Well, it's dead, and there's nothing any of you can do.
 

MY FUCKING STEREO GOT STRUCK BY LIGHTNING!!!!

I'm a hardcore music lover and every single morning I am awakened to go to work by my stereo's alarm timer. The Gin Blossoms start my day. It's the only method I've found that I really enjoy using to wake up, and now it's dead. I mean I know it's just a material possession but wow that fucking pisses me off.

So I guess now I'm in the market, even though I'm about to buy a new car and did not really plan on buying a new fucking stereo, but shit happens.

I mean it was hooked to a surge protector, and I could be totally wrong, but I was under the impression that that was kinda what they were for. I mean I understood that that wasn't their number one use, but I thought they were supposed to help.

So after all that, I guess, who has suggestions? Well OK nevermind the bullshit, I would appreciate suggestions but I really just wanted to vent.

That really sucks dude. I thought surge protectors were supposed to help with that too....was it a really old surge protector or something?

Nothing can protect your equipment if the lightning strike was close enough, even with surge protection. I would just be happy that the stereo didn't burst into flames and start a fire or something.

My computer monitor just died a couple days ago too!! Stupid peice of shit from China....

There is a good possibility that your surge protector has some sort of warranty. Failing that you could get the money back on your home insurance.

Get a good cheap radio til your finances can support a great one.
You can't drive your stereo. ;)

You have a computer, so hook up a serious set of Logitech speakers. I've got the older Z-560's that rip out a nice, THX certified, 400watts. On top of that, I use a winamp plugin that funtions as an alarm clock.

He's right. Most new surge protectors have a small warranty of about $500 or so for protected equipment. If you just got a cheap one, though, don't count on it. I also second the suggestion about getting a good set of speakers for your computer. There are enough free programs out there that will make your computer as good or better than a stereo (and it's certainly cheaper than buying a new stereo).

Most of the "surge protectors" out there are nothing more than multi outlets. That 10 dollar 5 plug unit isn't going to do diddly squat for you when push comes to shove, it may handle general household surges but nothing big, You'd need a much higher end surge supressor.

Household insurance should cover it, though it depends on the deductable...

Boom boxes are inexpensive. :) (remember boom box's?)

If the lightning strike was close enough, the EMP probably did it in. Did you lose any other electronics?

No, that's the wild thing, nothing else was harmed at all. But our TV(our previous one) was struck by lightning three times. It was repaired by an electrician all three times, so I'm sure on that. And each time the surge had to go through the VCR to reach the TV because of the wiring, and not once did it harm the VCR in any way. Lightning is just fucking weird I guess.


I got my little sis's stereo for now. She never uses it, so it works well for both parties. Eventually I'm gonna splurge and buy a badass system, but I got bigger fish to fry right now.

You need to add a surge system to your incoming electrical service. You can find them at real electrical supply houses. Most home box stores don't carry them:

Here is an example from Siemans:

http://www.sea.siemens.com/reselec/product/rzcbsa.html

There are also special outlets (TVSS) that you can install which have better surge protection than the average plug-in kind. PM me if you want more info.

Yeah, just get a surge protector with one of those guarantees up to a certain amount. This guy I know did that, and when lightning blew out his computer system, they paid for his new one.

Also, the performace of surge protectors wear out over time, so I recommend getting a new one ever 2 or 3 years (especially the cheapo ones).

or ball lightning :)

Re: Well, it's dead, and there's nothing any of you can do.
 

There's this thing called an "antenna", no? :D If you didn't have a lightning arrester on a serious antenna: oops. Now you get to collect on your insurance, I hope.

Note that cheap surge suppressors have a finite lifetime. Spikes will destroy them over time, and they must be replaced. Even so, a direct lightning strike will probably get through them. That's beyond their provinence.

Alternatively, build a Farraday cage around your abode.

word.

I have a Panamax surge protector that I got with my dish system a few years ago, for about $125. Last year my dish took a hit and fried some kind of switch on the dish itself and the surge protector. Didn't touch anything else. I get on their website and get some warranty information. They send me a prepaid freight box to return the surge protector and a check to cover the switch on the dish. About a week later, I get a new surge protector. From what I understand, I can do this as long as I own this surge protector. Pretty badass if you ask me.

Yeah, I'd buy a kickass PC sound system if I were you. I have surround sound from my comp and it was $100 cheaper than a comparable stereo and sounds just as good.

You should upgrade your sound card if you buy a nice set of speakers for your comp. New sound card helps immsensely.

I have learned that surge protectors will not protect equipment from being hooked to the wild leg (208 volts) of a 3-phase system.

No, I didn't do it. I just got to help fix it.

We lost our Dish DVR, 2 telehones, and.. oh yeah, half the juice in the house last night to lightning. Electrician coming out tommorow to "hopefully" get us back up n running.

i run my stereo through my computer and use tclock to wake me up if i need to. works great!

there are $20 surge protectors that have a lifetime $50,000 guarantee... it might've been ABS brand but i can't remember.

Surge protectors are designed to protect from surges and spikes in the electrical lines. Most are rated to withstand about 3000-4000 joules, lightning strikes are in the millions of joules. Nothing short of unplugging is going to save your equipment. And the answer to a good stereo system does not involve a computer.

A lightning arrestor won't hurt, though.