Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

What kind of power/surge protector for the HL61A750?

Mar 26, 2009 2:53AM PDT

All those joules are confusing as are the various prices on these things. What, IF ANY, kind of power/surge protector do I need for the Samsung HL61A750 if the only additional units to be connected are a satellite receiver box and a combo dvd/vhs recorder/player? Won't be attaching any kind of sound system, just the tv, satelite box and dvd/vhs player.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
1 with coax cable line protection
Mar 26, 2009 3:23AM PDT

maybe phone to? I'm sure you could find 1 cheap at walmart or online.
Better than nothing.

- Collapse -
Cost vs. Protection
Mar 26, 2009 5:55AM PDT

Firstimer,

Welcome to the forum!

I could write hours on nanosecond response times (smaller is better) and joule ratings (larger is better) when it comes to protecting your electrical devices.

However, one of the most informative reads I've found on surge protectors is on the net.

Here is the whole technical overview of how they work (helpful for knowing the "whys and hows" to best to protect your equipment):
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/surge-protector.htm

And here is the bottom line, in terms of options, and which units you might want to consider:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/surge-protector5.htm

A UPS (uninterruptable power supply), depending on how "variable" (some use the term "dirty") the electricity is in your house, may go a long way in saving your power supply, but hooking up a quality surge protecter will offer even more protection. So the short answer is..

Wall > Good surge protector > UPS (optional) > Television

If you have any other questons, I'm more than happy to help.

--HDTech

- Collapse -
Still don't know what to get...
Mar 26, 2009 7:44AM PDT

Thanks for the links. I did go through them, particularly the parts about options. But it didn't really help me decide what to do. I still don't know how many joules or what unit to get. A sales guy at Fry's said a min of 3000 joules, which means I could get surge protector for about $30, and another guy at Best Buy was talking about a protector for $100. Again, I'll just be attaching the 61" big screen tv, the satellite box and the dvd/vhs unit. I don't know what more info I could give that would help you help me so you could provide me with a very specific protector to buy -brand, joules, price, What would you buy?

- Collapse -
Still don't know what to get...
Mar 26, 2009 9:09AM PDT

Firstimer,

I can't really recommend and specific product or model, but the main things you want to look for is response time (under 1 nanosecond) and the highest joule rating you're willing to pay. 3000 is a pretty good rating, considering. I wouldn't personally go under 1300, but that's a personal preference and not one offically suggested on behalf of Samsung. The big picture is that you're going to get $1.00 worth of protection with a $1.00 surge protector. Some companies will warranty your equipment (Monster, APC, and others) in the event you get a surge that wipes out your equipment. It might be a good idea to investigate a product that has that kind of warranty. That is probably what I would personally recommend.

--HDTech

- Collapse -
Real vs Mythical protection
Mar 27, 2009 12:35AM PDT

Those "How Stuff Works" citations are so chock full of technical errors as to be embarrassing. So chock full of errors that one with basic electrical knowledge would have never cited it. So many errors just on the first page are described at "Computer problem need help", in the 17th post on 1 Aug, in the 24th post on 2 Aug, and the 26th post on 4 Aug 2002.

Moving on to the OP's problem. Do you think a 2 cm device inside a protector will stop and absorb what three miles of sky could not? That is what some claim. Nonsense. Protection is about where that energy gets dissipated.

The protector is rated in joules. If protection is to absorb joules, well, the few hundred joules in a plug-in protector will absorb hundreds of thousands of joules? Of course not. But that is the myth so often promoted.

Even 100 years ago, surge protection was about diverting surges. A typically destructive type of surge seeks earth ground. Electronics are harmed when that surge takes a path to earth destructively via electronics. If a surge is connected to earth without entering a building, then no damage.

This is how every telco switching facility does it. How often has your phone service been down for four days as they replace that surge damaged switching computer? Telco computers everywhere connect to overhead wires all over town. Suffer on average 100 surges during every thunderstorm. And must never have damage.

Telcos do not use anything recommended in that 'How stuff works' citation because telcos need real protection. Protection is about earthing a surge before it can even enter the building. Protection is made better by earthing distant from electronics - typically up to 50 meters.

Telcos do not waste money on plug-in protectors. Telcos use an earthed protector where wires enter the building.

Anyone can do same. It is called a 'whole house' protector. Like that telco protector, it is only as effective as its earth ground. Surge protection is about making a better earthing system AND connecting every wire in every cable short to that earth ground.

Either each wire connects directly to earth (ie coax cable) or a wire connects to earth via a protector. But every wire must connect to the same earthing electrode.

To protect everything in a house, only the more responsible companies sell 'whole house' protectors. Siemens, Leviton, Cutler-Hammer, Square D, Keison, Intermatic, General Electric. Protectors with names such as APC, Belkin, Tripplite, and (the worst offender) Monster Cable do not have any earthing wire, do not claim to provide protection in numeric specs, and charge massively for what is essentially a $3 power strip with some $0.10 parts. The naive would recommend the latter. But only the former have that dedicated earthing wire - actually do protection.

Essential to surge protection is a better earthing system that both meets and exceeds post 1990 National Electrical code. Many older homes are even missing that required earthing. Protection means upgrading earthing to exceed 1990 code. No safety ground wires need be routed to outlets. And important earthing is at the breaker box (service entrance).

If installing the $50 'whole house' protector from Cutler-Hammer (and sold in Lowes), then how that breaker box is earthed makes protection better. Some may route the (quarter inch bare copper) ground wire up over the foundation and down to an earth ground rod. Wrong. Too many sharp bends. Wire is too long. That wire is probably bundled with other wires. All conspire to make protection less effective. That protector will only be as effective as its earth ground.

Ground wire is better through the foundation and down to earth. Shorter. Away from other wires. Routed without sharp bends. Now surges have an electrically shorter path to earth. That is the surge protection.

Protection is about dissipating surge energy harmlessly in earth. Any protector (ie plug-in types) that would stop or absorb surges do not even claim protection in numeric specs. Even 100 years ago, operators did not remove their headsets and leave the room. Instead, phone lines were properly earthed. That was operator protection. We do the same thing today for transistor protection.

Your telco has already installed an effective protector on every incoming phone line. Installed for free because it is so effective, (required by law), and costs so little. But again, every protector (or grounding the shield of a coax wire) means a single point earth ground. Best earthing available is a short ('less than 10 foot') connections to ground.

A protector is only as effective as its earth ground. Surges dissipated harmlessly in earth need not enter the building; find earth destructively through household transistors. Your protector is only as effective as its earth ground which is why effective protectors have a dedicated grond wire with a 'less than 10 foot' connection.

Finally, any protector that fails during a surge provided no protection. Effective protectors earth direct lightning strikes and remain functional. Some foolishly believe protectors sacrifice themselves. Effective protection means protectors are properly sized so that nobody ever knew that surge exists. Those more responsible manufacturers all make 'whole house' protectors that are properly sized. Unfortunately, too many only recommend surge protectors when protectors fail. Grossly undersizing a protector gets the naive to recommend them. Instead, install one 'whole house' protector so that failure even to the protector does not happen.

That's one protector to protect everything (even furnace and dishwasher) for about $1 per appliance. The effective solution also costs tens or 100 times less money. Nothing in "How Stuff Works" is useful.