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Thread ID: 69915	2006-06-16 07:57:00	Lightning strike	Greg (193)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
463609	2006-06-16 07:57:00	Man we had the closest ever lightning strike earlier that I've ever experienced. It was shockingly loud - the thunder happened at virtually the same time as the visuals, which flashed through all sides of the house. How would I recognise if it actually hit the house? Also - it knocked out my PC, but is running fine. What sort of long-term problems can I expect? I heard that if it doesn't actually fry any components, their life can be dramatically shortened? Would it have hurt the hard drives? PC was running at the time, but sitting idle.	Greg (193)
463610	2006-06-16 08:38:00	A surge protector/zap catcher would be a good idea if you're prone to being a lightning rod :D I thought you'd be pretty safe though with that metal pole bashed into the ground outside the garage. Seems a bit strange that your computer went off and the toaster didn't explode across the room, probably just enough current surge to switch it off and no harm done. Might pay to check if your insurance covers 'Acts of God' !	Shortcircuit (1666)
463611	2006-06-16 08:42:00	That thunder I think was right over my house! As it was very loud in our house. (Louder then normal)	stu161204 (123)
463612	2006-06-16 08:43:00	How would I recognise if it actually hit the house? You would have no power :D I would have thought.	stu161204 (123)
463613	2006-06-16 08:49:00	you're damn lucky your pc aint dead.......lightening surges kill off pc's quite often .......best thing to do is to UNPLUG the phone line goin to the pc AND the power cord........otherwise you could have a dead powersupply unit.....dead ram, dead modem, or anything at all........perhaps even a totalled pc......dont take the chance......also 'zap catchers' or 'surge protectors' DONT stop lightening........	drcspy (146)
463614	2006-06-16 09:01:00	also 'zap catchers' or 'surge protectors' DONT stop lightening........ Actually they do- or are supposed to. The one I bought (admittedly heavy duty with socket for phone line etc) has a warranty against any form of electrical surge, including lightning strikes. But I guess there's only one way to find out :eek:	Shortcircuit (1666)
463615	2006-06-16 09:19:00	if the lightning did hit the house, you could have your tv aerial blown apart, hole in your roof, water tank damaged, power sockets blown off the wall, applainces blown apart, holes burnt through carpet into the concrete. you can actually get lightning diverters to fit on the incoming mains. its basicly a spark gap to short it to ground. there seems be very little good phone protection, exspecially incoming lines (ie before it goes into the house). even good spike/surge protectors are hard to get. most,even some exspencive ones, are watered down crap which dosn't do a lot.	tweak'e (69)
463616	2006-06-16 11:18:00	Wow, I heard some thunder too at work, dimmed the power for a fraction of a second and heard the thunder after about 5 seconds. Must've been big since I was inside when I heard it.	bob_doe_nz (92)
463617	2006-06-16 11:35:00	This afternoon was unbelievable. It was magic. We had HUGE hail with about 1.5-2cm diameter pellets covering the whole place. As soon as it finished, all the neighbours gathered on the road to talk... seriously, my lawns were literally white. It took over an hour before it mostly disappeared. The old guy across the road who's retired, said he'd never seen anything like this before. Unbelievable. (I'm in Auckland, it's unexpected here)	techie (7177)
463618	2006-06-16 12:09:00	I thought you'd be pretty safe though with that metal pole bashed into the ground outside the garage. Still hoping it's a lightning guard of some sort... if we did get a direct hit I guess it must've worked cos no damage seems to be done. But heck it was a scary thing I tell ya!	Greg (193)
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