[SWLUG] Linux mobile broadband advice please

[Dave Cridland]

On Tue Aug  2 10:10:31 2011, Neil Greenwood wrote:
> Telephone hardware at each end of the lines are designed to cope  
> with
> any current generated in the wires. BTW, that's why the emergency  
> number
> isn't 111, which would have been quicker to dial - noise on the line
> frequently used to generate spurious '1' dialling pulses!
> 
> 
No, that was to prevent the dialling pulses generated from lines  
touching in high wind, not lightning strikes.

If you get a lightning strike on a phone line, that can blow a modem  
(including your DSL modem) unless you've got a surge protector  
capable of dumping the excess current to earth.

> Network hardware really needs surge protectors at each end of an  
> outdoor
> cable to protect it from any surges.

I'd expect this to be less important than the phone line, actually,  
if it's run horizontally at ground level. It's certainly a good idea,  
but in general I wouldn't be running around in pure panic over it.  
Just disconnect it if you hear thunder.

Which is generally a good idea with most electronics that aren't  
running through a surge protector.

Dave.
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