OT: so glad i have an itermediate knowledge of computers

Ewwwwwwww, you still have a modem? ;-) I am VERY spoled by my broadband connection...but then again, I couldn't do my work if I was on anything slower.

I am glad to hear that it was as minor as just a fried modem...coulda been worse, glad it wasn't!

:-) Mommyrazz

Cowchipper wrote:

How funny! I woulda been at the computer store place and whiney! I am not computer savvy in that area. I can do data entry and find myself around that way on the desktop/programs.... the inside looks like an ant hill as far as I know. :)

The most I can do with the insides is blow it out every three months. For anything else I call my brother and offer to feed him if he comes to visit. His first question is always "what did you do to your computer." He cmes by every month and backs up all of my files onto an external hard drive. I've been damaged in storms three times. When the news even says a chance of storms I'm unplugging everything in the house. I think it comes from sitting on top of a hill in the middle of town. Sandy

The telco provides a 'whole house' protector (for free) where your phone wires meet theirs. If you did not provide a necessary earthing electrode, then, well, a protector does not stop, block, or absorb what three miles of sky could not. An effective protector shunts (connects, diverts, clamps) a surge to earth - an earthing electrode you must provide as required by post 1990 electrical code. No single point earth ground and the telco protector would not be effective.

Plug-in protector manufactures hope you don't learn this since it has no dedicated earthing connection, their products are often grossly undersized (to promote more sales rather than provide effective protection), and because their profit margins are so excessively high.

Lightning seeks earth ground. Either you earth before lightning can enter the building (service entrance earthing also called a 'whole house' protector), or lightning finds a destructive path through household appliances.

Which appliances are damaged? Well, lightning is electricity. It must have both an incoming and outgoing path through your appliance. Without both paths, then lightning will find other appliances to get to earth. Earth is what lightning seeks. That is why earthing (not the protector) is protection. Notice a fundamantal difference between protector and protection. An effective protector does nothing more than connect lightning to protection.

Additional reason why some appliances may be damaged. Which appliances makes a shorter path to earth? Sorter distance to earth means lightning prefers that path. Longer distance between protector and appliances also means better protection. Lightning earthed at the service entrance should make a 'less than 10 foot' connection to earth ground. A protector adjacent to the appliance may even just make appliance damage easier. Better protection makes a short connection to earth and is separated from appliances.

Ok. Let's say you do have a properly earthed telephone line protector. Telephone line therefore was not the incoming lightning path. Telephone line would be the outgoing path from modem to earth. So what is the incoming path? AC electric - the most common source of modem damage (because phone lines already have a 'whole house' protector). Did you install and properly earth a 'whole house' protector on AC electric. It' not required by code. You must have it installed. That's one protector for all appliances means costs are tens of times less (per protected appliance). Suoerior protector that also costs so much less money.

Again, what is required for AC electric protection? First and always most critical: single point earth ground. IOW AC electric earthing must meet and exceed post 1990 National Electrical Code (NEC) requirements. Earthing is THE most critical component in electronics (modem) protection. Earthing is what ineffective protector manufacturers hope you don't learn. Earthing means the AC electric 'whole house' protector (mounted in breaker box or behind meter) protects your dishwasher, smoke detectors, telephone appliances that use AC electric, clock radio, etc.

But again, that 'whole house' protector is only as effective as its earthing.

Many responsible manufacturers sell 'whole house' protectors such as Leviton, Square D, Intermatic, Cutler-Hammer, Siemens, and GE. Notice these are major and resonsible electrical brands. The brand name on that plug-in manufacture is what? APC, Belkin, Tripplite, etc? Notice they are not listed. Ask the latter about earth ground? They remain silent. Ask them for numbers on spec sheets that define protection? They remain silent.

Effective 'whole house' protectors and parts for upgrading earthing are sold in Home Depot, Lowes, and electrical supply houses. Never saw an effective protector in Radio Shack, Sears, Wal-Mart, Staples, etc. But again, where is that critically essential 'less than 10 foot' earthing connection?

Why does your telco install a 'whole house' protector for free? Because it is so effective and so inexpensive. Just another fact that plug-in protector manufacturers hope you never learn.

It is normal to have lightn> I am so glad i have a good knowledge of computers. I have also be INSIDE my

ok that is all gibberish to me... I just unplug my phone line from the modem before a storm... duh!... good enuf after 10 yrs of storms. no other damage has happened!.

Plug-in protector manufactures hope you don't learn this since it has no dedicated earthing connection, their products are often grossly undersized (to promote more sales rather than provide effective protection), and because their profit margins are so excessively high.

Lightning seeks earth ground. Either you earth before lightning can enter the building (service entrance earthing also called a 'whole house' protector), or lightning finds a destructive path through household appliances.

Which appliances are damaged? Well, lightning is electricity. It must have both an incoming and outgoing path through your appliance. Without both paths, then lightning will find other appliances to get to earth. Earth is what lightning seeks. That is why earthing (not the protector) is protection. Notice a fundamantal difference between protector and protection. An effective protector does nothing more than connect lightning to protection.

Additional reason why some appliances may be damaged. Which appliances makes a shorter path to earth? Sorter distance to earth means lightning prefers that path. Longer distance between protector and appliances also means better protection. Lightning earthed at the service entrance should make a 'less than 10 foot' connection to earth ground. A protector adjacent to the appliance may even just make appliance damage easier. Better protection makes a short connection to earth and is separated from appliances.

Ok. Let's say you do have a properly earthed telephone line protector. Telephone line therefore was not the incoming lightning path. Telephone line would be the outgoing path from modem to earth. So what is the incoming path? AC electric - the most common source of modem damage (because phone lines already have a 'whole house' protector). Did you install and properly earth a 'whole house' protector on AC electric. It' not required by code. You must have it installed. That's one protector for all appliances means costs are tens of times less (per protected appliance). Suoerior protector that also costs so much less money.

