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Yes. Our telecommunications protection circuit has its own separate earth line to divert excess voltage. As long as it is connected to the GPO (even if the GPO is in the “off” switch) then any surge or spike coming down the telephone line will be diverted to earth and protecting your equipment.

The Thor A series (A12,A12F, A12BF) includes Dynamic Active Tracking filters which have 3 physically* separate circuits on the one board. This separation is hard wired and each separate circuit has its own dynamic active tracking filter. All 3 banks have identical levels of protection just like having 3 separate Dynamic Active Tracking filter boards. This allows the user to isolate different types of appliances from each other for maximum protection of valuable equipment, enhanced performance, and safety.

The Thor B series filters (B12R, B8F) have 2 separate 4 outlet filters that offer physical separation of 2 groups of 4 outlets with the same result.

* physically – It is like having 3 boards all in the one housing.

Some brands define isolation which refers to a frequency isolation. This means that it may contain some electrical interference (RFI or EMI), however, a spike or surge from an adjacent plug can still cause damage to whatever is plugged into the “isolated” outlet. It is not a physically separate circuit so be careful.

There is no question that good quality power filtration will allow your equipment to perform closer to its maximum potential by only allowing clean power to its operating circuits. There have also been many reports that quality power filtration improves sound quality, Smart Series Dynamic Active Tracking Filters have had improvements recorded (check out our testimonials) but as this is a subjective observation by individuals on their particular equipment brand and selection of equipment, it is something that you the owner will have to decide. We believe there are definite improvements in performance and reliability with the use of our Smart Series Power Filters. Have a look at our Smart Power Station combination if you are after the “Rolls Royce” power supply option.

Technology has taken us to a new era in equipment. Everything is faster, smaller, hotter (today’s equipment runs at much higher temperatures and the new digital age is much less tolerant to power pollution and voltage fluctuations.)  Even the Power Utility Companies that supply the power to your premises will recommend that all of their customers use quality filtered power protection.

On top of this you may be surprised to learn that if you do not take “reasonable care” to protect your electrical equipment and it does get damaged your insurance company may not cover your claim. Ouch!!

Telephone line protection is very important and this is highlighted in the front of most telephone books where it states quite clearly to avoid using your telephone equipment during storm activity and in some instances it is prudent to disconnect equipment such as cordless telephone hand sets and computer modems during close lightning activity. This is not always possible as you may not be in attendance or the storm does not seem close by and in view (storm activity can be miles away and still damage valuable equipment)

Note: Thor products discharge telephone spikes directly to earth not through the common earth on the power board as is the practice with most other manufacturers. Even on our entry level E1/45B Smart Protect 4, a separate yellow earth cable can be seen in the circuit photo to reveal the telephone spike discharge route around the power board for maximum protection.

It can’t hurt but transformers convert AC incoming power to DC outgoing power and are considered low risk from most forms of power disturbances, so if you have room by all means use your filter protection but it is certainly not a priority.

Note: Thor products discharge telephone spikes directly to earth not through the common earth on the power board as is the practice with most other manufacturers. Even on our entry level E1/45B Smart Protect 4, a separate yellow earth cable can be seen in the circuit photo to reveal the telephone spike discharge route around the power board for maximum protection.

A surprising number of the damaging and degrading spikes and surges occur without our knowledge many of them are even caused by other appliances and events in our home or office. (switches turning off and on, motors starting and stopping, etc) These events are taken care of by your Smart Series pro-active filter, the only loss being some of the joules of energy absorption available in your Smart Series.

When the available amount of joules have been used up or the Smart Series is damaged while protecting it will simply stop letting power through to your equipment. Should this happen simply contact us and we will replace your smart series free of charge for 6 years.

The closer your home or office is to a direct lightning strike the greater the risk of equipment damage. As Lightning travels at around 300,000 Kms per second nothing designed by man will stop a direct hit, however the odds of a direct hit are quite rare and Thor products can certainly minimise the risk of damage. The degree of risk reduction is usually measured by the specifications. The faster the unit reacts combined with the amount of energy it can absorb. Units of measurement is usually in AMPS or Joules.

