Position of Isolator in Set-up.

[asha_bristol]

Hello,

I am a bit confused about where in my set-up the isolator should be placed. I have a "power inserter" in my white box, which then goes to a powered splitter, which in turn feeds my V6 and modem - all in the same room.

I have tried to do some research online but it seems there are 3 different schools of thought as to what's best. So is it:-

1) An 'inline' isolator between the power inserter and the powered splitter?

2) 2 x 'inline' isolators after the powered splitter close to the end of the V6 and modem?

3) No 'inline' isolators, but instead a 'Fully Isolated System Outlet' between the power inserter and the powered splitter?

Which is the safest option to protect my expensive AV setup?

Thanks.

[Adduxi]

You will need VM to respond to this one, and you can't add any equipment into the VM wiring as it's against the T&C's.  So I would imagine the supplied setup would already have a isolator in the wiring.

If you are really concerned, the only way would be optical network and audio connections to your AV kit, but AFAIK you can't get optical HDMI.

[asha_bristol]

That's really not very helpful. If you don't know the answer then best not reply. As far as I can tell my set-up (as explained) doesn't seem to have any isolator.

Maybe you can explain how an optical cable will protect £5K of AV equipment against lighting strikes or short circuit being sent down the coax?

You seem to be talking about ground loops which is something different, which I do suffer from, which is another reason to think the incoming coax isn't fully isolated.

[Z92]

You can certainly get optical HDMI but they are not cheap!

If it was an engineer installation then I'd expect a isolator at the entry point of the house, if it was quickstart then you might have an inline isolator as well or instead of. Either way, it should be fitted as specified by VM and not modified. 

Don't forget also to protect the incoming mains supply, I use a UPS with AVR for this.

[asha_bristol]

It's an old installation of many years. I can't see any isolator in any cable and the white box just seems to house a power inserter / amplifier.

I am not talking about modifying anything but by definition I need to know exactly what isolators I should have in place and where they should be to be able to say to VM I don't have them.

[Z92]

Post a picture of whats in the white box as it may be a combination of an isolator and power inserter.

[asha_bristol]

This is what I have. Whilst it may offer some sort of isolation I don't believe it to be a galvanic isolator as if it was, by definition, I wouldn't be experiencing ground loop issues.

I've tried to look online for specs but of what little information exists nothing mentions it being an isolator or gives any protection specs.

 

[Adduxi]

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@asha_bristol wrote:

<snip>

Maybe you can explain how an optical cable will protect £5K of AV equipment against lighting strikes or short circuit being sent down the coax?

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Any kit connected by optical fibre will not transmit surges. Most AV kit has optical ports AFAIK. Same with optical network cable. 

[asha_bristol]

I get what you are saying but spending £500 on an optical hdmi cable to save VM fitting an isolator that probably costs them less than £5 to source and they should have fitted anyway isn't a realistic solution to the problem.

[jpeg1]

There are two clues to this.

The first is the word 'isolated' on the case.  The second is that if you look at the connector at the bottom, it should have an insulated sleeve so that the plug's outer doesn't make contact with the case.  The inner will almost certainly be isolated either by a capacitor or a coupling coil.