Is it recommended or discouraged to run Dish receivers through a surge protector? I'm referring to the power strip type. I read pros and cons (mostly cons) here and elsewhere. And...after having been a Dish customer for several years, I finally read the red tag attached to the end of the receiver's power cord:

"Plug into a standard wall-outlet or use a HomePlug compatible surge-protected strip ONLY."

How important is it to adhere to that tag's statement?

Where are or what are HomePlug compatible protectors? I could not find on on Dish's website.

Eric

It all honestly depends. Depending on the receiver you have, a surge protector has many cons. A lot of the time depending on the surge protector, you might turn it off at night for instance. That isn't good, for the receiver receives updates. Also, if you're set up with a Dish Comm or Slinglink for instance, a surge protector won't allow the receiver to connect to the internet. Just because you don't have an ethernet cable or wireless adapter connected to the receiver, does not mean it's not connected to the internet. The technology exists where it shares the internet through the power cable of some boxes, like the 722k. Plugging it to the internet is not required, but highly recommended. It provides better customer service, more software updates for the box, etc. Dish Network randomly hits boxes to make sure they're working properly, so hooking it to the internet is highly helpful. Dish Network also wants to know if EVERY account is hooked up to either a phone line, or internet. As a sub here in Georgia, we have to report such things. Even if we have to go out on a service call.

Now, if you're worried about losing the box to electrical damage, just make sure to have the service plan on your account and to replace a box it should only cost $15 for the tech visit fee.

If you are connected via Ethernet, I would use the surge protector. If you are using powerline networking, it may or may not work and it is probably best to go straight to the wall.

You would be very surprised how much money it costs you at the end of the year by leaving electronic components plugged into a power source 24/7. I use a surge protector but leave my 722 independently plugged into a outlet thus allowing me to disconnect everything in my home theater system at night. I do the same thing with my computer and attached components. Hey, electricity is not getting any cheaper.

I use APC brand battery backup/surge protectors on my computer, TV, sat receivers, and AV receiver. My 722 is connected to the internet via ethernet and I have never had a problem. Plus, when the power blinks which is quite often hear in NW Florida, I do not lose recording and my equipment is protected.

My power blinks with some regularity usually when the weather is acting up. This causes my TV and receiver to go into reboot. During these periods of rapid power on/power off's the power levels fluctuate as well. I resolved this by employing an APC S10 power conditioner. A little pricey but IMO worth it. Now when the power blinks the TV keeps on going.

Local installer insisted that the vip models be connected directly to wall outlet.He claimed that they required more voltage to run properly.Since I carry the dish warranty plan left the 612 connected straight and connected the 622 straight as well.

As long as you're not using HomePlug networking then I'd recommend plugging it in to a surge protector. I have all of my equipment plugged into APC surge protectors/UPSs and I haven't had any issues at all. Oh and I disagree with cutting off the power to all of your equipment entirely each evening, it really doesn't save you that much in electricity and it causes more problems than the very few pennies than you save.

+1

Local installer insisted that the vip models be connected directly to wall outlet.He claimed that they required more voltage to run properly.Since I carry the dish warranty plan left the 612 connected straight and connected the 622 straight as well.

That's are really good joke. The voltage is no higher from the wall outlet. :haha:haha

Local installer insisted that the vip models be connected directly to wall outlet.He claimed that they required more voltage to run properly.Since I carry the dish warranty plan left the 612 connected straight and connected the 622 straight as well.

That's a load of crap. The only reason for the tag on the cord is because of the DishComm networking. Most surge protectors filter that stuff out. If you're not using DishComm (IE: you have ethernet connected or a phone line connected to all receivers) it doesn't matter.

Now, as to the question of whether or not you should use a surge protector? Only if you need more than two outlets at your location. If lightning strikes, it's going to blast straight through the protector, and you'll have better luck with your homeowner's/renter's insurance than you would trying to collect from the 'guarantee' from the company that made the surge protector anyway.

I use a UPS for my DVRs to allow me to shutdown the machines in case there is an extended outage. It doesn't happen all that often, and its probably now designed out, but I want to avoid a head to disc crash caused by sudden power shutdown.

