Protecting Your Equipment From Mother Nature

I'm here to talk about protecting your A/V gear from mother nature.  It's true.  Never leave your flat panel TV out in the rain.  I kid, I kid. 

Seriously though, the lightening storm that passed over my house while I lay in bed last night had me thinking and worrying a bit.  Should I run around my home and unplug all of my electronics?  Nah.  What are the chances?

Well, the chances may be somewhat slim, but guess what?  Someone's A/V is struck dead every time there's a lightening storm.  How do you prevent that?

Monster has been taking a beating the last few years in their flagship cable department.  With digital connections and HDMI (meaning less cables needed) the need for many cables has disappeared. Also the argument as to why an expensive cable is needed over an inexpensive one when it's just digital bits passing through is being met with solid disagreement. 

Lucky for them they have a great line of power products.  There's other companies too and you can do the research or hire me to consult for you.  The point is that a company like Monster has an array of power conditioners and power protection to protect your gear from lightening strikes and power surges that can destroy electronic equipment.  Whether your modest system needs only a power strip (please, don't think a $20 strip from Wal-Mart will protect you) or you need a heavy duty component to handle all of the amplification your system has. 

In my many years of seeing evidence first hand of TV's, receivers, computers rendered dead by mother nature I've come up with a theory.  Many of these instances happen in the outer ring suburbs.  I suspect that the damage happens there more often for two reasons.  One, there's less places for the lightening to strike, meaning the houses are further apart.  Two, if lightening strikes in an urban area the power grid can absorb the blow much more evenly.  A home in the country that is hit by lightening absorbs the entire blow and usually can't handle it.  

Damages can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.  A little foresight in protecting your investment makes all the sense in the world.  

If you have a question or if I may be of service call me at 440.724.0558 or email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal