Belkin 12-Outlet Home/Office Surge Protector with Phone/Ethernet/Coaxial Protection and Extended Cord
by Belkin Components
|
List Price: Our Price: $18.90 You Save: $31.09 (62%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Belkin 12-Outlet Home/Office Surge Protector with Phone/Ethernet/Coaxial Protection and Extended Cord
Customer Review: Where have you been all my life?
Summary: 5 Stars
As many of you already know, it is difficult to find a surge protector with more than 8 outlets that doesn't cost $80+.
Being in the IT industry for over 15 years I know quality when I see it, and this is it.
Why would I need 12 outlets? Well I'm sure everyone would agree that utilizing 12 outlets in a technology driven world is not a difficult task to complete.
I have the following hooked up to it.
1. 40" Sony 1080p KDL 40-V2500 LCD HDTV
2. Sony (not sure model#) 600 watt surround sound system
3. Sony Playstation 3
4. Sony Playstation 2
5. Alarm clock
6. AT&T Uverse DVR
7. Plantronics 220 Bluetooth headset charger (power brick)
8. Motorola 700 Bluetooth headset charger. (power brick)
9. 8 port 10/100 network switch (power brick)
10. Powered Amplifier type Antenna (power brick)
... and still have 2 outlets to spare, FANTASTIC!!
This right here is as some would call Da Shizzle (AKA really cool).
Anyways, to a more serious point lets review the Pros shall we?
1. 12 outlets!!
2. Affordable
3. Great quality (Belkin is known for high quality at affordable prices)
4. Wire management clips (I didn't find any use for them but it's a great feature to have.)
5. FLAT solid wall connector (not the swivel connector)
6. Generous length on power cord
7. Space Saving (1" tall)
8. The power ON/OFF switch is on the SIDE of the unit, not the top
This is great since it avoids accidental kicking/etc.
9. Lifetime warranty and $300,000 equipment protection
10. If someone says that they only got use out of 8 outlets, well.. they have some serious issues, there is PLENTY of wiggle room on this surge protector.
Cons:
1. Didn't come out sooner.
2. I couldn't get it fast enough, yes Amazon just doesn't ship as fast as they used to, oh well.
3. I didn't order 2, now I have to include something else in an additional order to qualify for free shipping :) darn the luck!!
Now here is something that has always fascinated me. When you take it out of the box, you will notice 3 different kinds of plugs that are not electrical plugs.
1. RJ-11 (Phone)
2. RJ-45 (Ethernet)
3. Coax (regular cable fitting)
It seems that people just CAN'T help themselves to hook their phone/ethernet and cable/antennea into units such as this. But here is the thing.. for the most part THEY ARE COMPELETEY USELESS!!
By now you are undoubtably confused. But why would they include these on it if they are worthless you may ask yourself?
That my friend is a great question. Allow me to explain.
First off let me explain the physics of electricity. Electricity always looks for the shortest route to ground. So keeping that in mind, we move forward.
The cable/phone company is REQUIRED BY LAW to ground their signal BEFORE entering a residence or commercial structure. So grounding your signal again using this surge protector is a waste of your time.
Now as for the ethernet connection. Ethernet or Cat5/Cat5e/etc are LOW voltage by design. Now the voltage that a cat5 or ethernet cable is carring is VERY small. It gets this voltage from a router or network switch/hub. Now as long as the router/switch/hub is hooked to a surge protector, hooking your ethernet cables through this surge protector is again a waste of time.
Also keep in mind that if your external antenna is not grounded BEFORE entering the house you have a lightning rod and NOT an antenna. Therefore hooking your antenna wire to this will undoubtably cause interference, since it is grounding the connection to the electrical circuit that is providing power to it. Make sense? Good I knew you were smart!!
People see these "extras" and think wow, thats great, and are more likely to justify their purchase decision on these "extra" features. So it is more of a marketing scam than anything else.
Now you are an educated consumer and know that these extra connectors are only intended for protection for KNOWN faulty installs, to sell product, or people that just don't know any better, and are basically just pretty to look at.
