Can anyone help me build my own surge protector for a coaxile cable tv connector?

My cable blew out my high-definition television, and it won't turn on
any more. Surges come through the cable lines, and without a fuse to
protect against abnormal voltage, I'm sure it will happen again. I
didn't have any problems until after I had a cable guy install digital
cable, road runner, and digital phone service to my house. And he
said he didn't have time to ground the cabling.

Any ideas how I could test to find out what sort of fuse I would need?

 

You could probably sue.

Otherwise install the grounding surge protection where the cable
enters the biulding. It's a fairly simple and cheap device you should
find in any CB, television or radio spares supply - probably in the
dustiest section of the store.

It's basically an aluminum block - a cable clamp with a small spike in
it to penetrate the outer sheath of the cable only, and a long wire
that you are expected to attach to a rod in the immediate ground area
or to a nearby standing metal pipe.

RL

 

Why not buy something like this?
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=2403&sku=41035

 

http://www.justicejunction.com/complaints_time_warner_cable_company.htm

 

You need a surge protector. Just by chance, some spamming moron just
posted an advertisement for such equipment in this very
newsgroup............

.....Oh. Sorry.

 

Fuses won't work, they are way too slow. A surge protector on both the AC
line and the coax might. Unless your cable box fried, your power company
seems like a more likely culprit.

Tam

 

Craigm displayed what is required on every cable where that cable
enters the building:
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=2403&sku=41035

Either you don't have it or it is not connected to the same earth
ground also used by AC electric and telephone. Even National
Electrical Code (NEC) says that connection must exist.

You don't need a surge protector. Surge protectors are only devices
to connect to earthing. Earthing is the protection. If you have:
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=2403&sku=41035
properly connected to that earth ground, then your cable is already
earthed.

Meanwhile, AC electric does require a 'whole house' protector. No
effective protector has been seen in Sears, Best Buy, Radio Shack,
Staples, Circuit City, K-mart, or your grocery store. Those
protectors also do not have the dedicated earthing wire. An effective
'whole house' protector is sold in Lowes, Home Depot, and electrical
supply houses. And, of course, your earthing must meet and exceed
post 1990 NEC earthing requirements.

More numbers. Fuses take milliseconds to trip. Surges are done in
microseconds. You could have 300 consecutive surges before a fuse
even considers blowing. Meanwhile, you obviously don't have something
on your cable equivalent to
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=2403&sku=41035
Thats maybe $2 at Lowes, Radio Shack, Home Depot, or anyplace else
that sells cable connecting materials. An earthed ground block is
that routine, that essential, and obviously not on your service.

Anyone with no technical knowledge can follow that earthing wire. A
'less than 10 foot' wire goes from each: breaker box, from telephone
NID, and from cable ... all to the same dedicated earthing rod. Not
to a water faucet. Not to a cold water pipe. Not to dirt in a flower
box. Earthing wire must go to a dedicated ground rod that is also
used by all other utilities. Otherwise your wiring does not even meet
1990 NEC requirements. And who is responsible for providing that
earthing? You.

Service man has installed in violation of NEC if he did not install
a 'less than 10 foot' connection to that earthing also used by AC
electric. No way around those code requirements. Neither fuse nor
surge protector on cable is a solution.

 

Sue the cable company for an inadequate installation.

...Jim Thompson

 

Regarding Corey White - I follow the alt.magic newsgroup where the
following has been posted several times:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt....4d646b0f3d5?lnk=st&q=&rnum=3#2b41a4d646b0f3d5
or, more manageably
http://tinyurl.com/ywndle
see message #8
The original post may not be a 'real' problem.

----------------

The best information I have seen on surges and surge protection is
available from the
IEEE at:
http://www.mikeholt.com/files/PDF/LightningGuide_FINALpublishedversion_May051.pdf
And from the NIST at
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/practiceguides/surgesfnl.pdf

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 technical background and will
probably be of more interest to people on this newsgroup.

