Going on vacation, unplug Home Theater? (1 Viewer)

[Barry BB]

I will be away from home for 2 weeks. Should I unplug my equipment, and if so will the receiver retain my settings?

 

[Brian Shannon]

I don't.

I don't unplug other appliances either. Personal preference I guess.

 

[Joe Casey]

I would. I don't usually unplug appliances, but I do unplug all stereo/HT equipment. All depends on your confidence in your surge protector and your homeowners/renters insurance policy .

 

[Barry BB]

I've never thought about unplugging appliances either. My HT is more expensive to replace.

Does the receiver retain the settings in memory if it's unplugged for so long?

 

[Richard Harvey]

We need an electrical engineer to chime in here. I was told by one of the motherboard designers at Apple Computer that they recommend always leaving PC's plugged in simply because modern electronic circuits are very susceptible to damage from static electricity if they are not continously grounded, and by unplugging you are removing the ground. What risk that poses vs. the risk of keeping it plugged in, I don't know.

How many of you run your systems through UPS devices?

Rich

 

[Barry BB]

And here I thought that this was going to be an easy question.

 

[Earl Simpson]

You should have a great surge protector, if you do leave it plugged in. SAMS has a 3000 joule. I think two weeks is the max for some equipment memory. Keep you computer plugged into an UPS at all times and the UPS plugged in and on. The battery on your MOBO will run down and ruin your day.

 

[Barry BB]

I probably should have said in the original question that I am plugged into a Panamax. So maybe I should just leave it be and let the Panamax do its job if something does happen.

 

[Blake R]

I'm a practicing EE and I've been to two or three dozen seminars on grounding, surge suppression, and lightning protection over the years. Forget the streamer theory of breakdown, charge tracking, current spreading blah, blah, blah. If you have have a quality TVSS unit, an appropriately sized grounding electrode conductor, and a deeply driven electrode(rod) with a sound termination(clamp, cadweld) you don't need to worry about anything.

When selecting TVSS the important figures of merit are clamping level and max surge capacity not energy. Do not purchase a TVSS that clamps to close to line voltage. A brief overvoltage could turn on the MOV's and cook 'em. Make certain it is rated to protect in both modes(L-N, L-G,for single phase systems)and don't spend too much. There's not that much to 'em. It is always best to provide dual level protection at both the load center and at the receptacle.

RBR

 

[Randy Schissler]

Blake,

I believe it that you are "a practicing EE", I didn't understand a word you said.

--Randy S.

 

[Earl Simpson]

Excellent post Blake!
I'm an electrical instructor from time to time as well 30 other hats and the grounding electrode could be a real problem in some homes. Most electricians drive one rod and leave without even a test. We went around a public school and could barely get an amp flow reading on all the grounding rods. When I built my shed I laid an all copper grid with rods every 12 feet in the trench(300'). This was designed and installed to direct current away from the house service entrance panel (hopefully)with no feedback loop to the service panel. Plus my utility company came out and installed a 120' grounding rod at the pole. They had test equipment hooked up so when they got to the magic amp depth, they stopped. Cool, I really enjoyed watching that operation. If you guys only knew how cheap electrical contractors can get.