Monster Clean PowerCenter?

[traverse]

Anyone out there buy a clean powercenter unit for their TV or other devices?? Is it really necessary to put an expensive unit like the one made by Monster just to provide clean power to my TV? Wouldn't a UPS from APC provide clean power??

Well just wondering if anyone has one and if it's beneficial at all to them.

[ZeroDegreeK]

I have heard some people have seen a difference using a 'clean' power source. They claim there is less noise in the picture. They are probably the same people who spend $1000. for cables. I have brought a clean power source home from work and tried it out. I didn't see much of a difference, if any. The brain plays tricks on you. If you pay more for something, you want to see a difference even when there isn't one. I may catch some grief for saying there isn't a difference. Even if there were a difference it would be so minute; would that justify the cost?

[AUMMitsu]

Is it really necessary to put an expensive unit like the one made by Monster just to provide clean power to my TV?

IMO it's a waste of money, and like ZeroDegreeK said, "even if there were a difference it would be so minute; would that justify the cost?"

[kevinw]

If it say MONSTER on it it is way overpriced and not that good, kinda like TERK HD ....Go to home Depot and buy a powerstrip for 30 dollars...:rolleyes:

[ZeroDegreeK]

Originally posted by kevinw
If it say MONSTER on it it is way overpriced and not that good, kinda like TERK HD ....Go to home Depot and buy a powerstrip for 30 dollars...:rolleyes:

Absolutely. All of monster stuff is marketing hype.

Do you really need a UPS? Does the power go out a lot by you? I make due with a surge protector, you know the kind that come with a 50,000 dollar insurance policy. I don't know if they really will pay up if something goes wrong. I guess I need to read the fine print.

[w_tom]

New information to most readers is provided even though it is old technology originally demonstrated by Ben Franklin in 1756, and well understood / explained in 1930s research papers. Cloud to Ground lightning is explained best with figures in the classic "Feynman lectures on physics ". CG Lightning is electricity that must complete a circuit for current to flow - a cloud to ground circuit. However the shortest path is not necessarily the most direct as a human observes. For example, shorter may be a wire strike, rather than to earth underneath, to obtain that ground. The longer path to a human may be the shortest path to electricity called CG lightning.

A direct household strike can occur anywhere on those utility wires - even at the other end of the block. Lightning seeks earth ground. This common mode transient finds a path to earth, destructively, through household appliances. We call that surge damage. To be damaged, the appliance must first have both an incoming and an outgoing (to earth) circuit path. Understanding that principal makes lightning not so capricious.

Since the 1930s, surge protection is based upon the most critical 'system' component - earth ground. Any incoming wire must be earthed before it can enter a building. Ham radio operators learned these lessons by disconnecting an antenna, placing it in a mason jar, and still suffering damage. But when the antenna was earthed, surge damage was eliminated.

Unfortunately, we cannot earth many incoming utilities and still obtain service. So we install a 'whole house' device to make a less than 10 foot connection to earth only during the surge.

A surge protector only shunts (shorts, diverts, redirects, distributes) a surge from one wire to all others. Surge protectors don't stop or absorb surges as is so commonly promoted in urban myths. Effective surge protection earths a wire only during a surge. That is a surge protection 'system'.

The most critical component of a surge protection 'system' is central earth ground. All incoming utilities must connect, directly or through a surge protector, to the same single point ground window - also called MGB, bulkhead, or central earth ground.

Surge damage is directly traceable to human failure. Concepts have been explained, understood, and demonstrated repeatedly since before WWII. This is the bottom line. A surge protector is only as effective as its earth ground. So critical is earthing, that the benchmarks of surge protection discusses grounding extensively in their application notes:
http://www.polyphaser.com/ppc_technical.asp

They are not selling earth ground. They are selling components that make earth ground effective surge protection.

Surge damage is directly traceable to human failure. The most common reason for that failure is humans who forget what they don't see. For example, many will argue over pointed vs blunt air terminals (lightning rods). But the most critical component of that system is buried - earth ground. Like surge protectors, air terminals are only as effective as their earth ground. Serious sites avoided surge damage by addressing the most critical component of a surge protection system:
http://www.harvardrepeater.org/news/lightning.html
http://scott-inc.com/html/ufer.htm
In each case, surge damage was avoided by first addressing earthing. Earthing is critical and discusses extensively where effective surge protection is installed.