I hope this review was helpful, and I wish you luck on your future endeavors.
Customer Review: Feature-rich for the price. Belkin is a trusted brand. No cables included.
Summary: 4 Stars
This surge protector is a great value and a very feature laden product for it's type. The cord organizer is a very welcome addition. Once routed through to thier respective outlets the mass of attached AC cords no longer looks like an 'electrical porcupine' but instead as a very well designed and neat feature with very visible and immediate benefits. I've had many power strips in the past but this one extra feature has been long overdue. Remember ...."neatness counts" As you may know it has surge protection as well for RJ-11 (telephone) RJ-45 (Ethernet) and coaxial (75 ohm multimedia cable) I am currently only using the Ethernet jacks..BUT as one other reviewer mentioned, I had to hunt and search as the Ethernet jacks 'were nowhere to be found'. I nearly called Amazon for an RMA. Well after sitting on the floor pondering this and cussing a little too I somewhat reluctantly tried peeling away a 'warning label' of some sort and 'Lo and Behold" were the 2 Ethernet jacks. I saw the warning label earlier and did not attempt to remove it. After all it was there as a 'warning' so I may benefit from seeing it another time. How silly to hide the Ethernet jacks beneath a warnming label that, like me, many folks would not ever consider removing. Belkin should have had the warning label ALSO declare that the Ethernet jacks were hiding beneath. How proposterously silly and ridiculous to obfuscate them beneath a very valid warning label without declaring thier whereabouts beneath. Frankly ladies and gentelmen, it pissed me off.
Not the searching as I did find them, but the use of a warning label to hide them. The label could have easily been edited to say "The Ethernet jacks are underneath". Anyway my other complaint is that this add-on surge protector advertises Ethernet / Telephone / Coaxial surge protection and rightly so..BUT it fails to include an input jumper cable of each type so one can actually use it right out of the box. I realize the product literature does not say one way or the other if input cables are included. Many other devices that are an ADD-ON to existing systems DO INCLUDE the required cables so one can actually ADD-ON the accessory.
I had to go to the store and purchase an Ethernet cable....this is MY FAULT for not investigating more thoroughly pre-sale but live and learn. I agree with all the other reviews about number of outlets provided and spacing for wall warts etc..so no further remarks on that needed. I would still recommend this unit 100% with the foreknowledge one will need to beg borrow or buy input cables beforehand in order to actually use this product right out of the box for RJ-11, RJ-45, and Coaxial protection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...
Customer Review: More like 8 outlets; otherwise a near no-brainer choice
Summary: 4 Stars
Power strips come in all shapes and sizes these days. This Belkin is a rugged yet quite light and thin "slab," perhaps not sufficiently compact to fit easily in a musician's gig bag but ideal for tight spots behind book cases and even for wall mounting (with a handy metal guide for routing cords). Its ample surface area practically ensures that, regardless of the size of your power adapters ("wall warts"), all six of them are likely to fit into their designated spots in the outside two rows.
As for the remaining six receptacles running down the middle row, the space is far too narrow to accommodate additional power adapters. Moreover, if you're using right-angle plugs, figure on a single plug taking up the space of 2-3 receptacles. The Belkin is presently accommodating my six power adapters plus 2 right-angle plugs. Some consumers may be bothered by the "waste" of 3-4 receptacles, but I'm fairly content to have a strip that allows me to use two-thirds of its receptacles without the appearance of overcrowding.
This Belkin, unlike a slightly less expensive model by the same manufacturer, has a small but welcome "ON" light--a single illuminated "bead" at the top of the strip. It shows green when grounded and red when not. I'd be happier with more lights indicating successful connections, or even a larger, more conspicuous light allowing the owner to see at a glance the status of the power strip's connectivity. If you're willing to spend a bit more, a comparable strip by Monster (MP PC800) is not only better illuminated but has color-coded receptacles matched to colored labels the consumer pastes to the plugs of his equipment (not a bad idea if you've ever found yourself confused about which cord goes to which electronic device). Moreover, each of the Monster unit's advertised 8 outlets is more likely to be available, possibly making it no less adaptable than the Belkin's advertised 12-outlet model.
