Introduction; General Overview - Black Box SP250A User Manual

CATEGORY 5 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SURGE PROTECTORS

2.1 General Overview

Devices connected to Category 5 cabling systems are routinely threatened
by unwanted electrical energy from sources such as lightning, AC-power
induction, and ESD. Higher-speed devices—such as those operating at
100 Mbps—are especially vulnerable to the effects of these hazards, which
can include data loss and hardware damage.
Our Category 5 Primary and Secondary Surge Protectors provide
effective surge protection for devices operating in Category 5 cabling
systems. The Secondary Surge Protector is specifically designed for point-
of-use installation; the Primary Surge Protector is designed to be installed at
the building entrance. Both models use a multi-stage Silicon Avalanche
Diode circuit, and will continue functioning while handling surges up to the
IEC 801.5 specification (see the tables in
Protectors will also protect against surges up to and exceeding 2kV/1kA in
"fail-safe mode": When hit by strong surges, they will fail, but in doing so
they will short the line to ground so that the surge energy will not reach the
protected equipment. (The Surge Protectors will also "fail-safe" in response
to differences in ground potential—"ground loops"—that are not too
severe.)
The Category 5 Surge Protectors support a wide range of balanced
interfaces from EIA RS-422 to 100BASE-T. Highlights include a low
insertion loss (less than 0.4 dB at 100 MHz) and minimal near-end crosstalk
("NEXT," greater than –43 dB at all frequencies up to 100 MHz).
Grounding is accomplished with an external ground strap that provides a
separate unit-ground-to-chassis-ground connection.
These surge protectors will not provide complete protection should your
equipment or building be subject to a direct lightning hit, nor will they
provide complete protection against severe differences in ground
potential ("severe ground loops").
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2. Introduction

CAUTION!
). Both Surge
Appendix B