Phone Line Filters

[Wtcher]

Recently, somebody tried to sell me on a surge protector with a phone line filter. Apparently, it's supposed to rid connection noise and, thusly, speed connection rates. Apparently, phone lines aren't actually grounded, which would explain why dancing with lightning isn't so fun. '>

I also suspect that it's really a Monster Cable sort of thing in that I won't really see any concrete benefit, but I decided that it'd be nice if I actually started a discussion once in a while. ^_~

So - what do you folk think?

[Benjamin]

My surge protector bar has one of those in it. It's true that you can get your modem destroyed, and possibly more, if a surge came down along the phone line during and electrical storm. I think I've had that happen to friends. Might not be a bad idea to protect yourself. Phone lines don't carry much of a charge, but it's enough to fry the typical sensitive computer component or two.
 
Benjamin

[Wtcher]

Yes... I had that happen to my last modem. '> I unplugged my computer but forgot about the phoneline. I do need to get a new surge protector/powerbar, though... mine is missing its ground prong. >_<

Afterward, I could hear operators or some such talking via phone + modem. No longer do I have the modem, however.

[WhiteShepherd]

My experience is the phone surge protector will not help with speed.  But what it can do if a decent one is protect against surges.  

However NOTHING will protect you from a lighting strike.  Just way to much power.  However if you don't go cheapo on your surge protector/UPS (UPS's are much much bettor protection) you will get a warrantee against lighting strikes with a good surge strip that will cover your whole computer.  Triplite and APC are both good from past experience in replacing whole computers with little difficulty (a surge strip from them should run you about $25).  Just keep your receipt and make sure no cords bypass the surge strip (all phone and power MUST go through it or a surge can bypass your strip).

Another good point is to make sure you have a working "ground" on your electrical outlet.  Your surge protector/ups will route any surges into the ground.  Thus if it is not there you lose a lot of your protection.

Finally there is a big difference between a UPS and a surge protector.  A surge protector will only protect you from power spikes.  It has crystals that will absorb the excess load and ground it out.  However they can only absorb so much before they stop protecting.  So a surge protector has a finite life span.  

A UPS has rechargeable batteries.  Whenever the power is not perfect a relay switches your computer "off" of the main power to run off of the batteries.  When it sees power has returned to normal the relay switches your computer back to main power.  This kind of protection is much better as it protects you from brown outs which can lead to instability and data corruption as well as power spikes (which can damage or shorten the life span of your computers chips).  You also only have to replace the batteries every 4-6 years on norm (A place here sells them for $8-$12).  A UPS's used to run in the hundreds of dollars.  Now if caught on sale you can easily find a nice one for $30-$40.  There are "regulated" UPS's for more expensive setups but those are much more expensive.

Note: When choosing a UPS pick one that has big enough batteries to support the power drain of your computer.  UPS's are rated on how much volt amps they can safely put out (VA ratting).  The higher the VA ratting the longer the batteries will last in a outage.  A quick way on the fly to estimate VA's needed is to multiply the wattage of all devices you have by x1.5.  Your VA ratting should match or exceed that.  Example: My computer: 200 watts + Monitor 100 watts.  My printer I will plug into the surge strip that comes with the UPS since that does not need to drain the batteries.  So: (200+100)*1.5=450  A 450VA UPS should give me 5-10 minuets backup power.  Enough to save my data in case of power outage, brown outs/flickers.  A bigger UPS would of course be better if I can afford it.  Furtopia due to it's reliability importance runs on a 18,800VA commercial UPS.  

[Skunki]

i think it is necessary, i tried using my dsl without one and all the electronics made a humming sound. it got annoying so i just used the filters that were provided.

[Kataze]

Quote (Wtcher @ June 25 2003, 1:03 am)

Recently, somebody tried to sell me on a surge protector with a phone line filter. Apparently, it's supposed to rid connection noise and, thusly, speed connection rates. Apparently, phone lines aren't actually grounded, which would explain why dancing with lightning isn't so fun. '> I also suspect that it's really a Monster Cable sort of thing in that I won't really see any concrete benefit, but I decided that it'd be nice if I actually started a discussion once in a while. ^_~ So - what do you folk think?

These aren't to reduce connection noise, they are to ground phonelines, to help protect against surges coming through your phone.