Lightning strikes on your outdoors antenna, or dish, & power surge stories.

[tron3]

I have a friend who works for Panasonic. Long story short, he sold me a 46" Samsung LCD HDTV for a thousand bucks. Model LN-S4695D. Yes, 1080P and VERY highly rated by Amazon users.

Gave it to my parents as a combo 50th anniversay - mothers/fathers day gift. Because of the severe storm conditions today, I disconnected the outdoors antenna, just in case. Why blow a grand and take chances?

I am very aware that there is a greater chance of the danger in the electrical outlet itself. It has some cheap surge suppressor now, but I want to update it.

A number of years ago, my sister lost at least a stero system and TV when a squirrel got into the power transformer not too far from her house.

Anyone have any stories to share?

[Marquoz]

My story is more one of why everybody should own one. One day I noticed that peripherals on my computer weren't working, and I couldn't figure out why not since the computer itself was working fine.

I checked the connections, everything was plugged in, so I'm scratching my head thinking maybe they are dead, which was odd because it was 4 different things. So I changed the plugs around on my battery back up system, and all of a sudden they work. Turns out during the night the non battery run plugs got fried out because of a surge. Ever since then, I keep a surge protector in pretty much any plug that has something over 10$ plugged in.

[Beta Man]

get a line conditioner with surge suppression that you can connect your Coaxials to.......


Living in Ohio without proper surge suppression would be like sleeping with the only hooker in town without double-wrapping

[sinister184]

i have this surge protector/line conditioner from Belkin: http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...uct_Id=163009#

works really well, rated to protect up to 4720 joules, and i bought it on sale at buy.com for like $40. They should be a must for anyone with a decent HT. If anyones interested its $50 on buy.com with free shipping.

http://www.buy.com/prod/pureav-iso-4...207514360.html

[Beta Man]

I have the same one, plus a couple monster power centers..... either way you gotta have something decent!!!! (I know Monster is over-priced.... I got them awhile ago! )

[jsteinhauer]

Late last fall I reached for a remote control that was sitting on top of either the BD or the HDDVD player, I don't recall which. I got a pretty strong static shock (the kind you give your sister after shuffling your feet on a carpeted floor). This caused the AVR to go into protect mode and shut down. The players were fine, and the AVR still worked, but the autocalibrate feature was fried. I had to send it in for service. I am very careful to make sure I discharge myself prior to touching anything, now.

[phlydude]

Lost a computer and TV once...homeowner's insurance came through nicely!

[clyon]

Brownout took out a receiver many years ago

[Psychonaut]

I'm trying to avoid having one of these stories. As Beta-man said, Ohio weather can be rough on electronics. I have a good surge protector but none of the sockets in my basement are grounded. I'm getting an electrician this week to get that rectified then probably going to a power conditioner to protect it as well.

[un4gvn94538]

no stories and dont want to have one either. this is why i gots me a ups/surge protection.

[kingofgrills]

Last year I had an experience that I'll never forget, and it wasn't storm related at all. I woke up at 2 am one morning to hear my house alarm going off. Disoriented, I jumped up to find something that could be used as a weapon. Just as I stumbled across the room for the light switch, the alarm stopped. Then it started again. Then it stopped. This was followed immediately by a very low but loud bang that came from outside. I looked out the window just in time to see all the street lights and nearby retirement community center go dark. The power was out. I checked around the house, and went back to bed.

The following day I learned what happened. The only intruder that night was a nasty power surge that hit my neighborhood. It was caused by a drunk driver trying to evade a patrol car. Unfortunately, the driver didn't miss a power pole that's located about a half a mile from my house.

I was very fortunate with my H/T gear, losing only an Onkyo DVD player that was connected to a cheapie surge protector in my room. Everything else was connected to my Monster Power centers, and they were fine. Beyond my HT gear though, I lost my new dryer (the door was open and the dome light was on). Many of my neighbors were not so fortunate though, and one in particular lost over $20,000 worth of gear from his home theater room. It boggles my mind that he was using cheap power strips thinking he was protected. He also lost his refridgerator as well.

From this experience I learned that since a drunk driver hit the pole causing the surge, homeowners insurance and the power company were not liable for any losses. I also learned that my local power company offers a house surge protector they'll install at the meter for just $170. The house protector cuts things off before they reach the house, or at least significantly reduces any surge that hits the house. If it ever goes off it has an audible alarm. The power company will maintain it for life, and they'll replace the unit if it ever needs it after a surge. I would urge any of you homeowners to inquire with your utility company for a house surge protector. For $170 (at least here) it was a no brainer. You definitely would still use surge protectors on all your gear, but this offers a great first line of defense.

[Ranger-R]

No stories yet, always invested in surge protectors. Monster Power HTS1600 and SW200 for the sub.