As long as you're not using HomePlug networking then I'd recommend plugging it in to a surge protector. I have all of my equipment plugged into APC surge protectors/UPSs and I haven't had any issues at all. Oh and I disagree with cutting off the power to all of your equipment entirely each evening, it really doesn't save you that much in electricity and it causes more problems than the very few pennies than you save.First .. I use UPS's on my equipment too. The heavy draw stuff (Onkyo 1100Watt receiver, Tube & Flat screen TVs) get plugged into the surge side, while things like VCR, Dish 722k, & Bluray get plugged into the battery backup side. One thing I've not done yet, is look for a really good spike/surge protector to put the dish sat cable inputs through. The dish is external to the house, and while mine is low/beside the house, its still has potential to receive lightning ...

Anyway.. I really want to comment about NSAFreak's "disagree" in regards to softpower items.

from Berkley:

An individual product draws relatively little standby power (see here for examples (http://standby.lbl.gov/summary-table.html)) but a typical American home has forty products constantly drawing power. Together these amount to almost 10% of residential electricity use.Standby Power (http://standby.lbl.gov/) @ Berkly/US Gov Labs

Now I don't know about you folks.. but I have 5 pc's in this house, 7 monitors (3 of which older tube type), the onkyo receiver, the bluray, a 5 disk dvd, the vcr, dvd/vcr recorder, 5 TV's, 2 722's, 1 211k, Wii, upstairs dvd player, 4 cell phones, washing machine (yes its a newer soft-power type, not the old "Pull The Knob" type), three external hard drives, 4 printers (2 inkjet, 1 soho laser, 1 hp 5si <does 11x17 prints>), 2nd receiver/amp (for office computer), 3rd receiver/amp (living room dish 211k) so that's... what 41 devices.. (oh, forgot I have 5 landline cordless telephones and the base station too!)

if I added to that, turning off the hotwater heater during the day when not needed ... I'm sure I could save that 10% ... my last bill was 550 for two months service, so... 50 bucks I could save. That's a tank of gas for the Jeep, two tanks for the neon .. or a modest 3 person dinner out.

I think it is naive to think 40 plus devices all using 10 or more watts of power when "off" isn't going to add up. 4 100watt light bulbs.. why wouldn't you see that as potential savings, or consider it only pennies? Its not only pennies ... now if you only have your TV, 722k, one cell phone, and no other soft power items.. maybe yes its pennies for you, and it wouldn't be that much in savings.. but if you look closely and realize exactly how many soft power devices you have ... the wattage adds up.

Take Note: inkjet printers don't like hard power off ... the next time they start up they will do an extended type of cleaning to make sure the head isn't clogged, so power removed from the device will eat up your ink.

That's a load of crap. The only reason for the tag on the cord is because of the DishComm networking. Most surge protectors filter that stuff out. If you're not using DishComm (IE: you have ethernet connected or a phone line connected to all receivers) it doesn't matter.

Now, as to the question of whether or not you should use a surge protector? Only if you need more than two outlets at your location. If lightning strikes, it's going to blast straight through the protector, and you'll have better luck with your homeowner's/renter's insurance than you would trying to collect from the 'guarantee' from the company that made the surge protector anyway.

Depends on the company. Panamax pays I had a customer that collected on an C band system I put in several years ago.

First .. I use UPS's on my equipment too. The heavy draw stuff (Onkyo 1100Watt receiver, Tube & Flat screen TVs) get plugged into the surge side, while things like VCR, Dish 722k, & Bluray get plugged into the battery backup side. One thing I've not done yet, is look for a really good spike/surge protector to put the dish sat cable inputs through. The dish is external to the house, and while mine is low/beside the house, its still has potential to receive lightning ...

Anyway.. I really want to comment about NSAFreak's "disagree" in regards to softpower items.

from Berkley:
Standby Power (http://standby.lbl.gov/) @ Berkly/US Gov Labs

Now I don't know about you folks.. but I have 5 pc's in this house, 7 monitors (3 of which older tube type), the onkyo receiver, the bluray, a 5 disk dvd, the vcr, dvd/vcr recorder, 5 TV's, 2 722's, 1 211k, Wii, upstairs dvd player, 4 cell phones, washing machine (yes its a newer soft-power type, not the old "Pull The Knob" type), three external hard drives, 4 printers (2 inkjet, 1 soho laser, 1 hp 5si <does 11x17 prints>), 2nd receiver/amp (for office computer), 3rd receiver/amp (living room dish 211k) so that's... what 41 devices.. (oh, forgot I have 5 landline cordless telephones and the base station too!)

if I added to that, turning off the hotwater heater during the day when not needed ... I'm sure I could save that 10% ... my last bill was 550 for two months service, so... 50 bucks I could save. That's a tank of gas for the Jeep, two tanks for the neon .. or a modest 3 person dinner out.

