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surge protectors and voltage regulators


InVeNtOr

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whats everyones opinion on panamax 5300 or 5400?  or just panamax in general...

I have a Panamax 5100. It's been in service for about 18 months. I never used my system without it, so I really don't know if it's doing anything or not. The blue lights look nice, and the outlets on the back are very handy. I have had no issues.

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okay, just spoke to APC and Tripp Lite. to me this doesn't make sence but according to the tech support people this is true.

apc- the power strip (C10BLK) = rack mount unit (H15BLK) as far as power conditioning/ filtering/ noise reduction goes. the only difference is the stip doesn't have the voltage regulation. from what tech support told me, the voltage regulation sucks. you would have to spike up to 136v or down to 92v or something crazy like that and it keeps it with in a certain percentage. so basically from what i understand and what i thought it would do is correct a voltage reading of 117v down to 115v and keep with in .01v. i guess i had that technology all wrong....

tripp lite- same thing the HTPOWERBAR10 = HT7300PC. he said the differences you won't even tell.

i am not saying it's not worth the money, just the filter technology is the same. one of the bigger differences is in the power strips all the outlets are conditioned seperatly, so the powerbar10 has 10 bays where as the ht7300pc has on 3 bays. that is something that really threw me for a loop.

is this information correct? i would think the tech support is wrong, but they should be the ones who know.

btw i found out from apc if you want the H15 (silver) right now it's only $169.

i am going to call furman tomarrow and see if their power strips and rack mounts have the same filter technology. after that i will make a decision. i hope this helps someone else.

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When all is said and done I will still stand by the UPS RS 1500 at ~$275. I'll admit that it is a stepped sine wave system, but it's better than no sine wave correction (as in basic surge protectors...) It will do everything the rack surge units will do, but has that battery system for the weird "events" that can get you shut down safely. JMHO

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don't let me convince you other wise...if that works for you great...i am just trying to figure out the power surge technology and what to get and what not to get. i can't see using the AVR technology because it's too wide in values. you power to your house would have to be really unstable. i think i would get ahold of the power company and put in a line conditioner from the poll to correct that problem.

i may go the cheaper route and get a power strip and hide it at the rear of my et center on a shelf. i still have see what is out there.....

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I own ths APC H10...I'm very happy with it. Ithink ive had it for like 4 months now...I couldn't believe how much of a tank it was when i pulled it out of the box..If your rite up on the unit you will here a faint click when the line trimming or line boost is activated....

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I've been using a pair of Tripp Lite surge protectors for a couple of years, an Isobar Ultra 6 for the power amps and sub and an Isobar Ultra 8 for the rest of the components. They appear to be very well-made, with metal cases, and I noticed an immediate improvement in the TV picture, in that the blacks were blacker, possibly from noise being filtered out.

The idea of separate filter banks appealed to me as well, so the digital components, like the DVD/CD player, wouldn't pass their digital noise to the other units, and the Class D amps would keep their noise to themselves as well.

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Those look like they'd protect nicely against surges, but it's also good to have some filtration against electrical noise, plus some components, notably digital ones like CD and DVD players, send out their own noise and a whole house protector wouldn't catch that.

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well since i really don't know what a 12v trigger is, i am getting the furman pst-8d. with everything hooked up i still have 3 outlets left, so i don't need the 10d. the tech guy told me he has plugged digital and analog equipement in the same circuit and there was no distortion, so basically it doesn't matter that there is only 2 seperate bays. price isn't bad either, i fount it for $115. if i can buy the rest of the stuff (speakers, sub, tv) for less than planned, i may spring for the 15pfi.

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what about whole house protectors that connect directly to the panel such as

http://www.squared.com/us/products/surge_protection.nsf/unid/DFD1DBCD6854AFA685256A78006DD636/$file/surgebreakerplusTech.htm

under $200 available at HomeDepot

Point of entry protection has pro's and con's. Most manufactures of these advocate using both a point of entry and local protection on each device. There are surges created in the home that could exist on the same circut as your equipment. If your equipment is in the middle of the line, the surge source on one end, and the whole house protection on the other end...the surge has to pass your gear to get to the whole house protection device.

Pro's and con's. Good for point of entry protection from outside surges. You still need a local surge protector. The point of entry devices are actually helping your neighbors on your dime since your clamping surges for them as well.

Mouse sells a 60mm MOV that was the largest I found. I'm using 4 of them at my main as a point of entry device. These things wear out as they absorb jolts so the larger the MOV, the longer they will likely last. Some of the after market devices have very small MOV's that will not last long at all. I blow the small ones all the time when using power tools.

There's a new player in town that users capacitors in stean of MOV's. The capacitor approach is an off shoot of the power factor correction scheme used by many comercial sites.

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what about whole house protectors that connect directly to the panel such as

http://www.squared.com/us/products/surge_protection.nsf/unid/DFD1DBCD6854AFA685256A78006DD636/$file/surgebreakerplusTech.htm

under $200 available at HomeDepot

Point of entry protection has pro's and con's. Most manufactures of these advocate using both a point of entry and local protection on each device. There are surges created in the home that could exist on the same circut as your equipment. If your equipment is in the middle of the line, the surge source on one end, and the whole house protection on the other end...the surge has to pass your gear to get to the whole house protection device.

Pro's and con's. Good for point of entry protection from outside surges. You still need a local surge protector. The point of entry devices are actually helping your neighbors on your dime since your clamping surges for them as well.

Mouse sells a 60mm MOV that was the largest I found. I'm using 4 of them at my main as a point of entry device. These things wear out as they absorb jolts so the larger the MOV, the longer they will likely last. Some of the after market devices have very small MOV's that will not last long at all. I blow the small ones all the time when using power tools.

There's a new player in town that users capacitors in stean of MOV's. The capacitor approach is an off shoot of the power factor correction scheme used by many comercial sites.

Not sure what you mean by surge in the middle of the line. I have run 2 separate 12 gauge wire just for the HT room on 2 separate breakers. One I plan to use for the main HT receiver and amps and the other for other source gear etc. I do have lots of shop power tools but I dont listen to my lascalas while cutting wood!!! My understanding is that the surges are comming from outside the house and the whole house will protect from those as well as any surges taht may come from, say the washing mashine and heat pump. Anyway. HT room still just 2x4 so I have some time to research more!

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