Thor will honour its warranty even if there is a direct hit of lightning.

A surge diverter does exactly that, it diverts surges and transients direct to earth as they enter the building it will not prevent noise pollution and it will not stop surges and transients which occur after it.

There are two areas that most transients originate from  (1) the power grid network of supply, prior to reaching your building and your earth diverter is good for these and (2) Electrical shorts, faults and noise pollution from within your building this is very common and is the major source of dirty or polluted power, something today’s Digital Equipment hates.

Smart Series models’ filter banks, isolate groups of valuable equipment from the rest of the dwellings supply and go even further on the a, and b, series isolating individual appliances from each other at filter level. of course there is the added advantage to property renters when they move, as they can take their Protection with them.

Earth leakage devices, or safety switches as they are more commonly known are compulsory in new buildings in all states of Australia and we all applaud that, however you must understand they are designed to protect people against electrocution, these devices do not protect equipment in fact they will trip when a short circuit occurs in an appliance, this is after the appliance has already been damaged.

Our Smart Series and Surge Shield products are constantly monitoring and correcting the incoming voltage / current preventing damaging and disruptive polluted power from ever reaching valuable equipment..

In rare instances and generally in an area where the aerial is using a booster to enhance or amplify picture quality as the TV signal to that area is extremely weak, you may find that you can not use the incoming aerial protection on the Smart Series.

This is due to the passive protection circuit highlighting the weak signal, it is not a fault of the Smart Series board, simply leave the aerial connected as it was previously and connect the AC power plugs as shown on the simple installation instructions provided with the unit, bypassing the AV/TV connection

A unique Smart Series bonus on our A12 model – this Protection strategy encompasses self-diagnostic and corrective circuitry. Traditional power protection always relies on simple surge absorbing circuitry at pre-defined points on the wave form, however THOR Dynamic Active Tracking monitors the Sine Wave, instantaneously sensing and clamping transient spikes and surges to a safe level, regardless of where they appear on the wave form.

SMART SERIES additionally filters and cleans all incoming power and through its unique 3 – Bank Isolation, prevents EMI and RFI pollution as well as inter-circuit back EMF – all of which are major contributors to software glitches, digital malfunction and hardware breakdown in both Computers and Home Theatre equipment.

All of today’s high tech equipment will perform better if it is only receiving clean sine wave power, this is even more critical when protecting digital equipment.

The Smart Series boards have “on” lights to inform the user that the unit is “on” however as long as the product is letting power through to your equipment it is filtering and protecting, if it stops protecting, it will stop letting power through and you simply contact us for replacement instructions.

Since 1983 when their founder pioneered consumer Power Protection in the Australian and New Zealand market place.

It means the product has been manufactured to Australian Standards for electrical safety, It is not an approval for actual function which is why what is inside your protection device is so important. Always compare circuit design if you are serious about protecting your expensive equipment. Beware of gimmick selling and silly promises.

Lifetime is to confusing, is it the products lifetime or the consumers lifetime if it’s the products then surely this means that when it quits whether one week or four years its life is over so there is no warranty, or is it the consumers are they suggesting it will last 50 years, that’s absurd. So to stop the guess work all Thor products are built to the international TBF of 50,000 hours this equates to 6 years.

Yes we do on all our plug-in range of products. We decided to stand by our products and have various levels of connected equipment cover from up to $100,000 to $500,000 cover depending on the product. Full conditions are documented and included with each product.

All Thor products have a full 6 years no fuss product replacement warranty. The reason this definitive period was selected rather than say offer a lifetime warranty is because most people surveyed felt lifetime was a little grey. For instance is it the products lifetime and if so then if it “blows” after a week does that determine the expected life of the product? So we chose to use the internationally recognised formula that dictates all components have an expected life of 50,000 hours which equates to 6 years.