Storms destroying modems

[HerbalEd]

When you ask for help like this, and actually expect answers, you need to give full details.

[JetsetBkk]

UPS's won't help you with a phone line lightning strike because the lightning is coming in on your phone/xDSL line and not the power line.

My UPS has phone line in and out sockets. I presumed that would offer some protection too.

But I always unplug everything when the flash and bang from the storms are simultaneous .

[Pib]

UPS's won't help you with a phone line lightning strike because the lightning is coming in on your phone/xDSL line and not the power line.

My UPS has phone line in and out sockets. I presumed that would offer some protection too.

But I always unplug everything when the flash and bang from the storms are simultaneous .

Yea, as soon as I made my post I thought to myself "some" UPSs have phone line surge protectors...just as some power strips have phone line surge protectors. But generally the typical UPS and surge protector strips are limited to power line surges.

And then assuming you are using the same UPS to power your computer that you want to hook your phone line to also, then the POS has to be within a reasonable distance of both which wouldn't work for some folks if they are using Wifi and have the computer(s) a good distance from their modem/router...like maybe on different floors in a house...different rooms, etc.

A person can pick up phone line surge protectors cheap in most stores that sell phone misc stuff....I've seen them in Lotus...and I bought mine in an Amorn Store. Probably every bit as good or better than what comes in some UPS/power strips.

[MediaWatcher]

Run it off a UPS, get one with surge protection.

Whether UPS or any other form of protection... you MUST have a good earth, otherwise, kaput.

[Don Mega]

Run it off a UPS, get one with surge protection.

Whether UPS or any other form of protection... you MUST have a good earth, otherwise, kaput.

Nothing here in my house is earth and Ive been through some awesome storms without loosing on single electrical item.

[Don Mega]

Run it off a UPS, get one with surge protection.

Whether UPS or any other form of protection... you MUST have a good earth, otherwise, kaput.

Nothing here in my house is earth and Ive been through some awesome storms without loosing on single electrical item.

[Pib]

Run it off a UPS, get one with surge protection.

Whether UPS or any other form of protection... you MUST have a good earth, otherwise, kaput.

Nothing here in my house is earth and Ive been through some awesome storms without loosing on single electrical item.

And you can thank that to luck and/or good lightning protection/grounding on the area/soi power lines.

In my moobaan when I first moved in around 8 years ago it was not uncommon for portions of the moobaan to lose power during a thunderstorm caused by a lightning strike on a power pole/line in the moobaan causing some big fuse on the lines to blow...had to wait for the electric company to come out and replace/reset the breaker on the pole. Then around 5 years ago the electric company come in an put metal "fingers" (like little lightning rods) on all the poles that had transformers mounted. Haven't had a power outage since during thunderstorms. Expect the little metals fingers act to keep the poles/transformers at an electrical potential that helps prevent lightning from striking them.

[Don Mega]

Run it off a UPS, get one with surge protection.

Whether UPS or any other form of protection... you MUST have a good earth, otherwise, kaput.

Nothing here in my house is earth and Ive been through some awesome storms without loosing on single electrical item.

And you can thank that to luck and/or good lightning protection/grounding on the area/soi power lines.

In my moobaan when I first moved in around 8 years ago it was not uncommon for portions of the moobaan to lose power during a thunderstorm caused by a lightning strike on a power pole/line in the moobaan causing some big fuse on the lines to blow...had to wait for the electric company to come out and replace/reset the breaker on the pole. Then around 5 years ago the electric company come in an put metal "fingers" (like little lightning rods) on all the poles that had transformers mounted. Haven't had a power outage since during thunderstorms. Expect the little metals fingers act to keep the poles/transformers at an electrical potential that helps prevent lightning from striking them.

I get many brownouts and a few complete blackouts. Nothing dead yet.

[Daffy D]

Some time ago during a storm my modem and phone were saved by the surge protector in the CPU.

I removed the little pcb board that was the surge protector and had it repaired at Phantip. Just needed a couple of little resistors replacing cost 20฿ as I recall.

As already stated surge protectors are available and well worth the investment.

[Don Mega]

Some time ago during a storm my modem and phone were saved by the surge protector in the CPU.

CPU ?

how did that protect anything ?

[Daffy D]

Some time ago during a storm my modem and phone were saved by the surge protector in the CPU.

CPU ?

how did that protect anything ?

OOPPS!!

Sorry meant to say UPS

[sandyf]

is it plugged directly into mains power or a UPS ?

It used to be plugged into a UPS, but they were still destroyed - so I bought a 'power surge protector' extension lead, and they were still destroyed by every far-away storm.

Sunday a.m. (I still had a TOT modem) I was on the computer and heard thunder in the distance, so immediately turned off the computer and modem (which was still fine) before unplugging the modem. In the couple of seconds between turning the modem off and unplugging it was destroyed - as I discovered when all signs of thunder had gone and so plugged it back in .