I think it is naive to think 40 plus devices all using 10 or more watts of power when "off" isn't going to add up. 4 100watt light bulbs.. why wouldn't you see that as potential savings, or consider it only pennies? Its not only pennies ... now if you only have your TV, 722k, one cell phone, and no other soft power items.. maybe yes its pennies for you, and it wouldn't be that much in savings.. but if you look closely and realize exactly how many soft power devices you have ... the wattage adds up.

Take Note: inkjet printers don't like hard power off ... the next time they start up they will do an extended type of cleaning to make sure the head isn't clogged, so power removed from the device will eat up your ink.

Inkjet printers aren't the only devices that don't like a hard power off, believe me. I can literally walk around my place by the glow of my various activity/standby/power/etc. LEDs on my various networking, a/v, telephony, etc. gear. It may come down to that you save cash if you turn off your gear entirely but a lot of it also has to do with how efficient your gear is and how well it goes into standby power. I did a simple test to see how much my main PC could make a difference in terms of my power bill by doing two different power plans over two months. One month I had it set so that the PC was always completely on but had the monitors (gotta love multi monitor setups) go into standby after 15 minutes of inactivity from the PC. The following month I had it set so that the monitors went into standby after 15 minutes and the PC went into sleep mode (S3 mode I believe, everything is shut down and a snapshot is saved to RAM) after an hour of inactivity. There was a difference in my electrical bill, not huge but it was there so I've stuck with that power plan since Windows 7 is so much better than previous versions at coming out of sleep mode rapidly it's really no big deal.

I have tried the full shutoff idea for the rest of my gear but it just causes more problems than it fixes and some of my A/V gear simply doesn't like a hard power cutoff. It really doesn't work for my servers either since they're handling networking duties such as DHCP, SMB, etc. al. So I'll give some clarification here, if you want to do some hard power cutoffs and see if it helps with your power bill feel free. However be aware that modern electronics have gotten progressively more efficient on the amount of standby power they use. Newer equipment is less likely to be as power hungry in standby as equipment of old. Also keep in mind that there's some equipment that you simply do not want to do hard power cutoffs on a regular basis.

Inkjet printers aren't the only devices that don't like a hard power off, believe me. I can literally walk around my place by the glow of my various activity/standby/power/etc. LEDs on my various networking, a/v, telephony, etc. gear. It may come down to that you save cash if you turn off your gear entirely but a lot of it also has to do with how efficient your gear is and how well it goes into standby power. I did a simple test to see how much my main PC could make a difference in terms of my power bill by doing two different power plans over two months. One month I had it set so that the PC was always completely on but had the monitors (gotta love multi monitor setups) go into standby after 15 minutes of inactivity from the PC. The following month I had it set so that the monitors went into standby after 15 minutes and the PC went into sleep mode (S3 mode I believe, everything is shut down and a snapshot is saved to RAM) after an hour of inactivity. There was a difference in my electrical bill, not huge but it was there so I've stuck with that power plan since Windows 7 is so much better than previous versions at coming out of sleep mode rapidly it's really no big deal.

I have tried the full shutoff idea for the rest of my gear but it just causes more problems than it fixes and some of my A/V gear simply doesn't like a hard power cutoff. It really doesn't work for my servers either since they're handling networking duties such as DHCP, SMB, etc. al. So I'll give some clarification here, if you want to do some hard power cutoffs and see if it helps with your power bill feel free. However be aware that modern electronics have gotten progressively more efficient on the amount of standby power they use. Newer equipment is less likely to be as power hungry in standby as equipment of old. Also keep in mind that there's some equipment that you simply do not want to do hard power cutoffs on a regular basis.

Totally agree. Penny wise, pond foolish. I am one to shut off things if not in use and turn off lights in rooms if not needed and I don't like waste, but I don't lie awake at night worrying about the cost of stand-by power because, as you pointed out, the devices need it, and it is not going to have anything close to a significant impact on a household budget, and if it did, then those people need a bankruptcy lawyer right away.

