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by jubjubbird 2630 days ago
I had everything wired until a lightning strike took out everything connected to the router (tv, avr, PC). Now everything that can be connected by Wi-Fi is. I also added a grounding rod to the coax service entrance, knock on wood...
1 comments
andromeduck 2630 days ago
Wouldn't it be cheaper to just get a lightning rod and some isolation?
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js2 2630 days ago
Yeah I tried that route after losing equipment over my broadband cable connection. Didn’t help. Next major lightning strike and I lost more Ethernet equipment.

I’ve since isolated my equipment from my ISP’s with a pair of fiber adapters. I’m also on AT&T fiber now instead of coax (but the ONT is outside and Ethernet runs from it to the AT&T RG inside).

Ethernet ports seem to be really sensitive (HDMI too) and it’s possible a current is being induced in them from some other path. I’ll find out this summer. (I live in NC which has the second highest number of lightning strikes in the US after FL.)

Edit: just realized you wrote lighting rod. You actually would need a lightning protection system which is multiple rods properly installed and grounded. It isn’t a DIY thing to install and I’ve been told is not cheap. Also probably doesn’t help with nearby strikes, only keeps your house from burning down from a direct strike.

I’ve also installed a couple type 2 surge protectors.

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dmix 2630 days ago
What kind of building do you live in where this occurred? An older house?
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js2 2630 days ago
Nope, two story home w/basement built in 2004. It’s at the high point in the neighborhood. I’ve had the grounding rod checked. I think I’ve just been really unlucky. I’ve lost networking gear two or three times (which I believe was actually via the cable modem) and the most recent strike 2 years ago took out circuit boards in an A/C unit, a separate air handler/furnace, one of my garage door openers, and an arc-fault circuit breaker in one of my panel. That last strike was the first time I had more than a few hundred dollars of damage and enough to claim against my home owners policy.

This is since 2004. And we get a lot of lightning storms here in the summer. I grew up in S Florida and I don't recall getting lightning storms as frequently or as violently as here.

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