Kenneth Lumia wrote:

> I'm in the process of automating surge testing on 
> products that contain a coax interface, ethernet and 
> telco ports.  I'm looking for a device(s) that will 
> allow other pieces of test equipment to remain 
> connected during the surge test but not be damaged by 
> the surge (with no effect on the waveform).
> 
> An example may be appropriate to help explain.  The 
> manual process to surge an ethernet port is:
> 
> 1. Connect PC to DUT via ethernet port; ping to verify 
> operation.
> 2. Disconnect PC
> 3. Connect Surge generator to ethernet port of DUT ( 
> common or differential mode).
> 4. Surge DUT.
> 5. Disconnect Surge generator.
> 6. Reconnect PC to DUT via the ethernet port.
> 7. Ping to verify operation.
> 8. Repeat steps 2-7 many times, depending on 
> requirements (#hits, polarity,etc.).
> 
> Other ports including coax, phone tip/ring and AC input 
> are similarly tested (worst case +/-6000V ).
> 
> I basically want to skip steps #2,#5,#6 during the test 
> to allow automation.
> 
> Has anyone come across a product that would support 
> this?

How about commercial surge protection? You even may (or may not -- read
the fine print :) be covered by the equipment insurance some of them
come with. They usually aren't more than a few MOVs and TVSes, so
building one isn't that complex either. You don't say anything about the
energy of your surges... this is just as important as the voltage.

In any case, I'd not use an ethernet port in the PC that's on a mobo.
Use a cheap ethernet card, and/or go through a cheap hub or switch.
(Both easy and cheap to switch in case something does go wrong.) 

Gerhard
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