Lightning Strike at MY House Sunday Night

[Lone Gunman]

Well, we got hit BIG TIME Sunday night around midnight. Results are that WE lost TWO of my three satellite systems and my 55" big screen TV! My Raydx and Winegard systems are no longer working.

When that lightning strike hit it sounded like it hit my front porch with the noise that sounded like 2 or 3 sticks of dynamite! OUCH! I got out of bed and walked around outside with a flash light trying to find the hit, but no luck yet.

Oh, and it took out my internet service router and some other computer stuff also!

My satellite time might have ended after that!!!

Lone

 

[FTA4PA]

Well, we got hit BIG TIME Sunday night around midnight. Results are that WE lost TWO of my three satellite systems and my 55" big screen TV! My Raydx and Winegard systems are no longer working.

When that lightning strike hit it sounded like it hit my front porch with the noise that sounded like 2 or 3 sticks of dynamite! OUCH! I got out of bed and walked around outside with a flash light trying to find the hit, but no luck yet.

Oh, and it took out my internet service router and some other computer stuff also!

My satellite time might have ended after that!!!

Lone

Sorry to hear it Lone Gunman. Hopefully your insurance will cover some/all of your losses.

 

[dfergie]

Sorry to hear.
Had that happen in the early days, had to get another receiver but the LNA survived.
Woke up to a flash and boom, had window open that night.

 

[VictoriaFTA]

Best way to isolate damage from a strike on your dishes is to have the dishes connected to a cheap PC and the PC is only connected to the home network wirelessly. Stream all video from the PC via your Wi-Fi and also don't have any connected displays or mouse/keyboard connected to that PC. Only use RDP to control it.

 

[Houston Rockets]

Well, we got hit BIG TIME Sunday night around midnight. Results are that WE lost TWO of my three satellite systems and my 55" big screen TV! My Raydx and Winegard systems are no longer working.

When that lightning strike hit it sounded like it hit my front porch with the noise that sounded like 2 or 3 sticks of dynamite! OUCH! I got out of bed and walked around outside with a flash light trying to find the hit, but no luck yet.

Oh, and it took out my internet service router and some other computer stuff also!

My satellite time might have ended after that!!!

Lone

Sorry to hear that...what type of surge protector did you have connected to your stuff? You do have homeowners insurance right?

 

[Lone Gunman]

OK, it's been a few weeks now and I've found a problem with 2 of my non-working satellite systems. The receivers all work OK on the one working system but two of the systems will not move the dishes. You can try to move the dishes with remotes but you get a clicking sound then an ERROR message comes up on the display? I checked the actuators by putting some magic marker lines on the inner shaft and according to that the shaft will move a very short distance before the error message shows up. I guess the reed switches are not working??

Oh, and it just so happens that I have a couple of those here in my desk drawer. So what do ya think Guys?

 

[waylew]

OK, it's been a few weeks now and I've found a problem with 2 of my non-working satellite systems. The receivers all work OK on the one working system but two of the systems will not move the dishes. You can try to move the dishes with remotes but you get a clicking sound then an ERROR message comes up on the display? I checked the actuators by putting some magic marker lines on the inner shaft and according to that the shaft will move a very short distance before the error message shows up. I guess the reed switches are not working??

Oh, and it just so happens that I have a couple of those here in my desk drawer. So what do ya think Guys?

Reed switch could easily have gotten vaporized or welded closed,you might also want to check the sensor wires for continuity,shorts or open.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Update, just got done replacing that reed switch on my 10ft Winegard system and it's up and running showing me Court TV on 103W as I write this.

I've got one more spare switch left and I've got to decide whether I want to put it on that 10.5ft Raydx system or save it for another lightning emergency on one of these 2 working systems?

Decisions, decisions?

 

[dishstaller]

Since the topic of lightning/surge damage has been brought up, I thought I might share some life experience on this topic. A great surge protector brand, and the only one I will use, is Panamax. Some of you big dish guys will remember these from the early days. I was at a meeting many years ago and at breakfast another dealer mentioned he was having problems getting a surge prot company to pay up after a hit occurred. He asked if any of us had had any issues getting Panamax to pay....there were about a dozen of us at this one table....not a single one of us had ever NEEDED to contact Panamax about paying for surge damage.
Everything important at my store and my house is plugged into a Panamax. Even my UPSs are plugged into them rather than directly into a wall outlet.