Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
I get the message “Random EMI Pulse, Refer to manual”, what does it mean?
Providing there is no storm nearby, some device in your house is generating electromagnetic interference. This could simply be from turning on and off the lights, or perhaps a compressor turning on or off (air conditioner, refrigerator). If this message appears constantly or very often, it may interfere with the ability to detect a storm. The odd message every few minutes will not interfere with the functioning of the Astraphobe. Please see Interference on page 9.
If desired, you can turn off this display using the menu by setting “Suppress EMI:” to “Yes”.
If you do not suppress the message, you will see the message often during a storm. This is normal and no cause for concern, as the Astraphobe is detecting the impulse generated by the lightning strike, but rejecting the particular strike for analysis. See below for more information.
Is every lightning strike generated by a storm detected by the Astraphobe DSL?
No. This is not a defect, but part of the design. The Astraphobe is designed to home in only on certain types of strikes for identification and further analysis. Others are rejected.
Most often we concern ourselves with the cloud to ground lightning, but there is also cloud to cloud lightning and lightning within a cloud. This is easily seen at night, with the clouds lighting up from the flashes inside. Each of these three main types of lightning have particular signatures. In addition, each main type of lightning can also have multiple forms. Consider simple observation of cloud to ground strikes, we have all see a simple strike of short duration, and others that seem to go on forever, some that come straight to the ground and yet again others that fork or travel sideways.
There can also be multiple simultaneous strikes, or other atmospheric noise that distorts the electromagnetic signature, leading the Astraphobe DSL to reject the pulse for analysis. However, this will not affect the operation of your Astraphobe as each storm generates many strikes of all the different types – there are a lot to go around! In one random storm encountered during testing, various test units successfully analysed over 1000 strikes.
Are cloud to cloud and cloud to ground strikes detected?
Yes – a typical thunderstorm generates far more intra-cloud and cloud to cloud strikes than cloud to ground. The Astraphobe will detect all kinds. Did you know, even a cloud to cloud strike up in the sky can damage electronic equipment on the ground, by inducing a voltage in wires strung along the ground, such as high tension and telephone wires that are strung on poles or pylons.
Can the Astraphobe falsely detect electromagnetic impulses as a lightning strike?
Yes. Certain events may occur in a home or business environment that gives rise to electromagnetic impulses that closely resemble the signature of a lightning strike. For example, low voltage halogen lights often each have a transformer to convert 230V or 120V to 12V and use a relatively high current to operate, when these lights are switched on or off sometimes a strong electromagnetic impulse is emitted as the electromagnetic force in the coils of the transformer collapses. A similar effect may sometimes be observed by compressors turning on or off, such as those found in refrigerators or air conditioners. The Astraphobe is designed to cope with these events however, please see the False Alarm Control menu on page 11.
I have a DSL Modem, fax machine and telephone I wish to have protected, but the Astraphobe only has one outlet. How do I install all three?
The Astraphobe DSL only has one outlet in order to keep the wiring around the unit neat, and to lessen the chances of cables crossing over the LIVE cable. Cables are available from normal retail outlets that have a male plug on one end to plug into the Astraphobe, and two, three and five sockets on the other end in which to plug in your modem, telephone etc.
Will the Astraphobe protect my television and other electronics?
Not directly, but in many cases yes, when a high voltage surge enters your property via your telephone line. Further explanation is required: In many households, a lightning induced surge enters your premises via the telephone line, passes through your modem and out via existing cabling such as Ethernet to any other devices. It is common these days for television sets to be connected to the Internet, media players, games consoles and other devices, all of which may also be connected to your network and the Internet. In this way, lightning can enter your house via your telecommunications line, pass through your network wiring and damage many other connected devices, including your television. The Astraphobe will prevent this from happening. It will not prevent damage that may originate from lightning that enters your house via some other means, such as utility or cable wiring. Please ensure you have adequate surge protection on utility power, and any other equipment or infrastructure that may introduce damaging lightning into your house.
I do not want to be offline when a storm is present, is there anything I can do?
Yes. Businesses that need to be online 24/7 routinely make use of standby telecommunications for when the primary line fails. This concept is generally also available to consumers, using fairly standard products. For example, if you have an appropriately configured wireless modem, you could enjoy high speed cheap data and voice via your fixed ADSL line when no storm is present, and allow the system to switch to a wireless connection whenever a storm is overhead and the Astraphobe has disconnected your line. Regardless, it is best not to use any corded electronic equipment during a storm, for personal safety reasons.
How does the Astraphobe differ from a surge suppressor?
