Surge Suppressor

Surge Suppressor

Are there surge supressors/protectors that are 110-240v that do international voltage conversion?

I am moving to Asia, and I was thinking about getting a surge suppressor/protector (the kind with about 6 outlets), and then plugging that into a voltage converter.

But are there surge protectors that already have the voltage conversion built-in, so that all you need to do is get a simple and cheap adapter (the thing that doesn't convert voltage but just makes the plug fit the socket)?

Thanks!

Well for most people, "surge suppressor" means those cheap little things that look like a power strip and cost under $100US. Right? Those won't convert power. There's not enough stuff in 'em to be able to do it.

OK -- step #1 is look at your computer equipment's specifications. Many systems have power supplies capable of taking both 120V and 240V directly. So check. For those components, get a 240V surge suppressor and the right power cord, and you're done.

For instance on my system, all my big stuff takes 120V or 240V. The problem would be the little power bricks that run my accessories. Most of those have a 120V transformer in them, and can't be converted. Maybe I could buy 240V power bricks cheaper than a voltage converter, hard to say.

If you want a surge suppressor that also converts power, you'll need a more advanced product. This will be heavy (18kg/40lb ++) because it will either contain a transformer, or a battery. For instance, the more advanced UPS's convert from AC to DC and back to AC... and in the AC-DC conversion, they use the same kind of switching power supplies that PC's use. Those could easily be 120/240V, but it'll take some shopping to find one.

How GPS Can be Used for Pc Time Synchronisation

The GPS system is a global navigation system maintained by the United States military. The system consists of 24 Earth orbiting satellites, which can provide precise time, and positioning information anywhere on the face of the globe. This article provides an overview of how the GPS system can be used for computer time synchronisation solutions and describes the equipment required to provide a GPS time reference.

Each Earth orbiting GPS satellite has a highly accurate precisely synchronised real time clock onboard. This clock is used to calculate precise positioning through a triangulation technique. However, the GPS system clock can also be used for precise computer time synchronisation applications.

Each GPS satellite continously transmits positioning and timing data. The time and position information can be obtained anywhere on the face of the planet with a GPS receiver and antenna. GPS works in all whether conditions, anywhere in the world. The only costs involved in using the GPS system is equipment costs, there are no ongoing subscription fees. Many computer and network time synchronisation systems, such as NTP Server systems, utilise GPS as an accurate external timing reference.

GPS receivers are primarily designed to provide highly accurate positioning information. Typically, a GPS receiver can provide positioning information to an accuracy of better than 10m. Many GPS systems can also provide timing information to a resolution of a few nanoseconds.

The GPS signal transmitted from the satellites is a very weak low-power radio signal, with designated bands L1 and L2. Band L1 is designated as the civilian GPS band transmitted at 1575.42 MHz. The broadcast radio signals travel by line of sight and pass through clouds, glass and plastics but are blocked by objects such as metal and brick. Ideally, a GPS antenna should be located with the best view of the sky possible. Quite often, however, an antenna installed with a restricted view of the sky can still provide a regular signal lock. As a rule, the better the view of the sky, the more consistent the signal lock.

GPS antennas act as amplifiers to boost the weak GPS signal for transmission along a cable, usually coax, to a GPS receiver. GPS antennas provided with computer time synchronisation equipment generally utilise a pole-mounting system. The antenna screws to a threaded pole for installation on rooftops. The pole mount allows the antenna to be fixed permanently to a fixed wall mount and provides a sturdy mount. Most GPS antennas are compact devices which can easily be mounted in an unobtrusive manner. Patch type antenna's are a cheaper alternative, but they are generally of a inferior quality and can be more difficult to mount securely.

The cable distance between a GPS antenna and receiver can be critical. Cable distance is largely dependant on the gain, or amplification, of the GPS antenna and the cable losses. A typical GPS antenna may have 36 db of amplification; typical low quality coax (RG58) has an attenuation of 0.64db/m at 1575MHz. Therefore, a cable run of up to, but not beyond, 55m can be used. High quality cables with lower attenuation losses can be used for longer cable distances. Additionally, GPS amplifiers can be utilised to increase the signal gain to extend cable runs even further.

GPS surge suppressors protect expensive time synchronisation equipment from lightning strikes and other potential electro-static discharges. A suppressor is mounted in-line on the GPS cable at the point where the antenna cable enters the building. To install, a suppressor only requires a low-impedance ground connection to dump any electro-static discharge.

To conclude, the Global Positioning System provides a precise and flexible solution to computer network time synchronisation.

About the Author

D. Evans provide a technical authoring resource to a number of computer network time and frequency companies. Please click here for more useful information on network time synchronisation.

Surge Suppressor

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