Re: Soon to arrive my HDTV

On Apr 4, 7:18=A0pm, Cinderl...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 (Cinder Lane) wrote:
> W_tom, you have stated many times in this thread that wall receptacles
> do not have earth grounds. =A0What about wall receptacles in concrete
and
> steel buildings? =A0Aren't they in direct contact with earth ground?
>
> Also, for the sake of arguement, let's assume that you are correct --
> that because of high inductance, wall outlets do not have a "true" earth
> ground according to the IEEE definition. =A0Are you saying that ALL
> plug-in surge suppressors offer NO protection whatsoever?

That is precisely what he's saying and what I take issue with. I'm in
agreement on ground being absolutely needed when dealing with
lightning. Not all surges come from mother nature and those are
'easier' to deal with.

I worked at a TV station with a 1000 ft tower - and a 100 ft tall
antenna on top of that - in the midwest for 8+ years Lightning strikes
are common in summer and rarely cause problems. One day we were in the
transmitter building during a particularly nasty storm and one
lighning strike was the loudest bang I ever heard and the flash was
very bright - in a building with no windows!! A driver on a nearby
freeway called and told the receptionist "The WHOLE TOWER TURNED
BLUE". I didn't see it but I believe it. That strike _did_ cause some
problems. The main transmitter faulted out and auto reset. The old RCA
transmitter was not on-line, but had the filaments warmed up 'just in
case'. That surge somehow blew out the 5 volt 200amp filament
transformer for the 6166 10 kW driver tube. That tower was grounded
about as well as it could be in that the tower was built with 3  6"
diameter solid (not hollow) legs grounded with 120 100 foot radials
spaced every 3 degrees of arc. Point is mother nature will always
manage something bigger than anticipated whether floods, winds,
lightning, fires etc.

GG