It makes me think that lightning is hitting a TOT overhead wire somewhere far away, and travelling down the line to a TOT modem that has no protection?

I gave up (when the TOT office told me they'd run out of modems - come back tomorrow), and bought a modem from a shop. There's a storm somewhere nearby (can hear the thunder in the distance), but I've deliberately not turned off the modem to see whether it is just the TOT modems that are destroyed by distant storms.

So far, so good - fingers crossed.

I have lost 2 modems in lightning storms and in both cases it was the ADSL port that was taken out, UPS didn't do much good.

I was with TOT at the time and it was a TP link modem so I just took it along to the TP Link shop and they change it free of charge as there is a lifetime warranty. First time it happened I paid a couple of hundred baht and got a much better model than had been supplied by TOT.

[khomlong1]

Run it off a UPS, get one with surge protection.

My UPS was an APC - an American and expensive UPS. I got fed up with the normal, cheap UPSs that had to be replaced every couple of years, and so thought it would be more sensible to pay far more for something that would last longer.

I bought another APC UPS for the TV system, but he TV streaming device connected to the internet was also destroyed a couple of times.... It didn't work for the TV system either i.e. the TV still cut out when the power cut out.

Any recommendations for a good UPS? A genuine question, although I don't think it would make any difference to the TOT modems being destroyed by every distant storm....

[khomlong1]

I use an APC 1100 UPS . My modem (TP-Link) has never failed during a thunderstorm. About B10000 from Banana IT.

[sandyf]

I use an APC 1100 UPS . My modem (TP-Link) has never failed during a thunderstorm. About B10000 from Banana IT.

Not surprising, the newer TP-Link modems have built in lightning protection but again it is on the power side.

The risk of ADSL problems in a storm vary to great extent on where you live.

[jacko45k]

What kind of modem? ADSL or Cable or Fiber? If a phone line perhaps the line is not grounded at entry point to house (Old TOT lines often were not). Have you lost telephones if on a normal phone line?

I have not lost a modem ever and have been using here since internet first became available to those outside universities.

Yes my old TOT ADSL line had lightning protection but it appeared to have been bent out of the way...... still I didn;t have any issues when it was stormy and I do not use a UPS. Just an extension bar that claims to have surge protection.

[sandyf]

What kind of modem? ADSL or Cable or Fiber? If a phone line perhaps the line is not grounded at entry point to house (Old TOT lines often were not). Have you lost telephones if on a normal phone line?

I have not lost a modem ever and have been using here since internet first became available to those outside universities.

That's a good point, wasn't aware that was necessary. I am fairly certain that our line is not grounded at the house. When we built the house about 6 years ago there were no lines available so we paid TOT to move the line from my father in laws house to ours. Then when we moved to 3BB they used the same line, just cut it at the TOT box and moved it to theirs.

It doesn't bother me a great deal, I have 2 modems and if I lose one just put on the spare. It only means popping over to Sri Ratcha to get the faulty one replaced.

[Pib]

Don't confuse an ADSL "Filter" with a phone/ADSL Surge protector. A surge protector will say surge protector and looks something like the first image below...usually has one input and one output.

But a filter (filters the phone and internet signals) which pretty much comes standard when they install an ADSL plan looks something like the second image below...usually has one input but two outputs for phone and ADSL and will say filter on it.

The two devices do two completely different things...the filter does not provide any surge protection and the surge protector does not provide any signal filtering. But I expect they do make combo ones but I never seen one.

Image 1 - Surge Protector

Image 2- ADSL Filter

[JetsetBkk]

Don't confuse an ADSL "Filter" with a phone/ADSL Surge protector. A surge protector will say surge protector and looks something like the first image below...usually has one input and one output.

But a filter (filters the phone and internet signals) which pretty much comes standard when they install an ADSL plan looks something like the second image below...usually has one input but two outputs for phone and ADSL and will say filter on it.

The two devices do two completely different things...the filter does not provide any surge protection and the surge protector does not provide any signal filtering. But I expect they do make combo ones but I never seen one.

Image 1 - Surge Protector

Capture2.JPG

Image 2- ADSL Filter

Capture.JPG

For 3BB customers, there's no splitter as there's no phone!

Edit:

Anyone want any splitters? I've got a box full.

Edited May 27, 2016 by JetsetBkk

[Don Mega]

For 3BB customers, there's no splitter as there's no phone!

Edit:

Anyone want any splitters? I've got a box full.

Am on True adsl.

No splitter for me either.

Naked DSL for the win !!

Edited May 27, 2016 by Don Mega

[Pib]

You don't need the filter unless there is also a phone on the line. The filter is meant to prevent the phone from interfering with the ADSL signal which impacts its performance. Not uncommon for ADSL service to not include phone service; just internet service so the filter would not be needed. But like my previous TOT ADSL service I had phone service on the same line so the filter was needed to help reduce interference between the phone and internet signals. All depends on the type of service you have.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Pib