lightning storm

@hifidream said:

I was living in a loft apartment at the time in the end unit of five in a row. I don’t know if the building was grounded properly.

There is an unknown. A lot of variables. Age of the CATV coaxial cabling installation the biggest one.  

I did not have the coax going though a surge protector which probably was the issue as you describe.

Not a surge protector. A grounding block. Two different animals entirely.  

Example:

CATV coax cable shield Grounding Block

As you can see its pretty basic. But when installed properly it gets the job done diverting a near by lightning surge to earth and most importantly to earth using the  System Ground, Grounding Electrode System, of the electrical service of the building, dwelling unit. 

The lower the grounding electrode to soil resistance the better for diverting the high voltage surge to Mother Earth. Simple OHMS LAW... (Grounding Electrode? Ground rod(s) connected together. UFER  Ground,  foundation footing Concrete Encased steel rebar + Ground Rod(s) tied together creating ONE Grounding Electrode.)

The only true way to know what the soil to grounding electrode resistance is, is to have it measured by a person that is qualified.

NEC requirement for the soil to electrode resistance is pretty much useless. IF tested the soil to electrode resistance requirement is 25 ohms or less. IF higher than 25 ohms, then an additional ground rod is required. No further testing is needed. NEC code is satisfied. That’s why electricians drive two ground rods. No testing needed. Therefore no test documentation is needed  for the electrical inspector. A lot cheaper for the electrical contractor. Time is money...

( FWIW, IF tested the soil to ground rod may, for example, test 100 ohms. What are the odds driving a second 5/8" X 8ft rod will lower the resistance to 25 ohms or less?)

FWIW, IEEE recommends 5 ohms or less for a commercial electrical service’s grounding electrode.  

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The tech (30 year electrician and device repair man) was very clear, one path in for power and all connections or you risk creating a loop that encourages the lightening to travel around and exit after the damage is done. 

First I doubt he is a licensed electrician. He is more than likely just an electronic repair service tech. He may be very good at what he does. He is entitled to his opinions...

 Just a guess though for your experience at the time of losing  audio equipment from a lightning event was more likely from poor grounding of the shield of the CATV coax cable. Just curious, was you using more than one branch circuit to feed your audio equipment at the time? Or all of the equipment was fed from one branch circuit?

Jim

Welp, somehow things always get muddled.  For the record, I recommend the use of an outdoor coaxial surge protector mounted ON the grounding block. 

A grounding block is required for any coaxial cables entering a home from the outside, whether from the cable TV provider, an FM or TV or Dish antenna as well. These ensure the ground potential of your antennas stays at the same reference level as the rest of your home outlets so you don’t have the possibility that ground on your antenna is hundreds of volts different than the house ground.   This was probably installed by your cable/Internet provider already.  

A coaxial surge protector is there for cases when an electrical surge is present on the inner wire, diverting that excess voltage and current to ground before entering your home, which is why it’s best on the outside and on the grounding block itself.   They are imperfect but they do limit the fallout radius of a lightning surge.   Sometimes these are installed by the cable TV / Internet providers but usually inside on the modem. 

For further reading check out sites devoted to ham radio operators.  

If you have an antenna mounted in the attic a ground block is not required. 

@jea48 and @erik_squires 

Great suggestions but why create any risk at all? I literally have one wall plug for the entire system including the projector, content is streamed in 4K HDR wirelessly for movies, and same for music that isn’t on my server. 
 

Thanks,

Steve

@hifidream 

Wifi streaming is safest for your devices but may not be ideal depending on your neighbors and other factors.  My experience, as someone who not only streams but also needs a reliable network connection for work is that Ethernet is still the king of reliability.  If my PC or TV stop being able to stream I know it’s not my wifi. 

The use of a free wifi analyzer for your phone or tablet can always help you decide on the ideal configuration, not just in terms of signal strength but also picking out the least congested channels in your neighborhood as well as helping you decide where to put your router. 

Also, even if you opt for 100% wifi inside your home put your modem/router on a surge protector to reduce the chance of an incoming surge hitting your power lines and causing secondary damage through that path. 

@erik_squires Wi-Fi seems like a no brainer for lightening damage mitigation, which is what this topic is about. I have my computer hooked up to the network via CAT8 ethernet wire directly for day trading because latency could be an issue. I have never had a Wi-Fi outage or any issue related to Wi-Fi playing movies or music even with Wi-Fi 5 technology, which is up to 7 now. I live in a large apartment building in a signal dense neighborhood, there are over 30 networks to choose from when I search for one; I think interference is a thing of the past. I don’t want anyone scared to try this who may be in a lightening heavy area or simply wants the best way to secure their system based on assumptions. I unplug the computer from power and ethernet after each use, all three monitors including a 55” OLED are plugged into one surge protected distribution array with one plug into the wall. The router is on a surge protector. After experiencing the loss and time and effort to replace damaged equipment from lightening, the 10 seconds it takes to unplug everything is definitely worth my time and would encourage others to do the same. 
 

Thanks,

Steve