My HT equipment got zapped!

[Swish]

We had some bad lightning strikes on Tuesday afternoon, but no damage was evident to us until the next day, although the alarm system went haywire for a little bit. I left at 3 AM on Wednesday to go the the final practice rounds of the US Open at Oakmont, and my garage door opened by wouldn't close. I had to shut it manually and found out upon my return that the circuit board was fried.

Thursday night was my first venture to the HT room in several days, and the entire circuit that powers my equipment was out. The breaker was tripped but would not turn back on, so I called my younger brother, who happens to be an electrician, and we started out replacing the breaker, which didn't help. We had already unplugged my surge protector and a few other items (my Mesa Boogie guitar amp primarily), then found out a tripped GFI was the culprit. Once that was reset, we plugged the Monster surge protector back in and it tripped the circuit once again, so we figured it was shot.

Now I was concerned that my equipment got destroyed too, so I was sweating bullets as I plugged each one into the wall outlet and turned them on. To my relief, the DVD player, my Rotel processor, the HD cable converter, the Hi Def TV and my 2 channel Adcom, which powers the di-pole side speakers in my 7.1 channel rig, were all fine. However, my Adcom GFA 7500 5 Channel THX amp would not power up. I was relieved when I found out the fuse was bad, so I bought a replacement and inserted it, but nothing! Dang!

Well, my Monster offers a lifetime warranty and up to 100K for any equipment damage, but now I have to go through the mess of filing a claim.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

G Swish

[Finch Platte]

...although the alarm system when haywire for a little bit...

G Swish

What's your address again?

[basite]

I feel bad for you. For people like us, it's about the worst thing that could happen. I always unplug my gear for that reason...

Best wishes,
Bert.

[3-LockBox]

Well, my Monster offers a lifetime warranty and up to 100K for any equipment damage, but now I have to go through the mess of filing a claim.

Hopefully it isn't too bad of a mess. But it must be frustrating to go and buy a surge protector that doesn't protect. I had a friend who lost a computer that way, and eventually did get reimbursed...eventually.

[Swish]

Hopefully it isn't too bad of a mess. But it must be frustrating to go and buy a surge protector that doesn't protect. I had a friend who lost a computer that way, and eventually did get reimbursed...eventually.

...just a few minutes ago. The guy was trying to tell me that equipment loss is only covered for 5 years on the model I have, although they would replace the unit. I read the manual cover to cover and AT NO POINT does it mention only a 5 year warranty. He told me that may be so, but it's only a 5 year warranty.

Well, needless to say, I told him to put a manager on the phone because their manual never states a time limit. He asked me to hold, and after about 5 minutes, came back and told me that, although the warranty is only 5 years (now I was ready to scream) they would honor it for me. I told him that if the warranty is only for 5 years, then they needed to put that in the manual or they have no choice but to honor it for life. He didn't say much after that, but I'm getting a new surge protector, free of charge, and will get an estimate for repairs on my amp.

One guy I spoke to suggested the power supply is likely shot, and that it should be an easy fix. It will be a big pain in the arse to disconnect all the wires and inter-connects from this baby, but I guess I gotta do what I gotta do.

G Swish

[PeruvianSkies]

Why is this under the Rave Recordings section?

[Rich-n-Texas]

Why is this under the Rave Recordings section?

If I may be so bold...

It seems to me that some people here in RR don't even know (or care) that there are many forums at Audio Review. Sometimes I feel like I'm imposing on someone's private clique when I stop in here. 3-LockBox, your question about your iPod could surely be answered in the Portable Audio forum, and yeah, we have a lot of fun in the Off Topic forum as well. GMichael is at his hilarious best in his Jokes thread.

I get the impression that people here sub to their threads and only stop in when they get e-mail. But, far be it from me to interfere.

G Swish baby, why didn't you post this in General Audio? You probably would've gotten more accurate and comprehensive answers...

[Swish]

G Swish baby, why didn't you post this in General Audio? You probably would've gotten more accurate and comprehensive answers...

...but this is my 'home', and to repeat my response to Peruvian Sky, I wasn't looking for help or advice, just sharing my misery with my friends here. To tell you the truth, I get better advice here than most of the other sites anyway.

