Peff Posted March 5, 2001 Share Posted March 5, 2001 http://www.peff.com/images/badstrip.jpg I just had a power interruption and one of my old power strips blew up, and thought this might be a good time to remind people about the hazards of unprotected AC power. fortunately the varistor worked properly and shunted the circuit when the transient AC spike hit after the brown out. I didn't have anything important plugged into the strip, just my network hub and a RF signal amp, but things could have been worse. I have all my crucial equipment protected with a Furman AR-117 line conditioner - expensive but damn well worth it ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Tavegia Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 Go to the Atlantic Scientific WEB Site, Melbourne, FL. Best surge protection on the market, bar none. Only units that I know of that have been tested at Kearny Labs and took a 122,000 amp strike. They have them to go on your main service entrance panel to protect your whole house, or just some inline devices. There is so much misinformation out there on this issue it is rediculous. They are a major supplier to Cellular prividers for use at the cell sites. Who gets hit more than these guys? with plenty of 6-figure gear in their comm shelters. ------------------ Jim T. Jim T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZsound Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 The only problem with a surge protector is that they only protect against surges, and in some cases not very well at that. I have had low voltage wipe a synth and burn up a power amp while the surge protector sat there with a big grin on it's face. I now use a regulated power supply with surge protection and battery backup (UPS) so I have time to shut off the gear if the power goes sideways at all either in the studio or at a gig. ------------------ Mark G. Mark G. "A man may fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame others" -- John Burroughs "I consider ethics, as well as religion, as supplements to law in the government of man." -- Thomas Jefferson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 One concern with surge protectors is that sometimes the protective element burns out after absorbing a dangerous surge. Unless there's some way of knowing if it's blown, you could have a surge protector with no protection! I go for the UPS approach myself. It has saved my butt on numerous occasions. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 Yes, you need both. I have a Juice Goose Omega 20(?)...from several years back. Cost about $400 -$500, but it is a high quality Surge Protector, AC Line Conditioner and also an AC Voltage Regulator. Will output a steady 120 Volts with any input from about 80 - 140 Volts. It delivers 20 Amps and has 20 outlets. So far, this puppy powers my entire studio...have not exceeded the 20 Amps yet, and I have five, 16-space racks of gear,...to give you a rough idea. I either plug equipment directly into it or run additional Surge Strips from it to other equipment...but ultimately everything gets power from it. I remember when I first bought it thinking about the expense...but it is worth every penny. Don't know if Juice Goose still makes it, but I have seen very similar units from Furman with a $1000 MSRP. miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted March 28, 2001 Share Posted March 28, 2001 APC BackPro 1400 - LUV IT!!!! I have never had a severe surge, but I experience frequent brown outs and - what should I call the opposite of a brown out? A white out? - The APC keeps everything running happily. It doesn't make a sound, but it's one of the most important pieces of gear in my studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZsound Posted March 29, 2001 Share Posted March 29, 2001 I've got three power conditioner/UPS units in my studio. The last thing I need is to be mastering somebody's masterpiece and have the power go in the middle of editing. I have up to fifteen minutes to save my work and get out with these units. ------------------ Mark G. Mark G. "A man may fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame others" -- John Burroughs "I consider ethics, as well as religion, as supplements to law in the government of man." -- Thomas Jefferson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Bob Posted March 30, 2001 Share Posted March 30, 2001 This might be a good time for someone to give an overview. I have some power strips with surge protection (the kind you have for a computer) and a Furman PL Plus Power Conditioner. I have a problem especially with the air conditioner in the summer time with motors (also refridgerator, etc.) going on and sending little blips into the studio. These occassionally find their way onto the recording. What can I do besides re-wire this old house? With summer power outages looming ahead here in California, I suppose I should get one of those battery packs to be able to boot down after power goes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Tavegia Posted April 2, 2001 Share Posted April 2, 2001 Originally posted by Anderton: One concern with surge protectors is that sometimes the protective element burns out after absorbing a dangerous surge. Unless there's some way of knowing if it's blown, you could have a surge protector with no protection! I go for the UPS approach myself. It has saved my butt on numerous occasions. The reason most common surge suppressors go is that they "stack" 25 cent MOV's to up their rating. In a white paper from Philips they specifically state "do not stack MOV's to improve your rating", meaning higher current protection. Philips makes these devices, they should know. Stacked MOV's do not share equally as they are not linear devices, and their protection decreases with each subsequent "strike" as individual MOV's fail. Atlantic Scientific has a patented/proprietary 90,000 amp MOV which they test to UL1449, with a proprietary fuse which UL now requires. A double stack of these devices has withstood Kearny Labs limit of 122,000 amps and not failed. No other manufacturer can make this claim that I know of. I believe that every consumer unit stacks 25 cent MOV.s The let through voltage of MOV's is about 300 to 400 volts, which most equipment can take under the UL 8/20 test. SAD, silcon avalanche diodes, are being tried because they limit let though to 280 to 330 volts, but they must be backed up by MOV's because they cannot take the high current, even if you stack them. Atlantic Scientific offers 10 year warranty on their industrial products and insurance on their consumer gear. You could protect your whole house for about $500 to $600 by protecting your service entrance panel with their Zone Master wired through a spare breaker to each 120V line. This protects everything. More importantly, you must have a common ground "single-point-grounding". If you're in an older building you must search out for any additional grounds. If not, a lightning strike 200 ft from your location could back feed your system from the unprotected ground. If your gear is closer to the unknown ground than the common ground from your panel you could take the hit. You must also protect your DATA and RF lines as well as most telco grounds are at the service entrance panel ground rod. You have probably grounded your RF, whether it be Sat TV, FM/TV antenna, etc. with aluminum ground wire to that same place. It is very possible, as I have never taken apart a UPS, but they may have a stack of MOV's after the power cord for some internal protection. ** The peak let through voltage rises 30 volts with every ten inches of wire to your gear. The best approach is AS before your UPS. it is best to stop it at the service entrance panel. With the cheaper consumer surge strips you will probably survive the "smaller" surges. Now, if we only knew when that would be... Jim T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.