Most surge protectors use metal oxide varistors (MOVs) to divert high voltages to ground. There are a few issues with this. The MOVs themselves wear out, possibly after only days or weeks and most often with no indication, leaving you unprotected (without you knowing!). There is also a time delay while the voltage rises on the line before it is clamped to ground, this time delay can allow high voltages to pass through momentarily to your equipment. A further concern is that if the grounding present at the location of the surge protector does not terminate in a proper earth connection, the surges diverted to the common ground may find an easier path to ground via other equipment.
The Astraphobe differs from surge protectors as it is designed to physically disconnect the line before a high voltage may present itself.
My incoming line is on the wrong side of the Astraphobe and I want a tidy installation?
It is important not to let the LIVE side and equipment side cables cross, to prevent arcing through the cables. One option is to raise the Astraphobe, connecting the LIVE side with a short cable, and using a longer cable, safely routing the equipment side cable around or under the Astraphobe. You could also mount the Astraphobe on a desk or shelf, bringing it away from the wall and providing more cabling flexibility. Another option may be to relocate the jack.
I wish to install the Astraphobe in a semi basement / next to a refrigerator / under a metal awning / near an appliance etc. Is there any way I can test my environment without using the Astraphobe or having a storm to check whether the Astraphobe will work in this location?
You may get a good indication if you have a portable AM radio. Tune in on a station on the lower end of the AM band, if you can receive stations then the Astraphobe can receive the lightning impulses! An AM radio is also a good way to check for interference, if you hear lots of crackling or other noise when you hold it near some appliance, then that appliance is generating electrical noise, and the Astraphobe should not be placed too close to it.
How reliable is the Astraphobe?
The sensor equipment inside the Astraphobe is produced by a major multinational company and has won numerous awards. The Astraphobe has been designed to give reliable service, for example, the switch mechanism used to disconnect and reconnect the line uses expensive military spec gold plated connectors made in the USA with a design life of 1,000,000 cycles. To resist corrosion in high humidity environments other critical parts are also gold plated. The electronic motor used to drive the switch mechanism is a premium component, manufactured by a company that has led its field for decades. Although designed for indoor use the Astraphobe was tested under more extreme conditions. Despite testing during prototyping, random pre-production units were selected and subjected to accelerated wear tests, surpassing 120,000 disconnect / reconnect cycles with no problems or major wear evident.
Where are the installation instructions?
See the manual for installation instructions, or click here for information.
How can I find out more about lightning in general?
Click here to open a new page from Wikipedia on lightning.
Providing there is no storm nearby, some device in your house is generating electromagnetic interference. This could simply be from turning on and off the lights, or perhaps a compressor turning on or off (air conditioner, refrigerator). If this message appears constantly or very often, it may interfere with the ability to detect a storm. The odd message every few minutes will not interfere with the functioning of the Astraphobe. Please see Interference on page 9.
If desired, you can turn off this display using the menu by setting “Suppress EMI:” to “Yes”.
If you do not suppress the message, you will see the message often during a storm. This is normal and no cause for concern, as the Astraphobe is detecting the impulse generated by the lightning strike, but rejecting the particular strike for analysis. See below for more information.
Is every lightning strike generated by a storm detected by the Astraphobe DSL?
No. This is not a defect, but part of the design. The Astraphobe is designed to home in only on certain types of strikes for identification and further analysis. Others are rejected.
Most often we concern ourselves with the cloud to ground lightning, but there is also cloud to cloud lightning and lightning within a cloud. This is easily seen at night, with the clouds lighting up from the flashes inside. Each of these three main types of lightning have particular signatures. In addition, each main type of lightning can also have multiple forms. Consider simple observation of cloud to ground strikes, we have all see a simple strike of short duration, and others that seem to go on forever, some that come straight to the ground and yet again others that fork or travel sideways.
There can also be multiple simultaneous strikes, or other atmospheric noise that distorts the electromagnetic signature, leading the Astraphobe DSL to reject the pulse for analysis. However, this will not affect the operation of your Astraphobe as each storm generates many strikes of all the different types – there are a lot to go around! In one random storm encountered during testing, various test units successfully analysed over 1000 strikes.
Are cloud to cloud and cloud to ground strikes detected?
Yes – a typical thunderstorm generates far more intra-cloud and cloud to cloud strikes than cloud to ground. The Astraphobe will detect all kinds. Did you know, even a cloud to cloud strike up in the sky can damage electronic equipment on the ground, by inducing a voltage in wires strung along the ground, such as high tension and telephone wires that are strung on poles or pylons.
Can the Astraphobe falsely detect electromagnetic impulses as a lightning strike?
