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Topic: Lightning protection |
Clark Doughty
From:
KANSAS
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 2:53 pm |
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Question? What's the best way to protect all our expensive equipment, (amps, effects, pickkups, computers, etc) from lightning and such? I have a power strip, which is not a conditioner, but it says nothing about lightning protection. I've read both pro/con re the power strips which are suppose to do the job but wanted to know what some of you experienced guys use. Since I live in Missouri we have many electrical storms and I just had a Freeloader hit but nothing else in the string of equip.........thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.......clark
Last edited by Clark Doughty on 8 Jun 2015 6:56 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 3:19 pm
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Furman makes a rather expensive device that will absorb spikes and boost undervoltages.
Surge protectors less than a hundred bucks are one-shot deals: their protection is sacrificial.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 3:34 pm
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It's lightning. Lightening is quite different! Not a big deal, but I made the same mistake a couple years ago, and my Sister corrected me!
lightening
[lahyt-n-ing]
Spell Syllables
Synonyms Examples Word Origin
noun, Medicine/Medical
1.
the descent of the uterus into the pelvic cavity, occurring toward the end of pregnancy, changing the contour of the abdomen and facilitating breathing by lessening pressure under the diaphragm.
Origin of lightening Expand
1520-15301520-30; lighten2+ -ing1
Can be confused Expand
lightening, lightning.
lighten1
[lahyt-n]
Spell Syllables
verb (used without object)
1.
to become lighter
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 3:54 pm
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The safest thing to do is to unplug your equipment (and even that's not 100% safe). Many surge protectors will protect against minor spikes of a few hundreds of volts, but anything close to a direct hit on the AC line can fry anything on the line, even if it's turned off or protected by a high-end suppressor.  |
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Roger Dillingham
From:
Kentucky, USA
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 5:37 pm Lightning Protection
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The best advice is what Donny mentioned; always unplug when not in use. Also, there is nothing available which can guarantee no damage from a lightning hit; and as Donny has already stated anything close to a direct hit will be almost certainty that some electronics will be fried. I personally had lightning damage to several sensitive electronic stereo components years ago when we had a close proximity discharge in our immediate neighborhood. An immense ESD in your area can cause damage. I always felt as if it must have struck the ground outside the house somewhere, possibly nextdoor. You can spend major bucks trying to insure that you won't be faced with a problem from lightning damage, but the only thing it might buy is a slight amount of piece-of-mind or an insurance policy on the equipment plugged into the protector. Good luck!  |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 5:47 pm
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A 90 year old ham operator answered this question on the air one day...
"The best way to protect your equipment is to unplug it from the wall and the antenna, pack it in the box, and put it under the bed."
Lots of truth in that, especially the unplugging part.
_________________
Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 5:48 pm
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I will say this, the number one way to get a computer hit by lighting is to leave a dial up modem plugged in... voice of experience here. Lighting hit a pole over 2000 feet away... guess whose computer got hit... MINE!
_________________
Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 6:17 pm
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"Lighting""??? I mean,, I know what you mean, butt,,,,,?
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Clark Doughty
From:
KANSAS
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 6:40 pm Lightning
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| Thanks for all the responses. Guess I know now what I need to know. We probably ought to stop talking about this before John has a heart attack.......clark |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 8:51 pm
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Nah! It's just that I used to make that same mistake.
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 9:23 pm
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Powering up computers/servers/whatever behind a "1:1 saturation transformer" and leaving out the connection to GND, and connecting to internet via an optic cable, will, when properly done, make sure the equipment can handle all but a direct hit 
Just make sure everything else in and around the house that should be grounded, is well grounded, so that will take the hit when lightning strikes 
The idea is to provide lightning bursts with easy ways to dissipate well away from the equipment you want to protect, as lightning bursts will always follow the route of least resistance.
Totally protecting electronic equipment from lightning strikes, will in most cases cost more than the electronic equipment itself. Adding a "Faraday cage" will help immensely, but...
Powering the equipment through a modest UPS, and making sure lightning bursts can not pass through the internet connection - use WiFi for instance, is about the best one can do to protect the electronic equipment usually found in a household.
----------------------
We have plenty of lightning storms every year where I live, and as I am a retired electro engineer who have had to protect against lightning damage on much larger electric and electronic systems in my time, I have gone a little further in protecting the most important parts of my own gear at home.
Short description follows - something for professionals ... (don't try this at home kids  )
I use "spike-arresters" across main fuses for the entire household here in Norway, but my "spike-arresters" are at least thousand times stronger than what is normally sold as "lightning protection" in stores. They are still going strong after more than 10 years and dozen of close calls - burnmarks on the pole outside the house and around on the farm for instance.
When I moved in (20 years ago) I rigged up a proper "star-grounding" for power lines in the house and all farm buildings, to prevent lightning bursts from spreading past common GND points and between buildings. The grounding that was here before was of the normal "no good" serial grounding mess.
On farms we also insert 3-4 feet plastic tubes on all metal waterlines near animals, which I know have saved lives in the stalls - probably including my own life at least once when lightning struck and flashed across the stable while we were milking the cows ... was no fun.
Not even such powerful "spike-arresters" as mine, and "star-grounding" can protect fully against a near hit, so I disconnect what I can when I'm home and a lightning storm is getting too close for comfort. The thing is though: I am not always at home, and can therefore not always "pull plugs".
Since I have computers/servers that have to stay "on" all the time - they are remote controlled via the internet, I isolate them from everything via a "1:1 saturation transformer" and leave out the connection to GND, and connect to internet via an optic cable.
So far so good ... the equipment always come back on-line again after a lightning storm, so I can connect to/via Norway when I'm in Florida.
I have a similar set-up of on-line computers/servers at my place in Florida, and there are "a few" lightning storms a year in the area.
The protection is not quite as good as for the equipment in Norway. Only a regular UPS that is there to take the blow - not to power the equipment, and there is no optic internet connection - only regular coax.
Had an "I/O card" blown in the server last year, which was replaced with a better one with optic isolation.
Will probably hold if lightning doesn't strike too close - have survived at least one blow that put the high-volt transformers for the entire neighborhood out of action.
Don't think I'll bother to improve on the protection beyond the couple of hundred dollars that has gone into it so far, as there isn't much to gain unless I pay at least ten times as much for it.
(Can't imagine anyone has read this far down  ) |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 8 Jun 2015 9:41 pm
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I drove in a ten foot ground spike for the outlets in my computer room. Not sure if they will help, but I hope so, Had a strike to a Sassafras tree 15 feet from the house some years ago. Took out the tv, but did an interesting thing to my cable box. I suddenly got all the restricted, pay only, programs!
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Bill Rowlett
From:
Russellville, AR, USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2015 9:48 am
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I followed you all the way Georg; it's a sad affliction being an engineer. It's kind of like having perfect pitch. Unfortunately, you know the failure modes of too many things. I did a lot of root cause analysis in my real job. I'm afraid to ride Ferris Wheels and walk on Hotel balconeys (and play things with 3rd string G#'s).
Bill |
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Edwin Allen
From:
Windermere, Florida, USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2015 10:22 am
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| Tithe more. |
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Edwin Allen
From:
Windermere, Florida, USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2015 10:23 am
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| Tithe more. |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 10 Jun 2015 3:47 pm
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| Bill Rowlett wrote: |
[...] I'm afraid to ride Ferris Wheels and walk on Hotel balconeys (and play things with 3rd string G#'s).
Bill |
I can relate  |
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