ouch!
joeyh at
Lightning strike took out my modem, wifi, drive, usb hub, and the sheevaplug itself. Internet gateway totally destroyed in one crack of doom!
Glad I have a backup modem. Will need to find a new low power arm computer that can run on 5 or 12v DC.
Are surge protectors useful in these contexts for anything more than insurance?
Well, it's a cheap system.. I lost only $175 or so in equipment. I could do with another phone line surge suppressor. My current one blew a fuse a while ago, which didn't get replaced yet. That might have saved it, if it came in the modem.
However, last time I had lightning damage this setup, it seemed to come in via the wifi antenna (which is inside the house!) .. only the wifi adapter was destroyed that time, and the modem etc was fine.
Also, I've lost at least 3 modems while I've lived here, and none of those surges did anything bad to the rest of the computer. And USB modems are like $15 -- probably cheaper than a phone line surge suppressor.
I think that, nice as they are, the FSF certified wifi with the fairly big antenna are just too risky here as a ESD magnet.
There's quite likely also something going on with the house's wiring to the solar panels. That has a surge suppressor, but I may have not wired it up right when I replaced the charge controller a while ago. I would not be surprised if there was a path like solar panels + wifi adaptor -> phone line that is what blew out the computer in the middle.
This morning a lightning strike took out 2 x cable boxes & 2 x flat screen TVs in my house. All the other electronics are fine. A fuse change fixed 1 cable box but didn't revive the other stuff. Not worth claiming on the insurance due to the excess we have and the amount it would put on the cost in the future. Thank goodness the internet connection is OK.
You peeps are blowing my mind. I've never lost any equipment to lightning. The worst lightning has impacted me was hitting a transformer on the block, but they got it back up in an hour.
Stratch the Thor comment, I think someone is targeting ya'll with Fringe Science™! Given that we don't know the details of Joey's funding for the year, and the fact that Luke had two more flat screens than I do, I think it is safe to assume it was a bank/lab robbery gone bad, with a vengful party in action. That is what I am putting in my idea/dream journal.