Although I'm happy with eight usable receptacles, especially for bulky power adapters, had the manufacturer extended the length of this one just enough to accommodate two additional power adapters, the center receptacles could have been spaced far enough apart to ensure the availability of all 6. Rather than advertise 12 outlets and assure the customer of 8, why not offer a pricier 14-outlet strip with 14 usable receptacles? Nevertheless, for most households with rooms that have become media centers, this 12-outlet model is a sensible, reliable, well-priced solution.
Customer Review: Best power strip out there.
Summary: 5 Stars
I wish I had discovered this power strip sooner. It's without question the best power strip on the market. The first thing you will notice is that it has 12 outlets. I don't know of any other power strip (besides the other Belkin one with the pivoting outlets) that has this many outlets. Although I don't own the pivot-plug one, I think this one (this one = power strip without pivoting outlets) is better. From now on I'll call the strip without pivoting outlets the flat one. The flat one has 3 outlets on each side that are designed to accomodate big power adapters. I believe they're called Blockspace outlets. The pivot-plug strip tries to substitute tilting outlets for the Blockspace outlets and it doesn't quite work. The pivoting outlets are still close together and tilting them only does so much. There is a review on the pivot-plug strip's page backing this up. And in my opinion, who needs tilting outlets anyway? Plus the flat one has a longer cord.
Anyway, about the power strip I'm actually reviewing. This is an amazing strip. Not only does it have the 12 outlets (6 down the middle, 3 Blockspace outlets on each side), but it can also protect coaxial lines, ethernet lines, and phone lines. It also has a cord management clip for organizing all the cords. The reason this power strip is so nice is because it's well designed. Things that are well designed are pretty rare these days since everything's sold in Walmart and other low price stores.
Pros:
-12 outlets
-has space for big adapters
-tells you not only whether or not your stuff is protected but also tells you if the outlet the strip is plugged into isn't grounded
-10 ft. cord
-cord is angled so that it's flat against the wall when plugged in
-has a cable management clip
-can protect coaxial, ethernet and phone lines
Cons:
-none that I can think of.
I always like it when I come across a product that pretty much wipes out all of its competition. This power strip is one of those products. I very highly recommend this power strip.
Customer Review: Good Value for a Complete Surge Suppressor
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased 5 of the Belkin surge protectors for college dorm and home based computers. The main attraction of this surge protector was a high level of power protection (3996 joules) combined with complete data-line protection (coax/RJ11/RJ45 (Ethernet)) at a very competitive price. Belkin claims that this unit meets the recommended UL 1449 (power surge protection), UL 1363 (power cord) and UL 1283 (EMI/RFI filter) standards, but they do not mention meeting the UL 497 standard (surge protection for telephone lines (RJ11) and network lines (RJ45)). You may want to consider the Tripp-Lite TLP810NET at a higher price if full certification to UL standards is important to you.
The Belkin surge suppressor is well designed and easy to use. Belkin provides a $300,000 warranty to replace equipment that was damaged by an electrical surge when that equipment was properly connected to their surge protector.
After receiving the five units, I did a quality check for each one by connecting it to a computer with telephone (RJ11) and network connections (RJ45). I did not check the coax connection and, obviously, I did not check the surge suppression capability of these units. I was particularly concerned about any degradation of network speed when connected through the surge protector, so I performed a broadband test of upload/download speed using [...] after making the network connection. I found that 4 of 5 surge protectors passed my quality check, but 1 of the 5 surge protectors had a defective RJ45 connection and was returned for replacement. I also found that the broadband speed was not affected when connected through the network connection (RJ45) of the 4 surge protectors that passed my quality check.
Once you get passed the hassle of possibly receiving a defective unit, the Belkin surge suppressor appears to be a good value.