Yes. Certain events may occur in a home or business environment that gives rise to electromagnetic impulses that closely resemble the signature of a lightning strike. For example, low voltage halogen lights often each have a transformer to convert 230V or 120V to 12V and use a relatively high current to operate, when these lights are switched on or off sometimes a strong electromagnetic impulse is emitted as the electromagnetic force in the coils of the transformer collapses. A similar effect may sometimes be observed by compressors turning on or off, such as those found in refrigerators or air conditioners. The Astraphobe is designed to cope with these events however, please see the False Alarm Control menu on page 11.
I have a DSL Modem, fax machine and telephone I wish to have protected, but the Astraphobe only has one outlet. How do I install all three?
The Astraphobe DSL only has one outlet in order to keep the wiring around the unit neat, and to lessen the chances of cables crossing over the LIVE cable. Cables are available from normal retail outlets that have a male plug on one end to plug into the Astraphobe, and two, three and five sockets on the other end in which to plug in your modem, telephone etc.
Will the Astraphobe protect my television and other electronics?
Not directly, but in many cases yes, when a high voltage surge enters your property via your telephone line. Further explanation is required: In many households, a lightning induced surge enters your premises via the telephone line, passes through your modem and out via existing cabling such as Ethernet to any other devices. It is common these days for television sets to be connected to the Internet, media players, games consoles and other devices, all of which may also be connected to your network and the Internet. In this way, lightning can enter your house via your telecommunications line, pass through your network wiring and damage many other connected devices, including your television. The Astraphobe will prevent this from happening. It will not prevent damage that may originate from lightning that enters your house via some other means, such as utility or cable wiring. Please ensure you have adequate surge protection on utility power, and any other equipment or infrastructure that may introduce damaging lightning into your house.
I do not want to be offline when a storm is present, is there anything I can do?
Yes. Businesses that need to be online 24/7 routinely make use of standby telecommunications for when the primary line fails. This concept is generally also available to consumers, using fairly standard products. For example, if you have an appropriately configured wireless modem, you could enjoy high speed cheap data and voice via your fixed ADSL line when no storm is present, and allow the system to switch to a wireless connection whenever a storm is overhead and the Astraphobe has disconnected your line. Regardless, it is best not to use any corded electronic equipment during a storm, for personal safety reasons.
How does the Astraphobe differ from a surge suppressor?
Most surge protectors use metal oxide varistors (MOVs) to divert high voltages to ground. There are a few issues with this. The MOVs themselves wear out, possibly after only days or weeks and most often with no indication, leaving you unprotected (without you knowing!). There is also a time delay while the voltage rises on the line before it is clamped to ground, this time delay can allow high voltages to pass through momentarily to your equipment. A further concern is that if the grounding present at the location of the surge protector does not terminate in a proper earth connection, the surges diverted to the common ground may find an easier path to ground via other equipment.
The Astraphobe differs from surge protectors as it is designed to physically disconnect the line before a high voltage may present itself.
My incoming line is on the wrong side of the Astraphobe and I want a tidy installation?
It is important not to let the LIVE side and equipment side cables cross, to prevent arcing through the cables. One option is to raise the Astraphobe, connecting the LIVE side with a short cable, and using a longer cable, safely routing the equipment side cable around or under the Astraphobe. You could also mount the Astraphobe on a desk or shelf, bringing it away from the wall and providing more cabling flexibility. Another option may be to relocate the jack.
I wish to install the Astraphobe in a semi basement / next to a refrigerator / under a metal awning / near an appliance etc. Is there any way I can test my environment without using the Astraphobe or having a storm to check whether the Astraphobe will work in this location?
You may get a good indication if you have a portable AM radio. Tune in on a station on the lower end of the AM band, if you can receive stations then the Astraphobe can receive the lightning impulses! An AM radio is also a good way to check for interference, if you hear lots of crackling or other noise when you hold it near some appliance, then that appliance is generating electrical noise, and the Astraphobe should not be placed too close to it.
How reliable is the Astraphobe?
The sensor equipment inside the Astraphobe is produced by a major multinational company and has won numerous awards. The Astraphobe has been designed to give reliable service, for example, the switch mechanism used to disconnect and reconnect the line uses expensive military spec gold plated connectors made in the USA with a design life of 1,000,000 cycles. To resist corrosion in high humidity environments other critical parts are also gold plated. The electronic motor used to drive the switch mechanism is a premium component, manufactured by a company that has led its field for decades. Although designed for indoor use the Astraphobe was tested under more extreme conditions. Despite testing during prototyping, random pre-production units were selected and subjected to accelerated wear tests, surpassing 120,000 disconnect / reconnect cycles with no problems or major wear evident.
Where are the installation instructions?
See the manual for installation instructions, or click here for information.
How can I find out more about lightning in general?
Click here to open a new page from Wikipedia on lightning.