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A few days ago, a big thunderstorm passed through town. I was awakened in the early hours of the morning by a huge bang (a nearby transformer was hit by lightning and exploded). I lost power for a few hours.
By daylight the damage started to show little by little. Coffee machine broken (it took me two undrinkable cups to realize that the machine was not heating properly); the alarm system would not stop beeping and the trouble light was on all the time; and (the biggie): no internet/WIFI/home network! I can manage without the first two, but no internet/WIFI/home network is a big deal.
I then went to check on the stereo system. The standby light of the amps was on (that’s good), but NONE of the electronic components (digital preamp, phono preamp, DAC, computers) would turn on! :disbelief: Since all of those components were connected to a PerfectWave PowerPlant 10, I then checked to see if it had tripped, and it had! I reset it and one by one confirmed that each electronic component powered on just fine. Then I checked on the projector and the subwoofers and they were fine too. (I was lucky).
But without internet/WIFI/home network, I had no access to any music streaming (external or internal). Of note, a device with its own music storage would not have been affected, but all of my digital files reside in a NAS that was not accessible.
Troubleshooting the internet failure, my ISP concluded that the modem/router was toast and needed to order a new one (available only through them); I ordered it and it arrived yesterday. After installing it, the WIFI worked great but I still had no ethernet. More troubleshooting led to discovering that two ethernet switches were also damaged.
All of the broken devices (except the Coffee machine) were connected to surge protectors, but not all devices connected to those protectors broke. So certainly, the quality of the surge protector and the type of electronic device played a role. (Lesson learned; just pulled out a Parasound protector from the attic to attach all the peripherals to it)
This whole thing will likely end up costing me close to one grand. But I know that it could have been much worse. The biggest expense has tuned out to be the alarm system (likely $400-$500 including technician labor and parts). In return I now have access to a better app for the alarm on my phone but I certainly would NOT have spent that kind of money just for that. The second expense is the new modem/router ($300) from Verizon. This new router gives me a much faster connection, and has better reach (I will no longer have to use a second router to reach certain areas of my home; that second router will go on ebay soon). This router upgrade is actually something worth spending money on. Two internet switches will cost about $30 each. The coffee machine may turn out to be the cheapest as as of now it appears that all that is needed is a $12 high-limit switch that is damaged and on order.
At first I thought that the espresso machine was going to be the most painful (need my coffee in the morning) and expensive to repair. It is a very heavy machine (at least 60 pounds) and shipping it anywhere was going to be expensive. I was also afraid that it could take months before I could get the machine back. But when I called the company that I bought it from, their technical service team guided me on a troubleshooting session that zeroed in on a damaged high-limit switch (under their guidance, I had to open the unit and use a voltmeter to check certain voltages).
As for listening to music, in the past few days, I have been enjoying my LPs. It is always good to have a plan B!
By daylight the damage started to show little by little. Coffee machine broken (it took me two undrinkable cups to realize that the machine was not heating properly); the alarm system would not stop beeping and the trouble light was on all the time; and (the biggie): no internet/WIFI/home network! I can manage without the first two, but no internet/WIFI/home network is a big deal.
I then went to check on the stereo system. The standby light of the amps was on (that’s good), but NONE of the electronic components (digital preamp, phono preamp, DAC, computers) would turn on! :disbelief: Since all of those components were connected to a PerfectWave PowerPlant 10, I then checked to see if it had tripped, and it had! I reset it and one by one confirmed that each electronic component powered on just fine. Then I checked on the projector and the subwoofers and they were fine too. (I was lucky).
But without internet/WIFI/home network, I had no access to any music streaming (external or internal). Of note, a device with its own music storage would not have been affected, but all of my digital files reside in a NAS that was not accessible.
Troubleshooting the internet failure, my ISP concluded that the modem/router was toast and needed to order a new one (available only through them); I ordered it and it arrived yesterday. After installing it, the WIFI worked great but I still had no ethernet. More troubleshooting led to discovering that two ethernet switches were also damaged.
All of the broken devices (except the Coffee machine) were connected to surge protectors, but not all devices connected to those protectors broke. So certainly, the quality of the surge protector and the type of electronic device played a role. (Lesson learned; just pulled out a Parasound protector from the attic to attach all the peripherals to it)
This whole thing will likely end up costing me close to one grand. But I know that it could have been much worse. The biggest expense has tuned out to be the alarm system (likely $400-$500 including technician labor and parts). In return I now have access to a better app for the alarm on my phone but I certainly would NOT have spent that kind of money just for that. The second expense is the new modem/router ($300) from Verizon. This new router gives me a much faster connection, and has better reach (I will no longer have to use a second router to reach certain areas of my home; that second router will go on ebay soon). This router upgrade is actually something worth spending money on. Two internet switches will cost about $30 each. The coffee machine may turn out to be the cheapest as as of now it appears that all that is needed is a $12 high-limit switch that is damaged and on order.
At first I thought that the espresso machine was going to be the most painful (need my coffee in the morning) and expensive to repair. It is a very heavy machine (at least 60 pounds) and shipping it anywhere was going to be expensive. I was also afraid that it could take months before I could get the machine back. But when I called the company that I bought it from, their technical service team guided me on a troubleshooting session that zeroed in on a damaged high-limit switch (under their guidance, I had to open the unit and use a voltmeter to check certain voltages).
As for listening to music, in the past few days, I have been enjoying my LPs. It is always good to have a plan B!
