I gave some explination but resopalrabotnick explained why better.

thecableguy ;The reason that the GFI is being discussed does inform that it won't do the job so still on topic.

I don't know if a lightening arrestor like the one in the,pdf I'm posting would work with a cable computer connection.It is actually for outdoor antennas .I'm not spamming for this one its just an example if you want to find one at Radio Shack its fine with me. 

I

[Guest thecableguy]

Shug7272;I gave some explination but resopalrabotnick explained why better.

thecableguy ;The reason that the GFI is being discussed does inform that it won't do the job so still on topic.

I don't know if a lightening arrestor like the one in the,pdf I'm posting would work with a cable computer connection.It is actually for outdoor antennas .I'm not spamming for this one its just an example if you want to find one at Radio Shack its fine with me. 

I

Hahaha..your link was no issue....but recommending radioshack....now I have to have to you flogged in the public square, please submit yourself to your local town officials by 5pm tonight for the flogging  :) :)

[cholla]

thecableguy;I call my post a non-recomendation for Radio Shack I should have added "At your own risk"

Here is a testmy link on grounding.Please don't send lightening up my rear because it contains posts from a former "member non grata"

http://www.testmy.net/forum/index.php?topic=1657.0

[Shug7272]

Hahaha..your link was no issue....but recommending radioshack....now I have to have to you flogged in the public square, please submit yourself to your local town officials by 5pm tonight for the flogging  :) :)

Hey they have some cool shit at Radio Shack... it may break in a day but still cool.

[resopalrabotnick]

and if you need some parts to patch something together shack is at least convenient.

[Guest thecableguy]

Hey they have some cool S#!t at Radio Shack... it may break in a day but still cool.

Yes...if its made in some Asian nation, is useless and breaks in a day...you can count on Radioshack having it.  Really is too bad though, they used to have things that were actually useful to the hobby guy.....anymore that stuff is limited to one small isle in the far back of the store if it exists at all.

[Shug7272]

Yea I remember when you could build so many things from scratch just by going to Radio Shack. Now its just low budget computer, RV cars, a few cell phones and what not. Kinda disappointing. Although I do remember my favorite pc was baught from radio shack in 1989 I believe.. A TANDY.. WOO HOOO. I think I had a 4 MB hard drive. I played silent service all the time and it was all dos baby.