Obviously should have been installed.

w_ is saying plug-in surge suppressors don't work. But both the IEEE
and NIST guide say they are effective. Plug-in suppressors, as
described in the IEEE guide, work by CLAMPING the voltage on all wires
to the common ground at the suppressor. They do not work primarily by
earthing.

Earthing the CATV ground block does not necessarily prevent problems.
If the ground block and power system earthing are not connected in a
"single point ground" voltages between CATV and power can damage
equipment as illustrated in the IEEE guide, starting guide page 31.
(The same can happen with phone wires.) The guide also illustrates how
a plug-in surge suppressor can protect equipment where a single point
ground is not present. As above, the voltage on all wires (signal and
ground) are clamped to the common ground at the suppressor.

I agree fuses are way too slow.

Normal practice is to connect a short earthing wire from CATV and
phone to the earthing wire from the power service close to the power
service. The longer any of these interconnecting wires are when
forming a single point ground the more likely there will be damaging
voltages between systems if a surge hits.

??? The installer is responsible for providing earthing.

If the cable entry point is distant from the electric service it may
not be possible to have a short connection. For 1 & 2 family dwellings
the NEC says 20 feet (with an exception) - not 10 - and the actual
distance to the earthing wire at the power service can be much longer
than that. If it is not possible to get a short connection, the cable
can run adjacent to the power service, a second ground block
installed, and cable distributed from there. The same with phone. Or
as in the example in the IEEE guide, protection can be provided with a
plug-in surge protector.

 

Regarding Corey White - I follow the alt.magic newsgroup where the
following has been posted several times:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt....4d646b0f3d5?lnk=st&q=&rnum=3#2b41a4d646b0f3d5
or, more manageably
http://tinyurl.com/ywndle
see message #8
The original post may not be a 'real' problem.

----------------

The best information I have seen on surges and surge protection is
available from the
IEEE at:
http://www.mikeholt.com/files/PDF/LightningGuide_FINALpublishedversion_May051.pdf
And from the NIST at
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/practiceguides/surgesfnl.pdf

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 technical background and will
probably be of more interest to people on this newsgroup.

Obviously should have been installed.

w_ is saying plug-in surge suppressors don't work. But both the IEEE
and NIST guide say they are effective. Plug-in suppressors, as
described in the IEEE guide, work by CLAMPING the voltage on all wires
to the common ground at the suppressor. They do not work primarily by
earthing.

Earthing the CATV ground block does not necessarily prevent problems.
If the ground block and power system earthing are not connected in a
"single point ground" voltages between CATV and power can damage
equipment as illustrated in the IEEE guide, starting guide page 31.
(The same can happen with phone wires.) The guide also illustrates how
a plug-in surge suppressor can protect equipment where a single point
ground is not present. As above, the voltage on all wires (signal and
ground) are clamped to the common ground at the suppressor.

I agree fuses are way too slow.

Normal practice is to connect a short earthing wire from CATV and
phone to the earthing wire from the power service close to the power
service. The longer any of these interconnecting wires are when
forming a single point ground the more likely there will be damaging
voltages between systems if a surge hits.

??? The installer is responsible for providing earthing.

If the cable entry point is distant from the electric service it may
not be possible to have a short connection. For 1 & 2 family dwellings
the NEC says 20 feet (with an exception) - not 10 - and the actual
distance to the earthing wire at the power service can be much longer
than that. If it is not possible to get a short connection, the cable
can run adjacent to the power service, a second ground block
installed, and cable distributed from there. The same with phone. Or
as in the example in the IEEE guide, protection can be provided with a
plug-in surge protector.

 

The purpose of a circuit box fuse isn't to protect the equipment in
your house, but to stop the
house wiring from overheating and starting a fire.

There's a number of things that can have gone wrong with your "new"
HDTV, from a power surge to a faulty
power supply. If it's "new", then it should be under warranty.

However, most likely, the fault is that your HDTV doesn't actually
exist. Case in point:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt....=CoreyWhite+32"&rnum=1&hl=en#950c7aa9e0d5eb20

In this thread, you report that your HDTV is actually 32". Did it
shrink 5" from the 27" size that you recently reported?