Lightning Disaster in Hot Springs!

[n4gix 4,957]

Oh my, last night's storm brought me a visit from Zeus, the which I've never encountered before!

Around 2024 last evening I briefly saw a brilliant bright flash that seemed to illuminate the entire interior of my house accompanied immediately by the loudest BOOM I've ever heard. Instantly my home was plunged into utter darkness. At first, I thought a bomb had exploded in my back yard, but upon feeling my way to my computer desk in the stygian blackness to find one of my flashlights, followed by opening the front door, I noticed that my landlord's stately manor was still lighted, as were the neighbors houses still with power. I then deduced that it was a lightning strike near my little house.

My landlady called me on my cell phone to inquire if I was okay since she noticed my little cottage was totally dark. Her mate got dressed and braving the storm came down, found the breaker box (curiously outdoors!) and reset the tripped breakers, banishing the darkness.

Unfortunately, my main computer was damaged (I suspect the power supply) and will not start up at all. Fortunately, I had my "flight sim computer" that I'd stored in the closet and it has now become my internet salvation.

The strike also seems to have killed my "Wally" (DISH network box) so I now have no TV until the techs can replace the "Wally."

I thought at first that my microwave had likewise been a victim, but upon checking earlier this morning discovered that the outlet was controlled by a nearby GFCI outlet, and that outlet will not "reset." My landlord's mate will have to buy a new GFCI outlet to replace it.

The last "victim" of this strike is an LED bulb in my bedroom's overhead fan/light. I cannot figure out how to open the light's cover to replace the LED bulb. so aside from one table lamp on my side of the king-sized bed it is my only source of light for the nonce.

I have no idea how I'll manage to fix my main computer since I'm barely making ends meet as it is what with my very tiny SS check and SNAP benefits...

I'm glad that I've not gotten around to putting up my amateur radio antennas yet, else I might have lost several thousands of dollars of precious equipment, since I no longer have the means to replace them! 

[birdguy 3,957]

I know the feeling Fr Bill.

A couple of years ago I heard a loud clap of thunder that almost shook the house.  I thought nothing of it until I went into the sunroom at the back of the house.  There was a broken window and the floor was covered with shards of tree bark.  Our large pecan tree in the back yard had been hit and a sheared a strip of bark exploded and went through the broken window into the sunroom.

There was a lot of bark pieces and broken glass to clean up.

Noel

Edited November 5, 2022 by birdguy

[HiFlyer 9,375]

When I was living in Connecticut, we had a huge lightning storm that seemed to cover a lot of the state. Unfortunately, to my benefit and many other people's misfortune, power surges blew parts of or outright destroyed dozens of computers, which left me in high demand and with an overflowing wallet for several weeks afterwards.

Good that you had a spare!

[John F 2,454]

Glad you're okay, at least. Hope you get it all sorted ASAP.

John

[sightseer 895]

3 hours ago, n4gix said:

I have no idea how I'll manage to fix my main computer since I'm barely making ends meet as it is what with my very tiny SS check and SNAP benefits...

I would suggest getting an inexpensive laptop for around $300 with Windows already installed.  You could also go for an Android laptop for even less I think.  either way you would have internet access.

And I don't know what you pay for Dish but you might check into one of those Fire TV devices and a subscription to YoutubeTV.  Amazon is always having sales on the devices and YouTube is about $70 per month.

Glad to hear you and the house are OK...and flightsim computer!  I got myself an XBoxS just to make sure I could fly.

[charliearon 3,042]

Lightning rods to ground and current and or voltage spike protectors on all vital electronic devices, Bill! 🌩️

[n4gix 4,957]

3 hours ago, sightseer said:

I would suggest getting an inexpensive laptop for around $300 with Windows already installed.  You could also go for an Android laptop for even less I think.  either way you would have internet access.

And I don't know what you pay for Dish but you might check into one of those Fire TV devices and a subscription to YoutubeTV.  Amazon is always having sales on the devices and YouTube is about $70 per month.

Fortunately, I have a laptop, although it is somewhat ancient by today's standards. In any case, my FS computer has all of my tabbed websites in the MS Edge and Chrome browsers. I've installed Thunderbird (my fav email client) but unfortunately cannot seem to recall the bloody password. I of course have a file of my passwords on the HD of the defunct computer, so tomorrow I'll pull it out and see about recovering that file by setting it up as a second HD on the FS computer.

Both DISH and high-speed fiber internet is provided in my rent, so I'm good on that front. I also own a firestick which I used for a while when I first moved to Hot Springs.

After paying rent here, I have about $85 left which I need to save so I can pay my car's insurance and buy items such as TP, paper towels, haircuts, et cetera. Were it not for the $160 in SNAP benefits each month, I'd not have anything to eat. 

[n4gix 4,957]

2 hours ago, charliearon said:

Lightning rods to ground and current and or voltage spike protectors on all vital electronic devices, Bill! 🌩️

Charlie, I'm embarrassed to admit that I have a 1000 watt UPS here that for some reason have never gotten around to installing. That's tomorrow morning's first task! I do need to buy a new ground rod so I can install a robust grounding system before installing any of my radio antennas!

[stans 708]

At least you are unharmed.  Lightning is a killer.

[Penzoil3 480]

Fr Bill, if I sent you a power supply, could you install it? I have spares...  Hmm, also, there is usually a replaceable fuse in the power supply...

 Sue

Edited November 7, 2022 by Penzoil3

[Bob Scott 7,752]

Ouch.  Glad your radios weren't in the line of fire.

Could be worse, though!  This was the result of a lightning strike on a nearby apartment building a few months ago:

 

[birdguy 3,957]

Whevere I live in lightning prone areas I've seen lighting rods on rooftops.

I have two of sorts.  Two 40 foot tall pecan trees.  One in the front and one in the back of the house.  And, in fact, one of them was hit but lightning a few years ago.

Noel

 

[n4gix 4,957]

2 hours ago, Bob Scott said:

Ouch.  Glad your radios weren't in the line of fire.

Could be worse, though!  This was the result of a lightning strike on a nearby apartment building a few months ago:

Yikes! That was tragic. When the thunder sounds before the flash is done, you just know it's very close!

I asked around last month if anyone in the SPA Amateur Radio Club would help me put up my antenna(s). One of the younger (probably early thirties) said he would help. I haven't called him yet because I need to buy a ground rod and get it driven in first before doing anything else.

Rather than making another hole in the house, I bought four of the flat strap doo-dads so I can just open the sash window to get them settled then slide the sash down and lock the window. Also I need to dig through boxes to locate my poly-phaser lightning arrestors and bond them to the ground rod, et cetera.

[n4gix 4,957]

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

I have two of sorts.  Two 40 foot tall pecan trees.  One in the front and one in the back of the house. 

Noel, my house is located in one of the densest forests in Hot Springs National Park. There are literally thousands of potential lightning "rods" not much further than a stone's throw from my house!

I plan to install switches to ground the antennas and disconnect the coax from my radio gear whenever such a storm comes again. Some folks a few miles southwest of me were hit with an F3 tornado that caused quite a bit of damage.

[birdguy 3,957]

Fr Bill my trees are less than dozen feet from my house.  I also have a 20 foot Juniper that actually touches the garage and another that touches the house.  I don't know if that's good or bad.  My yard guy has to trim the branches twice a year.  The pecan trees are close enough that they used to drop pecans on the roof.

Noel