Which brings us to overpriced, undersized, overhyped plug-in surge protection which has all but no earth ground. No earth ground means no effective surge protection. So what are they selling? Certainly not effective surge protection since even minimal and effective 'whole house' protection provides more joules, costs less, protects more, AND discusses that critical earth ground. (Joules - not dollars or hyped brand name - measure surge protector quality.)

Plug-in surge protectors are 'system' components disconnected from the rest of the 'system'. No wonder they forget to mention earth ground. If they did, then maybe you would ask some embarrassing questions? By forgetting to mention anything above, they can sell ineffective surge protection at grossly inflated prices promoted by urban myth purveyors.

When the undersized surge protector fails, the naive say a surge protector died to protect the appliance. Reality is that a surge too small to damage the appliance even damaged a grossly undersized surge protector. A properly sized surge protector is not damaged by one surge. But this damage increases sales when the naive makes a recommendation based upon a feel - facts be damned.

Effective components in that plug-in surge protectors cost $0.05 and $0.20. A power strip, sold retail for $3, with some $0.05 components sells for $20+? They could sell that product at profit for $5. But a larger price gets the naive to recommend it as a 'quality' surge protector. Make it undersizes so as to suffer damage, and the naive will recommend to others. Put a larger price on it, hype a name, and the naive will call it quality surge protection.

An excellent benchmark for identifying ineffetive surge protection is no discussion of critical earth ground. Another is the warranty - full of fine print exemptions that are not included in the box. A greater warranty suggests worse protection. Look at cars for example. If a better warranty meant better quality, then Toyota is clearly inferior to Kia and Hyundai. The benchmark of surge protection does not offer a warranty. Do you really believe that undersized plug-in surge protector manufacturer will reinburse for $50,000? Have you read the loopholes? They are not selling effective surge protection. Why then would they sell blanket coverage. They lie by telling half truths. For example, where is the paper that lists all those warranty exemptions?

That Monster and that plug-in UPS (which uses the same surge protection circuits) are not effective surge protection. Obviously since neither discuss earth ground. Plug-in UPS specifications sheets don't even claim common mode transient protection. Why is this obvious? A surge protector is only as effective as its earth ground. That is your bottom line.

All incoming lines to the building, including CATV, satellite dish, and AC electric require 'whole house' surge protection. Phone lines already have such protection - which those urban myth purveyors forget to mention. You are not just protecting an HDTV. Effective surge protection protects all appliances at 10, 20 or even 50 times less cost per appliance. Yes, that Monster is that overpriced as well as undersized and ineffective. Why? A surge protector is only as effective as its earth ground.

[kevinw]

So what you are saying is if you want to use it as amultiplug to connect more than one appliance fine but if you expect lightening protection "forgedaboudit"

[ZeroDegreeK]

I didn't mean to imply that my surge protector was better because it carried a $50,000 warranty. It isn't. It was a joke about the whole surge protector industry. I know I will never see any money from APC or Monster if my equipment gets fried when plugged into their strip.

Truth be told, that $50,000. warranty power strip cost me 20 bucks over at Home Depot, and that is the most I would ever spend. I only use it to give me extra outlets for all the plugs hanging out of everything. To protect my $1000s of dollars of electronic equipment I have homeowners insurance, with a power surge rider. It's the only way to be 100% safe.

By the way, most homeowners policies here in Texas only cover you for lightning strikes, not power surges. Without the rider, you have to demonstrate that it was lightning that caused the surge.

[kevinw]

ZDK You and I said the same thing...:D

I am standing in line for the Monster and Terk brands now:D

[w_tom]

Originally posted by kevinw
So what you are saying is if you want to use it as amultiplug to connect more than one appliance fine but if you expect lightening protection "forgedaboudit"
A plug mole with its important 15 amp circuit breaker costs less than $3 at Walmart. Some of those $20 plug-in surge protectors are missing so much (too few joules) as to also not include the necessary 15 amp circuit breaker.

Minimal and effective residential AC electric surge protection cost about $1 per protected appliance. How much for that ineffective power strip? $20 per appliance? Grossly overpriced as well as undersized.

The bottom line, lightning should never damage any appliance AND the surge protector must withstand a direct lightning strike and remain operational. It is required for HDTV, X-10 controllers, GFCI outlets, telephone answering machines and modems, kitchen computers such as microwave ovens, dimmer switches, garage door openeer, and front porch timer light switches. All contain transistors. Unfortunately, we still don't build new homes as if the transistor exists (see those Ufer ground hyperlinks cited previously). Therefore a homeowner must retrofit effective 'whole house' surge protection.