If people a truly serious about saving electrical $$, then don't use the A/C or Heater or the fan that drives a central air unit. Also, no refrigerator, Washing Machine or Dryer, Dish-washing machine and you will see your bill reduce by THOUSANDS of dollars per year, even TENS of thousands per year depending upon the size of your home and how cool or warm you like your house or apartment. Now, that's a real savings! The "phantom" power drain as an argument for an individual household power cost (now, collectively is a different argument) is an example of an itty bitty virtual nothing effect designed to make people feel better about making an effort to save somewhere so they can fell good to indulge somewhere else. While some people may feel good to cut back on visits to Starbucks or chocolate chip cookies, the truth is if they would be much better off ending their $400 per month car payment for the SUV and get a used Volkswagen, instead, with phenomenal gas mileage, lower insurance costs and lower state registration fees, and NO MONTHLY PAYMENT. Whoo-hoo! Now, that is some serious cash enriching change. Heck, even renting an apartment instead of buying a house for many people can make them cash rich than if they became an owner.

Now, every little bit counts, collectively on a grand scale, but for an individual household a savings of $7 or $15 or, OK, let's say even $20 per year isn't going to have the impact needed to truly make a difference, and if someone is truly concerned about that minuscule difference, than they are headed for bankruptcy any day now, and in such a desperate situation it is time to sell the house or cancel the TV subscription and what are they doing with toys like PC's and TV's and DVR's anyway? I have to give "props" to those who have cut pay TV out and our now trudging through OTA only and on-line for their entertainment. Now those people are serious about saving and have quite a bit of extra cash each month that really makes a difference in household costs. I may have to go that route myself because it represents a tremendous savings, but until then, I guess I'm still with Dish as long as I can afford it.

My Panny 42" plasma hates power off. If it is "hard powered off" it looses the programming that has been stored. Picture adjustments willstay but either OTA or cable channels are gone.

The worst culprits of vampire power are AC to DC transformers. Disconnecting your TV, amps, washer, etc. is kind of dumb. However you SHOULD disconnect any AC to DC power adapters such as phone chargers, iPod chargers, etc. that aren't being used. Even without any devices connected, they draw some power. And not really enough for you to notice on your electric bill, but it's one of those 'if everyone does it, it'll make a huge difference' kind of things.


One thing I've not done yet, is look for a really good spike/surge protector to put the dish sat cable inputs through. The dish is external to the house, and while mine is low/beside the house, its still has potential to receive lightning ...

If your dish gets struck by lightning, that thing isn't going to help you. Just make sure it's properly grounded outside and where it comes into your house and forget about running it through a surge protector. That thing will just introduce some not insignificant signal loss.

The best thing to use would be a UPS that is always running off the battery, as opposed to one that only provides power from the battery when the power goes off. That way your power is 'cleaned' and you avoid spikes/dips. But in terms of a 100,000 volt bolt of lightning, nothing that you buy at Best Buy or Walmart will protect you.

That's are really good joke. The voltage is no higher from the wall outlet. :haha:haha

Yea I never questioned him just listened to his explanation.He said he had installed many vip irds and that they had,had numerous problems with them because of surge protectors and outlet strips.He damn near killed our pet bird which we had on the porch in the sun spraying bee spray for a wasp nest.Also told me I had no LOS for 129 even after I had told him that I had a dish for 129 with decent signal on the back of the house.If they ever try to send him again I'll flatly refuse.

Lets give some real world numbers.

100 Watts x 24 hrs x 60 days = 144000 Watt/hours or ... 144 kW/hrs

In my area of Virginia, we have Distribution, and an "Electric Supply" which is further broken into Energy Charge, and LPPF (level pur. pwr factor)

Distro: .02243
E-Chrg: .03918
LPPF: .02877

So 100 watts, 24 hrs a day, 60 days, is 144 kW/Hrs

144 * .02243 = 3.23
144 * .03918 = 5.64
144 * .02877 = 4.14
--------------------
Total: $13.01

That's just on 100 Watts 24 hrs a day for 60 days for me.

Add to that, putting a hot water heater on a timer, and installing a timer for your heat/AC, or just turning off before you leave for work, and turning on when you get home, you could very easily double and triple the amount of savings per avg 2 month billing cycle.

