Lightning??

ROOFCUTTER · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:34 pm Post subject: Lightning??

I need some input from the people who deal with lightning more often

About a week ago we got hit with lightning that toasted a couple of surge protectors and took out the cable boxes. we fixed those.

Since then in the last week we have had a mother board go out two harddrives a network card a sound card and a keyboard. spread across 2 computers

Is this something that happens after lightning? or just our freak bad luck?
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Mulder · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:39 pm Post subject:

Bad luck

I have never seen that happen and it thunderstorms here atleast 3 or 4 times a week.

Potato-VS- · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:43 pm Post subject:

Unless your comps on when your house - Im assuming its your house - got struck it shouldn't have been because of the lightning - unless your system still had more energy in it than was needed when you turned on your comp but I doubt that.

Bad luck as far as I know.
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Stevo · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:55 pm Post subject:

Are they connected through surge protectors? I mean everything, telephone, cable, power, etc. And is there some kind of network running through the house?
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ROOFCUTTER · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 7:26 pm Post subject:

yes network, and yes all on surges the one with the blown surge is the one with the now bad keyboard and harddrive, the other surge made it but the MB, sound card, network card, harddrive and sound card is out on that one.
The other surge was on the printer and scanner but except for the surge they seem fine.
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John Doe · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 7:33 pm Post subject:

Where they good, name brand powerbars or cheapo no name things? If so I never trust those, get a name brand like APC or something similar. Pay attention to its rating and reaction times and such.

There are power bars for $10 and up, I try to spend in the $30 range for APC bars that are well rated, gives me more peace of mind.

Also they usually have jacks for LAN and phone so those can be protected too.
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`RaphX · Registered User Joined: 24 Mar 2002 Posts: 1556

The protector I use has a lifetime warranty for up to something like £30,000 of equipment.

Kjeldorian Royal Guard 42 · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 7:57 pm Post subject:

We got hit by lightening just last month at work.

We were sitting there playing BF 1942. It was a long evening of h00ring the Harrier. . . .anyway. . I was in the middle of attempting the upside down, in flight, over the ocean, wrench wielding, Harrier belly repair of doom. I had one hand in my pocket and the other one was smoking a cigarette. . . . . I can't believe I just said that. Where was I? . . . .Oh yes, BAM! (or whatever lightening sound works better for you). It took out a hub and a network card that was clear across the property! Just happened to be MY friggin work computer!

We heard the hub roast too. It was a crunching frying sound that told us immediately, something was indeed rotten in Denmark.

PondScum007 · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 8:25 pm Post subject:

although, one bad componenet can cause others to go as well, a cooked keyboard even...
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Blue Ruler · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 8:32 pm Post subject:

DukeNukem · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 10:31 pm Post subject:

To seriously answer ROOF's question, yes it is possible to have later failures due to the lighting strike.

I do not know if you are familiar with ESD failure. I work for Texas Instruments -

ESD stands for Electrostatic Discharge. An item can have ESD damage, pass all the qual checks and fail shortly after. What happens is that diode and transistor junctions and traces on IC chips can be - well lets just say they can be fried to a state very close to failure. The same can happen in a lightning strike.

I also have a GMRS repeater with a 60 ft mast and antenna. So I heve had to set up extra protection against lightning. Let me ask a couple of questions.

1. I think you already said that these were not El Cheapo surge protectors. So did you have all power wires and cases grounded to a single point? (very important by the way).

2. Did you have some equipment that does not employ 3 prong plugs? If so, then it is a good idea to install a ground wire to the case of said equipment.

I hope the best for you.
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ROOFCUTTER · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2003 6:15 am Post subject:

well thats a good point, we have 6 computers running and the ones that are toast are the ones on the el cheapo surges... the others are fine. I guess this reaffirms it, do not go cheap in that department.

No the cases are not grounded seperatly. That is an easy fix.

Considering we get lightning once is a blue moon just proves blue moons happen

It continues too, now both case fans have stopped working

all for the price of a surge protector and some ground wires.

add cuss words here...
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Smegma · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2003 8:59 am Post subject:

DukeNukem · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2003 9:54 am Post subject:

ROOF:

It may not simply be because the surge protectors were El Cheapos. It can also have to do with the path the lightning decided to take. Most damage is done by what is called GPR (Ground Potential Rise). It is the path the electrons find in an attempt to equalize the potential difference that determines what gets damaged.

NOTHING - I repeat NOTHING can protect completely against a direct lightning strike. The basic idea is to provide (as best as possible) a way to direct the energy to ground without going through your equipment. DOH!!!

One other point I should mention. Most consumer grade surge protectors of the type commonly used on PC's and a networks are sort of like motorcycle helmets. They should be probably be replaced after about 10 years and after an "accident" or "incident".

The ones in an average surge protector strip are usually not a gas discharge type (like the ones used in radio applications) that can take multiple strikes. You should consider replacing ALL of your surge protectors. These protectors usually protect by essentially burning up in a major "incident".

If you are really interested in GOOD surge protection look for a protector that protects against a spikes in potential between any two of the three conductors (i.e. hot-neutral, hot-ground, neutral-ground). Because in a lightning strike a surge can come in on ANY one of the conductors.

As for grounding wires and "SINGLE POINT GROUNDING!" - PM me for more about this.
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