Belkin SurgeMaster, 7-Way, Tel/Fax/Modem/Cable or DSL Modem Protection, Grey, 3m Cable

Wow! This Surge Protector just oozes bucket loads of quality. Belkin are known for making top-class surge protectors. Being part of the elite Gold Series, this surge protector is the cream of the crop - the very best surge protector Belkin makes (at the time of writing).

There are two Gold Series models. This model (F9G726uk3M-GRY) this suited towards personal computers, workstations, networks and DSL modems. The other model (F9G723uk3M-F-GY) is suited towards your home theatre, televisions and satellite connections. Order both for ultimate gold-class protection!

This particular Gold Series model is perfect for protecting your valuable computer workstation as well as the usual host of peripherals connected to it. It also protects devices connected to your telephone socket (e.g. wireless broadband router) and your Ethernet (RJ45) network connection, which means your computer is protected in every possible way.

Just knowing that your valuable computer is plugged into a Belkin Gold Series Surge Protector is enough to put your mind at ease. No longer do you need to worry about lightening strikes causing havoc to your expensive equipment, Belkin is your knight in shining armour. And who can argue with a lifetime product warranty and an unlimited connected equipment warranty? Not the mention the fact that the Gold Series comes with a data recovery warranty, so if a lightening strike ever corrupts your hard drive, Belkin will recover your data. Belkin, I salute you!

What are you waiting for? A lightening strike? Sorry, bad joke. Stop thinking and just order it. You will not regret it, mark my words!

P.S. Amazon delivery was spot on (as usual) and extremely well packaged. Top marks all round.

Belkin SurgeMaster, 7-Way, Tel/Fax/Modem/Cable or DSL Modem Protection, Grey, 3m Cable

There are various makes and models of surge protection. The only ones I still have in use are Belkin, the hi-fi protector is over 15years old and going strong. Two cheaper alternative makes - one for TV kit and one for IT kit have both packed up. The latter recently when a switching surge blew it up (literally)and tripped the main house RCDs; this Belkin is the replacement.

This model is ideal for IT, telecomms and entertainment kit as it has six switched sockets and one unswitched, but all protected. The advantage is that you can just use the master switch on the unit to isolate equipment that runs off permanently powered mains transformers (e.g. modems, printers, speakers) to save power or if going away but still have one socket on - ideal for computer, telephone or digital recorder, that you may not want to switch off. One switched socket and the unswitched are on rotators so can take small mains transformers.

The rated guarantee cover for equipment connected to this particular unit is also high so the maunufacturer must be confident of the component quality and build life.

After trawling through the entire range of surge protectors offered by Amazon, I opted for this Belkin F9G726 model. It has an excellent specification and comes equipped with protected network, telephone, and AV ports. Belkin also has a reputation for producing high quality computer peripherals. The device is a practical dark grey colour, with 7 mains sockets, two of which usefully rotate 180 degrees to accommodate chunky transformer plugs. One of the rotating sockets is always on - regardless of the unit's on-off switch position - provided the mains cable is receiving a live feed. A single switch controls the other 6 sockets. Power and protection status are indicated by amber and green LEDs. Other protected connectors are two RJ45 network sockets, one in, one out; two AV co-ax sockets, one in, one out; three BT telephone sockets, one in, two out. All sockets are labelled. The unit is rated for a total load of 13 amps and can be wall-mounted if required. Tamperproof one-use screws have been used for assembly. These can only be destructively removed. The general specification is very good: blocks surges in less than 1 nanosecond; withstands 6000 volts, 90,000 amps, 3240 joules. It also usefully filters out spurious EMI/RFI noise in the 150 kHz - 100 MHz frequency band.
NB: always buy a surge protector that has both power-status and protection-status lights. If the green protection light fails to come on or goes out, it means the protective circuit has failed.

The Lifetime Warranty displays Belkin's confidence in the device.

1) They will replace it free of charge if it becomes damaged in the act of protecting your equipment.
2) They will repair/replace free of charge any equipment damaged by electrical surges whilst connected to the device.
3) They will provide free professional data recovery if your hard disk(s) are damaged whilst being protected by the device.
4) Damage includes that caused by a lightning strike.
5) There is no maximum monetary limit to the amount that may be claimed (consequential loss excluded).

I emailed Belkin to clarify a possible ambiguous phrase in the small print. Here's the reply:
"To simply answer the question, the Belkin lifetime warranty is an open-ended warranty for an unlimited period of time while the part is still manufactured. If the original part is no longer available or out of stock we try to replace it with the most comparable model which is subject to approval by our escalation team. Any connected equipment damage is also covered for as long as you have a Belkin surge master. In addition the Belkin technical support team is available free of charge for as long as you have a Belkin device."
The warranty is invalidated if the following is not complied with: "All Belkin surge protectors must be plugged directly into the power source and must not be `daisy-chained' together in serial fashion with other power strips, UPS, other surge protectors or extension cords."

Actually testing the device requires the use of sophisticated equipment normally only found in industrial electronics workshops, so we have to rely on the specification and the manufacturers reputation. The warranty suggests it will perform to specification.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the on-off switch is too soft in action and easily tripped by a bump from a cable etc, thus crashing your PC. Unfortunately, Belkin use the same switch across their entire range of anti-surge strips sold in the UK and this complaint is common. It's a minor niggle but Belkin need to to do something about it.