Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Coax surge supressor ... or is it?

Are surge supressor power strips that contain connectors for coax cable generally actually protecting the cable tv line from a power surge or are they usually just noise filters combined with a power surge supressor to help make sales (ie. to imply cable protection that is not really there)?

The person at Radio Shack confused me with their explanation of what their product does... no doesn't do... no does do... no wait... well you get the idea.

Thanks!

My guess is that the stuff you see at Wally World or RadShak isn't going to provide the top level of protection. And again, nothing will stop a direct hit.

Check out this site (http://www.altelicon.com/lightning_protectors/lightning_protectors.php) for some samples of specialty protectors.

The person at Radio Shack confused me with their explanation of what their product does... no doesn't do... no does do... no wait... well you get the idea.

I would not get my advice from a Radio Shack guy. [Now] they are just retail salespeople with no more knowledge then the girl selling skirts in the store next door.

Those stores used to be places where you could walk in and actually buy *gasp* electronic parts and maybe get some advice on putting together a project. Now you are lucky to find a little bin of resistors and such if even that. It's really sad.

Maybe comparing their surge protectors to Wally World is a bit harsh, but yeah I doubt it's quality stuff. Certainly way overpriced regardless of what it is.

The one thing they've always done reasonably well though is portable scanners.

Yeah, Radio Shack is high-priced but I couldn't find anything w/ coax connectors on it (locally) anywhere else and I needed it in a hurry for an installation project.

In any case, putting aside the Radio Shack angle (unless someone knows specifically about their models) my underlying question is whether surge protectors that have coax connectors on them are actually protecting from a surge on the cable line or are they usually just noise filters?

Thanks.

Yes, it is a surge protector, NOT a filter. I doubt it has any filtering capabiltiy. Don't know how good, but it's surge.

I just downloaded & read the PDF manual (http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/uc/rsk/Support/ProductManuals/6100107_PM_EN.pdf) for an $80 Radio Shack AV Grade Surge Protector. It has AC line filtering. No specs are listed for the RF cable connectors other than "Additonal Protection."

Either way, it's probably better than no protection at all. Heck, for $80 it should be!