Again, what is required for AC electric protection? First and always most critical: single point earth ground. IOW AC electric earthing must meet and exceed post 1990 National Electrical Code (NEC) requirements. Earthing is THE most critical component in electronics (modem) protection. Earthing is what ineffective protector manufacturers hope you don't learn. Earthing means the AC electric 'whole house' protector (mounted in breaker box or behind meter) protects your dishwasher, smoke detectors, telephone appliances that use AC electric, clock radio, etc.

But again, that 'whole house' protector is only as effective as its earthing.

Many responsible manufacturers sell 'whole house' protectors such as Leviton, Square D, Intermatic, Cutler-Hammer, Siemens, and GE. Notice these are major and resonsible electrical brands. The brand name on that plug-in manufacture is what? APC, Belkin, Tripplite, etc? Notice they are not listed. Ask the latter about earth ground? They remain silent. Ask them for numbers on spec sheets that define protection? They remain silent.

Effective 'whole house' protectors and parts for upgrading earthing are sold in Home Depot, Lowes, and electrical supply houses. Never saw an effective protector in Radio Shack, Sears, Wal-Mart, Staples, etc. But again, where is that critically essential 'less than 10 foot' earthing connection?

Why does your telco install a 'whole house' protector for free? Because it is so effective and so inexpensive. Just another fact that plug-in protector manufacturers hope you never learn.

It is normal to have lightn> I am so glad i have a good knowledge of computers. I have also be INSIDE > my

I'm not sure exactly what you are saying, but I did go out and look at my phone line entry and it is grounded as is the tv tower. I guess I need to go to Lowe's and look as one of these whole house things to see what it is all about. When we got hit the first time it was at our other house. The last two times it was here. Once we lost the modem on the computer only and the second time we lost lots of things, (microwave, dishwasher, answering machine, cordless phones, hood over the stove, clocks, etc...) but lightening took out the transformer on the electrical pole where our lined comes across the alley from the main pole. Sandy

"w_tom" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

Tvtower.com pictures are your primary protector; installed by the utility. Another earth rod must exist somewhere near the AC electric meter. One bare and solid copper wire connects that earthing rod to your breaker box. This is the secondary protection as well as required for human safety. Look outside under the meter. Look at the wires entering the breaker box. If that same wire does not connect between both items, then sufficient earthing does not exist. Some then call an electrican to get their earthing "upgraded to post 1990 requirements". Nothing gibberish about it. It's quite simple. Anything you don't understand, then get the electrician to point it out if (when) he stops by to provide an estimate. Then he can also install the 'whole house' protector AND inspect your phone and cable also connect to same earth ground.

BTW, what was written above are requirements of and beyond what code demands. Electrician understands what is required by code. Then you ask him if everything (including TV cable) is connected 'less than 10 feet' to that same earth ground. For effective protection, all utilities must connect to the same earthing point. Earthing is the protection. Even unplugging (as others assume) is woefully unreliable.

Lowes sells the GE and Cutler Hammer products. Home Depot sells the Intermatic product. Anything less means the computer user considers electronic damage acceptable.

To summary the previous post. First that earthing connection at the utility pole, as installed by the electric utility, must exist (primary protection). Second, your building's earthing electrode must exist and meet post 1990 code (water pipe ground is not sufficient and often too far away). Third, every incoming utility must connect to that earthing rod either via a 'whole house' protector (telephone and AC electric) or by direct hardwire (cable TV). Each connection must be 'less than 10 feet' to also be effective lightning protection. Now we have minimally sufficient protection - far more reliable than even unplugging.

The telephone line 'whole house' protector (a box labeled NID or Network Interface as installed sometime after 1985) would look like either of these when opened:

Typically, lightning damage occurs once every eight years. Apparently you are in a more frequent strike area. Frequency of damage varies significantly even within same town and depends much on underlying geology. Above is minimal protection necessary for all homes. If you have more frequent damage, then the protector is made even more effective by enhancing (expanding) the earthing system. If in poorly conductive soil (ie sand), then the earthing system really need be seriously enhanced. The protector only connects to protection. But protection is defined by the quality of and connection to earthing.

Sandy wrote:

heck we learned... fried our tv, our one computer and all our phones... so we now have wireless internet... the most it could fry is the router... and when we had the electrical upgraded here we had a whole house surge protector put in... wasn't too expensive either...

The IEEE and the NIST both say plug-in surge protectors are effective.

The best paper I have seen on surge protection is at

- this a paper w_tom originally provided a link to - the title is "How to protect your house and its contents from lightning: IEEE guide for surge protection of equipment connected to AC power and communication circuits" - it was published by the IEEE in 2005 - the IEEE is the dominant organization of electrical and electronic engineers in the US - the 5 authors have broad experience with surge suppression A second reference is - this is the "NIST recommended practice guide: Surges Happen!: how to protect the appliances in your home" - it is published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the US government agency formerly called the National Bureau of Standards - it was published in 2001 - it was written by your favorite - Francois Martzloff - the NIST guru on surges and lightning Both guides were intended for wide distribution to the general public to explain surges and how to protect against them. The IEEE guide was targeted at people who have some (not much) technical background. Read one (or both) to understand surges and protection. Both say plug-in surge suppressors are effective.

Note that if a device, like a computer, has connections other than power, like a phone line, they have to be connected through the surge suppressor also. This type of suppressor is called a surge reference equalizer (SRE) by the IEEE (also described by the NIST). The idea is that all wires connected to the device (power, phone, CATV, LAN, ...) are clamped to the common ground at the SRE. The voltage on all wires passing through the SRE to the protected device are held to a voltage safe to the device.

bud--