Lightning strike...equipment dead..now what....

[elwoodit]

Got home, first thing I noticed is that the AC was on, but it was showing 5 degrees higher than it was set. Hmm, no other signs of power outage, as the oven clock was on time.

Turned on the tv, then the DVR...no lights from the DVR. Tried powering it on manually, nothing. No lights. I notice that there is wifi but no internet. Check the modem, dead, no lights, tried switching sockets, nothing. This is when I realized that the DVR didn't commit suicide recording Le Mans all day...

Tried to turn on the PS3 to check the TV was ok, turns on, three beeps and turns off PS3 Slim, hardly used

Try turning on the apple tv...nothing...dead.

I run through the HDMI ports on the tv to check they work, connected to a laptop, so far they all seem to work.

So it seems there was a surge through the coax cable and it traveled through the modem, avoided the router through ethernet??, and went on to kill the DVR, then into the TV, and killed the two things attached to it; aTV and PS3

This has never happened before, and my cable company had rewired the coax line to my house a few weeks ago because of water infiltrations in the line, on the outside of the house. So I am starting to think something might have happened because of the works they did.

TV power was connected directly to wall (no strip or surge). aTV + PS3 + DVR were all on a strip surge protector and the strip works, so do the outlets. So its 99% the COAX that is to blame.


Sooo, what can I do now; 1. To prevent this in the future, and 2. To see if I can get some kind of compensation from my cable company? Small claims court? I have no idea how it works over here so

I am looking at getting a UPS to deal as a surge protector and line conditionerhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038ZTZ3W/...VVZ1XISH&psc=1

I'm more worried about getting proper COAX surge protection, but it's so hard to find one that doesn't create issues for the DVR/internet. Anyone have experience with something like this: http://www.amazon.com/TII-Broadband-...rds=coax+surge

Any help would be greatly appreciated in this moment of great despair and depression

 

[ss202sl]

Why would the cable company be responsible - are they somehow negligent? This is why you have home insurance.

 

[elwoodit]

Why would the cable company be responsible - are they somehow negligent? This is why you have home insurance.

"This has never happened before, and my cable company had rewired the coax line to my house a few weeks ago because of water infiltrations in the line, on the outside of the house. So I am starting to think something might have happened because of the works they did."

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi

A lighting strike is usually considered an act of god for insurance purpose
If you have home contents insurance ask them if your policy covers lightning strikes

Are there burn marks on the cable to confirm the theory it was a lightning strike ?
Did your neighbours have similar problems?

Was there thunder & lightning in your area the day of the incident?
Ask your neighbours as insurance co will want proof
In case you have saved up all your old & broken electrical equipment to make a fraudulent claim for new

It you had a external TV aerial you can get a surge protector

Tall buildings have a lightning spike on top going down a heavy cable to a earth conductor

But cable for TV & internet can't be protected easily

A ups or ordinary surge protector plug or socket would not protect against a lightning strike

At work we have fibre optic cable for wide area networking
When a electric mains cable blew up and melted the nearby network fibre cable we could not blame the cable company providing the fibre optic cable

Regards

Mike Barnes

 

[elwoodit]

Hi

A lighting strike is usually considered an act of god for insurance purpose
If you have home contents insurance ask them if your policy covers lightning strikes

Are there burn marks on the cable to confirm the theory it was a lightning strike ?
Did your neighbours have similar problems?

Was there thunder & lightning in your area the day of the incident?
Ask your neighbours as insurance co will want proof
In case you have saved up all your old & broken electrical equipment to make a fraudulent claim for new

It you had a external TV aerial you can get a surge protector

Tall buildings have a lightning spike on top going down a heavy cable to a earth conductor

But cable for TV & internet can't be protected easily

A ups or ordinary surge protector plug or socket would not protect against a lightning strike

At work we have fibre optic cable for wide area networking
When a electric mains cable blew up and melted the nearby network fibre cable we could not blame the cable company providing the fibre optic cable

Regards

Mike Barnes

Thanks for the reply Mike.

I know the cable co was out to replace DVR and Modem of a neighbor, the same thing that happened to me. Only difference is that he had all his TVs destroyed. I somehow managed to only damage the apple tv and ps3...and possibly 1 of the HDMI ports of the main TV which the DVR was connected to.

I know that none of the power strips had tripped, and no other device that was not near a coax was damaged. Sadly I'm quite sure that the COAX did bring the surge through into the house.

Wouldn't a UPS that has COAX also protect from surges/lightning etc?

 

[hang-the-9]

The coax cable is not connected to your electrical system how would that have fried the electronics? At most it would have killed whatever is directly connected to it.