13 bucks ... that's a movie ticket, a 10 dollar bucket of KFC chicken on sunday ... or nearly 80 bucks in a year. That's your netflix account paid for, by not leaving the constantly power consuming devices on, when they don't need that power in standby mode.

and I'm not including my wireless router, nor my VOIP box in the ideal figures .. I need those on, I need them available 24x7. But I've got plenty of *other* things that I don't need on standby.



And a note about that "sleep" study for power use on that PC ... its Hibernation that stops using the most electricity, sleep mode is a low power state, where hibernation writes your session to disk and turns off the pc. But a normal desktop PC, even in the OFF state still has soft power to it and still consumes 1 to 20 watts (standby/sleep using more than standby/hibernate). The only way to have it use *no* electricity is to remove the power cord, or to turn off the PC's power supply if so equiped with an On/Off switch on the back of the system where the power cord plugs in.

Interesting thread. Just today I started researching power strips with surge protection and a timer. My house glows at night too.

Our office scored a direct hit from lightning several years ago. Everything that was plugged into an electrical outlet through a surge protector was fried. (Computers, Copier, Alarm System, etc.) The one electronic device that DID survive was the fax machine--which was plugged directly into the wall.

I think that if you take a direct hit, it doesn't really matter. It might save you some hassle with insurance folks to get it replaced if you can say you had a surge protector connected.

And BTW, we had a laptop get fried too and the power cord was not plugged in. Lightning can and will travel through your Ethernet cables too!!

Our office scored a direct hit from lightning several years ago. Everything that was plugged into an electrical outlet through a surge protector was fried. (Computers, Copier, Alarm System, etc.) The one electronic device that DID survive was the fax machine--which was plugged directly into the wall.

I think that if you take a direct hit, it doesn't really matter. It might save you some hassle with insurance folks to get it replaced if you can say you had a surge protector connected.

And BTW, we had a laptop get fried too and the power cord was not plugged in. Lightning can and will travel through your Ethernet cables too!!

That's why I have protection on my E-net cable.

As long as you're not using HomePlug networking then I'd recommend plugging it in to a surge protector. I have all of my equipment plugged into APC surge protectors/UPSs and I haven't had any issues at all. Oh and I disagree with cutting off the power to all of your equipment entirely each evening, it really doesn't save you that much in electricity and it causes more problems than the very few pennies than you save.

+2 i have everything electrical on surge protectors

On a somewhat related topic: has anyone seen a power strip with individual switches (at a reasonable price)?
I ask because I turn all hard drives off and ON with a regular surge strip. That's a lot of transformers for 8 drives, using at most 2.
I select the drive by which USB I plug into the front of either 722. I would prefer to switch the transformers and multiplex the USBs.
I just have not seen a wide-spaced set of switches or any switched strip, for that matter.
Thanks, -Ken

Aside, it is good to power off the HDDs because a connected one will delay the reboot while it does something--as much as 15 minutes. -K

Surge Protectors, Are designed to protect from serges in an electric lines. Example, if you live in an major city the chances are you do not have 110, in NYC the average is around 100 volts the protectors are designed to protect against sudden change in the line voltage, like when you have a power failure the voltage and amperage may spike above 120 which would damage some equipment. With the receiver I have found that the voltage can get into the system from any line hooked to the receiver. This includes the power cord, Ethernet, home plug, phone line ETC. and I have had receivers damaged from all the sources.

Do not have the line going to the dish run through the surge protector, most are not designed to handle voltage there is voltage going to the dish, it will fail.

Surge Protectors, Are designed to protect from serges in an electric lines. Example, if you live in an major city the chances are you do not have 110, in NYC the average is around 100 volts the protectors are designed to protect against sudden change in the line voltage, like when you have a power failure the voltage and amperage may spike above 120 which would damage some equipment. With the receiver I have found that the voltage can get into the system from any line hooked to the receiver. This includes the power cord, Ethernet, home plug, phone line ETC. and I have had receivers damaged from all the sources.

Do not have the line going to the dish run through the surge protector, most are not designed to handle voltage there is voltage going to the dish, it will fail.

Indeed. None of these devices, even the $1000 range high end home theater power conditioners and surge protectors can handle 100,000 volts or more from lightning.

