I had a whole-house surge arrester installed a few years ago.

Does anyone know if there is a similar item that I can place outside my home to protect against electrical surges entering through the telephone line? Lightning has struck my phone line twice.

-- walt (longyear@shentel.net), December 03, 1999

Answers

I ordered a couple of these American Power units through a local computer dealer and installed them where the phone lines enter my house to protect all phones and modems. I noticed no difference in data connect speeds on the modems.

Link

They take a standard telephone connector in and out. If you have 2 lines wired on a single connector, they will protect both lines.

-- John (jh@NotReal.ca), December 03, 1999.

At Wal-mart I found surge protectors; an installed them on computer, telephone and TV.

-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), December 03, 1999.

for phone lines, I would recommend the "Panamax" line of surge suppressors. they have an excellent warrantee on the equipment that they "protect" and I have yet to cash in on it.

I had a fax machine that kept blowing it's internal fuse everytime there was an interruption in the electricity. A spike I presume.

I tried 2 other phone-line/120vac surge suppressors and this one was the only one that worked. that doesn't mean the others are junk, I just stopped shopping when I solved the problem.

I'm sure Panamax has a web-site, don't know where tho...

I believe they are obtainable at OfficeMax and OfficeDepot.

-- plonk! (realaddress@hotmail.com), December 03, 1999.

I owned a computer retail business for 10 years and can say that both American Power and Panamax make very good surge suppressors. There are quite a few more components in their surge suppressors than in the 'el cheapo' units that one typically finds at local hardware stores, etc.

The rule hasn't been repealed yet, you usually get the quality you pay for. :-))

-- John (jh@NotReal.ca), December 04, 1999.