so show us this $1 protector..
If you want to deny reality, then distort what was posted. Meanwhile the post actually said:
"Your effective protector costs about $1 per protected appliance - so that even direct lightning strikes do not damage your dishwasher, furnace, dimmer switches, and other expensive electronics."
Read what was posted (reality) rather than entertain your emotions.
Those scary pictures have been observed by most fire departments. Even a NC fire marshal defines the problem - reasons for fire.
However if your emotions need to label others liars, then don't forget to accuse Norma. She posted on 27 Dec 2008 in alt.fiftyplus entitled "The Power Outage":
> Today, the cable company came to replace a wire. Well the cable
> man pulled a wire and somehow yanked loose their "ground" wire.
> The granddaughter on the computer yelled and ran because sparks
> and smoke were coming from the power surge strip.
This problem does not exist because even Fire Departments stage fires to lie? What happens when a 600 joule protector must absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules?
The
www.rb2.com citation is but one of many that describe the problem with protectors designed to optiimize on price. A problem when the protector is not designed for protection. When it does not even claim protection in numeric specs.
Listed were many responsible sources of effective protectors for about $1 per protected appliance. Essential to protection is where energy gets dissipated. In every case, a protector is only as effective as its earth ground - where that energy must be absorbed. Too many view protection in terms of a magic box. That magic box is only a connecting device. A device that does nothing if disconnected from what provides protection. As the NIST says on page 17:
> The best surge protection in the world can be useless if grounding
> is not done properly.
A long list of other citations demonstrate what has been known and well proven for over 100 years. For example QST (the ARRL) in July 2002:
QST July 2002 "Lightning Protection for the Amateur Radio Station - Part 2"
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0207048.pdf
Also in file: QST_LightningProtectionPart2.pdf
> The purpose of the ground connection is to take the energy arriving on the antenna
> feed line cables and control lines (and to a lesser extent on the power and telephone
> lines) and give it a path back to the earth, our energy sink. The impedance of the
> ground connection should be low so the energy prefers this path and is dispersed
> harmlessly. To achieve a low impedance the ground connection needs to be short
> (distance), straight, and wide. ...
> The goal is to make the ground path leading away from the SPGP more desirable
> than any other path.
Kenneth Schneider PhD writes:
> As previously mentioned, the connection to earth ground can not be over emphasized. ...
>Conceptually, lightning protection devices are switches to ground. Once a threatening
> surge is detected, a lightning protection device grounds the incoming signal
> connection point of the equipment being protected. Thus, redirecting the threatening
> surge on a path-of-least resistance (impedance) to ground where it is absorbed.
>Any lightning protection device must be composed of two "subsystems," a switch
> which is essentially some type of switching circuitry and a good ground connection
> -to allow dissipation of the surge energy. The switch, of course, dominates the design
> and the cost. Yet, the need for a good ground connection can not be emphasized
> enough. Computer equipment has been damaged by lightning, not because of the
> absence of a protection device, but because inadequate attention was paid to grounding
> the device properly.
From
www.lightningsafety.com
> 3. Bonding
> Without proper bonding, all other elements of the LPs are useless. Bonding
> of all metallic conductors in a dispatch facility assures everything is at equal
> potential. When lightning strikes, all grounded equipment will rise and fall equipotentially.
> This eliminates the unequal voltages in separate sensitive signal and data systems.
> Bonding should connect all conductors to the same "Mother Earth." ... Not convinced
> bonding is important? Check out NEC 250.90 through 250.106 for more details.
> 4. Grounding
> Low-resistance grounding provides an efficient destination for the
> "lightning beast." If your site soils are composed of sand or rock, they are resistive,
> not conductive. If your surrounding soils are of clay or dirt, they may be conductive.
> "Good grounds" are achieved by volumetric efficiencies. We recommend buried
> bare 4/0 copper wire – the so called ring electrode or ring ground.
> Cadwelding© security fences, tower legs, and other adjacent metallics to the buried
> ring will improve grounding. NEC 250 describes other grounding designs such as
> rods, plates, water pipes (beware of plastic pipes underground), metal frame
> of buildings, and concrete-encased electrodes. Choose your grounding design
> based upon localized conditions and the amount of available real estate at your
> location. NEC 250.56 suggests a target earth resistivity number of 25 ohms.
> Lower is better.
Electrical Code vs. Good RF Grounding by K9KJM (Bill Otten) on November 22, 2003
> Those who say "nothing will withstand a direct lightning strike" are very misinformed.
> My towers take direct lightning hits most every big storm. So do most all tall
> commercial towers. With NO damage!
An ABB video demonstrates surge protection:
http://tinyurl.com/2bwlhn
MIL-STD-188-124B: "Grounding, Bonding and Shielding"
> The facility ground system forms a direct path of known low voltage impedance
> between earth and the various power and communications equipments. This
> effectively minimizes voltage differentials on the ground plane which exceed
> a value that will produce noise or interference to communications circuits. ...
> The resistance to earth of the earth electrode subsystem should not exceed 10
> ohms at fixed permanent facilities.
A tutorial on some of the basics:
http://members.cox.net/pc-usa/station/grounding.htm
"Fundamentals on Lightning Protection Grounding and Surge Suppression"