Being plugged into some surge protectors do regulate the power and can cause remote issues, I personally ran into this just this week with a 622 install plugged into the surge protector it took 3 to 5 seconds for any remote to register any push of a button, plugged directly into the wall and the remote was immediate, as I was told this is now in the FSS100 class

Being plugged into some surge protectors do regulate the power and can cause remote issues, I personally ran into this just this week with a 622 install plugged into the surge protector it took 3 to 5 seconds for any remote to register any push of a button, plugged directly into the wall and the remote was immediate, as I was told this is now in the FSS100 class

You are saying it effect the speed of the REMOTE CONTROL working?

You are saying it effect the speed of the REMOTE CONTROL working?

Well, it was in front of the IR receiver. :D

While the tag on the cord "recommends" a surge protector, I have personally seen it lead to rebooting issues and power failures. I PERSONALLY recommend it be plugged straight into the wall. As a troubleshooting step, it is suggested to bypass the surge protector if possible, as that could correct issues as well.

I have had my 722 plugged directly into the wall since installation, no flaws, no glitches, and not a HINT of anything that anyone has suggested as a common problem here or on any other forum.

Here is my thoughts on surge protectors. Everyone has a different idea of a good one. Some people say they bought an expensive one (using $6 range as a cheap one). Some people base it on name, like Panamax or Monster. Honestly, I have not seen a great device less then $299. Even if I could afford the $1500 you can find power conditioners for (and yes, they go MUCH higher), I would still not run my receiver through it.

While the tag on the cord "recommends" a surge protector, I have personally seen it lead to rebooting issues and power failures. I PERSONALLY recommend it be plugged straight into the wall. As a troubleshooting step, it is suggested to bypass the surge protector if possible, as that could correct issues as well.

I have had my 722 plugged directly into the wall since installation, no flaws, no glitches, and not a HINT of anything that anyone has suggested as a common problem here or on any other forum.

Here is my thoughts on surge protectors. Everyone has a different idea of a good one. Some people say they bought an expensive one (using $6 range as a cheap one). Some people base it on name, like Panamax or Monster. Honestly, I have not seen a great device less then $299. Even if I could afford the $1500 you can find power conditioners for (and yes, they go MUCH higher), I would still not run my receiver through it.

And you also live in an area that has a really good power distribution system(Denver). Where as many that have been talking here don't.

I have my 722 plugged into the battery side of a UPS. That way if there is any momentary power blip it won't go into a reboot or if I'm in the middle of a recording it will continue to record.

If you're using a surge protector that is introducing enough line noise or voltage differences that it affects the functioning of the receiver (except the DishComm stuff) then it's probably going to burn your house down at some point and I wouldn't use it for a table lamp.

I use a Monster MDP 900 surge protector with my 722K. The protector has a dedicated HomePlug outlet for the 722. I use a Netgear ethernet bridge which is connected to my router. The set-up works fine.

I use a Monster MDP 900 surge protector with my 722K. The protector has a dedicated HomePlug outlet for the 722. I use a Netgear ethernet bridge which is connected to my router. The set-up works fine.

900 must be a typo since they don't seem to make that but there is a MDP 800 that has the home plug like you talk about.

Surge protectors? Use them,not on a table lamp though.:confused:;):D

My protector is a MDP 900. There is a MDP 900 on Monster's web site.

I have seen people using the "battery back-up" type things out this way. Estes Park here is notorious for nasty power and I dealt with those customers religiously when BB opened up shop in Longmont. It was the closest electronics/big box store in the area for most of them. Common usage, but make sure that the battery backup supplies more then enough power at start-up, because if not, it is the same thing as a power strip. Not all are created equal, which is why they put the power ratings on the box.

I use a Liebert PSA 1000 UPS on my 722k, never had any issues.

Interesting that N Y area still uses 110 V, rest of us have been at 120 V since last century. We have been using C band, direct, dish, approved surge suppressors for thirty five years. dish coom. needs a home comm. receptacle, which most surge suppressors now provide. We have had very few strikes get through the suppressors. you must have phone coax and A/C connected through one. voltage loss is B/S with mov protection. Maybe 1/2 dozen dammaged TV/ audio systems, surge manufacture made good on the items. fifty or so Suppressors replaced [under warranty] This is out of thousands of systems ! We must live in another world ?