Swish

[GMichael]

The Rave Recordings section has always been sort of a click here. Many of the posters there (here) post exclusively to that (this) section. It wasn't until a short time ago that even FA has ventured out into the rest of the forum. About a year ago, I started a thread in the RR section. Several posters asked me how I got so many posts to my name without them ever seeing my moniker.

Glad to see that Monster is standing behind their product, even though you had to drag it out of them. I've heard many horror stories of others who weren't so lucky. "Take us to court" was one I saw. Wasn't worth it for a small claim.

[Swish]

Why is this under the Rave Recordings section?

This is the only place I post on a regular basis and most of the veterans here know me well and I thought that they would be interested and/or have a similar story. I wasn't looking for advice from anyone because I already have it handled.

Besides, I think it's good to mix it up rather than reading about the latest prog release or concert, which seems to be dominating the board lately.

Swish

[Jim Clark]

Why is this under the Rave Recordings section?

uh, because we like Swish and are interested in his life. Wish I had time to investigate every single forum here but I only check on this one.

I like the people on this board

I am interested in how they're doing or what they are up to

I trust and respect the people on this board and therefore rely on their opinions for a whole lot more than record recommendations.

This makes this forum a nice little community. I'm sorry if you haven't picked up on that by now. It's really the only reason I've hung around for over a decade. Hopefully one day you'll have the same outlook on the joint.

Swish- I've suffered through a lightning strike and it sucks. Luckily our homes didn't burn to the ground! I lost all my electronics when we where hit. Alarm, garage door openers, every TV and so on. My insurance was pretty helpful and in the end we got everything replaced. I'll be honest though, I still wish I had my Denon 3300. The replacement was A 3802 that's been sitting in a box for years. It's a pretty big POS. Hope you get everything back up and running.

Oh, and I've been on vacation. Did your copy of Boxer ever show up. I'm in love with that band and the album is freaking incredible.

Regards,
jc

[Swish]

uh, because we like Swish and are interested in his life. Wish I had time to investigate every single forum here but I only check on this one.

I like the people on this board

I am interested in how they're doing or what they are up to

I trust and respect the people on this board and therefore rely on their opinions for a whole lot more than record recommendations.

This makes this forum a nice little community. I'm sorry if you haven't picked up on that by now. It's really the only reason I've hung around for over a decade. Hopefully one day you'll have the same outlook on the joint.

Swish- I've suffered through a lightning strike and it sucks. Luckily our homes didn't burn to the ground! I lost all my electronics when we where hit. Alarm, garage door openers, every TV and so on. My insurance was pretty helpful and in the end we got everything replaced. I'll be honest though, I still wish I had my Denon 3300. The replacement was A 3802 that's been sitting in a box for years. It's a pretty big POS. Hope you get everything back up and running.

Oh, and I've been on vacation. Did your copy of Boxer ever show up. I'm in love with that band and the album is freaking incredible.

Regards,
jc

And yes, I did get Boxer about a week or so ago, and I agree it's outstanding.

As for the damages, Monster will likely cover the amp repairs and they're sending a new surge protector, so I'm good there. My homeowner's deductible is $500, and I doubt my garage door opener repair will exceed that, so I'll prolly be eating that bill. Isn't it strange that all no other tvs or circuits were damaged? I mean this is the only one where I have a bona fide surge protector and that's the only one that got zapped.

Swish

[SlumpBuster]

I trust and respect the people on this board and therefore rely on their opinions for a whole lot more than record recommendations.

Hmmm, that makes me feel bad about recommending Ashley Simpson to so many people as a more "authentic" alternative to her sister.

[ForeverAutumn]

Why is this under the Rave Recordings section?

It's simple really...because Swishy wanted to share his experience with his friends.

We're all friends here PS. Even you ...like it or not.

[unleasHell]

wow, sorry to hear about your lightning strike, I guess here in So. Cal. I take that for granted, hell I only see lightning every couple of years and have never heard of any strikes to homes. And we are in the midst of our dries year since they started measuring about 150 years ago, something like less than 4 inches of rain for the entire year...