Voltage-Surge Protector

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The next step is to solder the MOV devices into place. There's plenty of room inside the plastic housing to accommodate them. Using the "better" model in the photo as your guide, slip the MOV's into position. Now clip the wire leads. to length, and solder the MOV's to their respective copper strips. One MOV goes across the thin prongs, another connects between one thin prong and the ground connection (the strip with the round insert), and the third is soldered between the remaining prong and the ground. Don't worry about which direction they're wired in; just be sure that no leads are touching that might short the circuit.

Replace the cardboard backing, remove the wall plate from the wall socket you intend to use, and plug in your new outlet protector. Fasten the adapter in place with the long center screw that's provided, and you're finished. Any appliance that's plugged into this outlet is automatically protected from all forms of voltage surge.

BEST

Even the protection offered by the threeMOV outlet is insufficient in some cases. A personal computer, for example, not only is allergic to voltage spikes but is also sensitive to "noise" on the AC line.

Noise can best be described as unwanted voltage excursions that are under the activation threshold of the MOV protector. In other words, they are small signals that ride on top of the standard power voltage. They aren't particularly harmful in most cases, but they can scramble the data contained in a computer's memory chips. Words may come out "mizpeled," and, in some cases, information is lost altogether.

How does this noise get on the line to begin with? It's put there by other electrical equipment. Refrigerators, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, and television sets all generate electrical pulses that find their way into your electrical system. In fact, your computer's printer may be the worst offender. A big reason for this is that the printer and the computer often share the same outlet, so the noise has an easy path into the machine's memory.

To remove unwanted noise from an AC line, you need a filter-which brings us to the third design. In addition to being MOVprotected, the "best" option incorporates an effective filter. The entire project can be built inside a Radio Shack Plug-in Power Strip (part number 61-2620), though similar units are available from most electronics and hard ware stores. These power strips feature a heavy-duty cord that expands to four outlets housed in a sturdy metal case. As an added feature, the power strips come equipped with a built-in 15-amp circuit breaker.

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