Question 1

My internet line is grounded before it enters the house, so is it still necessary to ground this device if installed inside?

Accepted Answer

Each year, I was losing modems and routers to lightening through an underground coax cable to my house.  The cable guy claims lightening is a bigger issue with underground lines than aerial.  A few years ago, I installed this lightening arrestor inside the cable box on the outside of the house and grounded it to the electrical meter grounding rod.  It's very important to connect to a good earth ground.  Since then, no more damage.  I do not ground the coax cable inside the house.  But, the power cord to the modem and router are through an APC battery back-up with 50,000 volt surge protection.  That's important, because surge damage can sneak through the power line side, too.  If you have frequent thunder storms, you may consider changing this device out every few years.  Basically it's a spark gap device.  When the voltage exceeds a threshold, it jumps the spark gap to ground. But, every time it does that, the gap gets a little wider.  Over time, the protection voltage rises depending on how many times a spark has jumped the gap.

Question 2

I'm planning on installing these in-line with a terrestrial over-the-air antenna system that is mounted on a mast high above my house. I also have a mast mounted pre-amplifier near the feed point of the antenna system, which is powered by a DC power injector in the attic of my house where it enters my internal distribu…

Accepted Answer

Mine works with an old Radio Shack pre-amp. 6 years later I got hit by lightning , blew the electric meter , blew both line fuses at each end of my power line, 1100 volt line, killed a big pine tree by my house.  Then my tv would not receive signal. This protector shorted to ground I guess because the pre-amp power source inside the house led would not light up when connected to the antenna feed line. So put a new protector in and problem solved. Did not even have to replace the mast mounted amplifier.  They don't build pre-amps like they used to or I got lucky. But that is how my protector made me aware it was defective.

Question 3

Does this surge protector, when properly grounded, also serve as a grounding block for a TV antenna?

Accepted Answer

The antenna itself must be grounded separately.  There are many websites which describe how to do it.  The TII 212 Broadband Cable TV ground device only grounds the coaxial cable.

Question 4

what gauge bare copper wire will this unit take?

Accepted Answer

From the manufacturers website for the Series 212 which is what this is: Strip and insert a #12 (minimum) ground wire into the hole provided on the surge protector.  (Figure 3-1). Turn screw until wire is compressed and tight connection is made.See page 2 on the installations instructions on the following link.  Once again, it is the Series 212:http://tiitech.com/repository/installationsheetlibrary/92219901-tii_210&212_InstNt.pdfAlso as far as the operation of the device if you have RG59 coaxial cable, you may need to change to RG6 coaxial cable "to ensure proper operation" of the TII 212. "Suitable adapters must be used that have center pin conforming to .040 inches requirement (eg. RG6, RG11)."

ASIN	B0016AIYU6
Best Sellers Rank	#152,343 in Electronics ( See Top 100 in Electronics ) #1,030 in Surge Protectors
Brand Name	TII
Cable Type	Coaxial
Color	NICKEL
Compatible Devices	Modem
Compatible Phone Models	No Compatible Phone Models
Connector Gender	Female-to-Female
Connector Type	F Type
Customer Package Type	Standard Packaging
Customer Reviews	4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,099)
Data Transfer Rate	1500 MHz
Frequency	1000000000 hertz
Indoor Outdoor Usage	Indoor
Item Shape	Round
Item Weight	2.4 ounces
Manufacturer	TII
Maximum Voltage	1500 volts
Model	FBA_TII-212
Model Name	FBA_TII-212
Number of Pins	1
Other Special Features of the Product	UL Listed
Part Number	FBA_TII-212
Specification Met	UL
UPC	811286010078 887492832537 628586698574
Unit Count	1 Count

TII 212 Broadband Cable TV and Satellite Lightning Surge Protector 75 Ohm 5-1500MHz, Modem

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