Surge Protectors, Are designed to protect from serges in an electric lines. Example, if you live in an major city the chances are you do not have 110, in NYC the average is around 100 volts the protectors are designed to protect against sudden change in the line voltage, like when you have a power failure the voltage and amperage may spike above 120 which would damage some equipment. With the receiver I have found that the voltage can get into the system from any line hooked to the receiver. This includes the power cord, Ethernet, home plug, phone line ETC. and I have had receivers damaged from all the sources.

Do not have the line going to the dish run through the surge protector, most are not designed to handle voltage there is voltage going to the dish, it will fail.

ANSI C84.1 sets the standard as 120v plus/minus 5%. If you're down at 100 I would expect to see some motors starting to run hot. My Kill-A-Watt is registering 120.4 right now.

I've had my dishes (including coax and phone lines) running through surge protectors since I first got dish. That was many years ago with a 4900, a 4700, and a 1000. When I got them, the local dealer included a protector in the package. Back before homelink, dish sold surge protectors on their website. Nowadays my 722 in hooked to a ups and my 612 to a surge protector. I don't use homelink and I've never had any problems related to power. If you're concerned about voltage drop, measure the voltage after the protector. I don't expect protection against everything, but a couple of years ago the transformer sitting at the edge of my yard blew out. Although that's not as bad as a lightning strike, that can put serious transients and spikes in the line. I had neighbors with no protectors blow out electronics, I didn't. I know that's anecdotal evidence, but it's good enough for me.

In the USVI the power grid is almost third world. Surges and outages are frequent. I monitor my power using TED which allows me to see both voltage highs and lows along with KWs used minute by minute.

I have a whole house surge at the main panel. My home theater system including the Dish receiver are plugged into a UPS which in turn is plugged into an isolation transformer. Main reason for having the receiver, SlingBox and EHD plugged into a UPS is so I don't have to put up with rebooting during power outages. If I am home it also give me a chance to bring my generator (Honda inverter type) on line, hit the back button on the DVR and continue watching TV right where I was when the power went off. One of the key reasons I went to Dish was that after hurricane Omar it took the local cable company six weeks to restore service while the electric utility was back in ten days. People who had satellite dishes watched TV during the storm.

Both my Dish receivers are connected to the internet using Netgear Powerline adapters. The adapters plugged directly into an outlet. Data transmission over my home network is rock solid. SlingBox sends video to my PCs at 4 Mbs. Much more reliable than my WiFi network. Home network equipment is also plugged into a UPS to keep it running 24/7.

I have no problems with bad power, however the humidity and salt air will destroy my electronic equipment in three to five years.

Jim

While the tag on the cord "recommends" a surge protector, I have personally seen it lead to rebooting issues and power failures. I PERSONALLY recommend it be plugged straight into the wall. As a troubleshooting step, it is suggested to bypass the surge protector if possible, as that could correct issues as well.

I have had my 722 plugged directly into the wall since installation, no flaws, no glitches, and not a HINT of anything that anyone has suggested as a common problem here or on any other forum.

Here is my thoughts on surge protectors. Everyone has a different idea of a good one. Some people say they bought an expensive one (using $6 range as a cheap one). Some people base it on name, like Panamax or Monster. Honestly, I have not seen a great device less then $299. Even if I could afford the $1500 you can find power conditioners for (and yes, they go MUCH higher), I would still not run my receiver through it. Wife called this morning and says our 722k is giving the dreaded error code "311". I get on chat, get transferred to 'advanced support' and the rep asks if the receiver is plugged into a surge suppressor. Says it should be....

I said "Wait, I've been told NOT to multiple times".

He responds, "I think plugging the receiver into a surge protector would help to stop this issue from happening again. Receivers with hard drives in them, are more sensitive to surges and stray voltage."

I repeated again that Dish support has said numerous times "plug directly into wall outlet".

He next responded, "...but a surge protector is recommended. I'm sorry if you were told that they are not and I have no idea why you were told that."

He also stated that Dish's policy on this hasn't changed, that is, receivers should or should not be plugged into surge suppressors.

What's the deal ?

Wife called this morning and says our 722k is giving the dreaded error code "311". I get on chat, get transferred to 'advanced support' and the rep asks if the receiver is plugged into a surge suppressor. Says it should be....

I said "Wait, I've been told NOT to multiple times".

He responds, "I think plugging the receiver into a surge protector would help to stop this issue from happening again. Receivers with hard drives in them, are more sensitive to surges and stray voltage."

I repeated again that Dish support has said numerous times "plug directly into wall outlet".

He next responded, "...but a surge protector is recommended. I'm sorry if you were told that they are not and I have no idea why you were told that."

He also stated that Dish's policy on this hasn't changed, that is, receivers should or should not be plugged into surge suppressors.

What's the deal ?


Last time I got into the power strip conversation, I just closed the chat and emailed CEO. It's really stupid.

You can't use most surge protectors if your connect to phone or broadband via homeplug unless you have one with a special homeplug porr for it.

Wife called this morning and says our 722k is giving the dreaded error code "311". I get on chat, get transferred to 'advanced support' and the rep asks if the receiver is plugged into a surge suppressor. Says it should be....

I said "Wait, I've been told NOT to multiple times".

He responds, "I think plugging the receiver into a surge protector would help to stop this issue from happening again. Receivers with hard drives in them, are more sensitive to surges and stray voltage."

I repeated again that Dish support has said numerous times "plug directly into wall outlet".

He next responded, "...but a surge protector is recommended. I'm sorry if you were told that they are not and I have no idea why you were told that."

He also stated that Dish's policy on this hasn't changed, that is, receivers should or should not be plugged into surge suppressors.

What's the deal ?

Crazy! Dish needs to get this figured out and explain it to all the reps.I have had two different installers here,both said VIP receivers have issues (with) surge protectors.Anytime I have called or online chat for receiver issues the first thing they ask is if the receiver is plugged into surge protector.If it is plug directly to wall,if it isn't then lets try something else.

Here in Cincinnati I have a surge protector attached after my electric meter, it was installed by the electric company.
So I have protection for my whole house and I have NO problems with my Dish stuff.

I live in the sticks. A few years ago, we took a direct lighting strike to our transformer. I lost a bunch of stuff (including the transformer). BUT, I only took damage to one (1) device that was hooked up to a surge suppressor. That was the Ku side of my 4DTV receiver.

Everything else that was connected to a surge suppressor survived. This includes a Panamax for the home theater, as well as some super-dooper cheapies. I even had one $5 surge protector that I didn't even know was a surge protector. It was one of those that plugs into a normal outlet (wall mount), and gives you 6 outlets. I was just using it for the extra outlets & had no idea it was a surge protector. But it saved the kid's TV & all the stuff hooked up to it (although the surge protector its self died).

So don't believe it when people tell you that surge protectors won't protect you from a direct lightning strike. They may not protect you 100%, but they can (and do) still save a lot of stuff. I've seen it first hand.

Cheers

I use a surge suppressor but, shhhh, don't tell Dish that :) I just know that when they ask, the answer is "no, it's plugged directly into the wall outlet", until the rep today said I should use a suppressor. Yes, I agree 100%, but I know the "right" answer that support wants .... or at least used to !!

wolfjc: Your scenario is certainly not typical. Try and explain a whole-house suppressor to them.

Anony55: The typical $20 surge suppressor will not protect against a lightning strike.

I have my 722 on a ups. That way if there is a temporary power failure, it does not reboot and if I am recording, I do not loose that recording.

I have my 722 on a ups. That way if there is a temporary power failure, it does not reboot and if I am recording, I do not loose that recording.

I prefer FedEx. </rimshot> :D

I'm on a rack mount enterprise grade power conditioner, it does voltage regulation, pure sine wave, surge protection etc. I would never run myy equipment directly off a wall plug.

...Anony55: The typical $20 surge suppressor will not protect against a lightning strike.

Well, one certainly wouldn't want to "tempt fate". That's for sure. But I had several cheapies when we took the direct hit, and they all stood up to the task. The one item that did take damage was the Ku side of the DSR922... and it was hooked up to the Panamax (both power & LNBs).

I lost a lot of other stuff in that strike that wasn't protected. But I was surprised at the performance of the cheap surge protectors. Still, that's not a recommendation to use cheap ones. I would still recommend better surge protectors where possible.

It's just not feasible (in my case anyway) to have $150 surge protectors on every appliance in the house. After seeing how well the $5 one performed, that's what I now have on all the stuff that you don't usually think about putting on surge protectors (washing machine, microwave, fridge, ect). Although, they're a little closer to $6 or $7 these days.

Cheers

The Belkin surge protectors I have all of my stuff on works pretty darn well.

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