Given the electrical storms forecast in the southern half of the UK in the next few days, I was curious if people actually switch their kit off. I know this is the advice given, but actually I don’t recollect ever having done so.
Having said that, this doesn’t feel like ordinary weather (or an ordinary year) and having gone to work hearing the odd rumble I am inclined to ring my partner…
I’m sure the home insurance would cover it (!)
All the best
All the Naim kit (apart from the UnitiQute) has been switched off here since yesterday afternoon.
And unplug. Yes, if the storm is near enough (no, I can’t define that), then I will switch off and unplug anything I care about. Sadly, in the last storm a few days ago I forgot to unplug a SureSignal (it gives me a Vodafone connection through my broadband, because I have no mobile signal here). It died.
Crikey. Well that’s my answer then
Always
Yes, I’ve found that routers, phones, in fact anything connected to phone lines are particularly vulnerable. I’ve had two sets of DECT phones and routers die after electrical storms over the past five years; the first time, I just thought i was really unlucky. The second time, I didn’t need telling again. Now I unplug everything.
I’ve never had a problem with electrical storms, but I’m not taking a chance. All my naim kit is switched off and unplugged after I heard loud rumbles yesterday afternoon. Will leave it off for another day or 3 as more thunder forecast.
have browsed forum for a while and seen many mentions of this - so yes switched off and unplugged - thou only when storm arriving.
Here in rural France some areas are required to have a lightning interrupter, an earthing rcd device, which I have. Could you not do something similar in the UK if you are concerned about kit?
Official Met Office advice apparently, and don’t go taking a bath either.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5149460.stm
Yep, everything Naim is switched off and unplugged. The aerial cable is removed from the back of the NAT05 and the phono cable from the Sky+ box is removed. Also check the Laptop, tablets and mobile phones aren’t charging.
That may sound OTT to some, but I remember my Mum used to unplug everything in the house, and I mean everything. So I’m quite restrained really.
All Naim gear is switched off and unplugged, Ethernet cable out, aerial out, since yesterday. Major electrical storms here for the last two nights. More predicted into the weekend. 
All my Naim and ethernet stuff (switches, NAS and Server) are not only switched off but are disconnected from each other and the wall.
I leave my router connected (as we use the internet all the time) until there is an immediate threat of a storm. It then gets swiftly turned off and disconnected from wall and telephone line. If we are going to be out for a while I would disconnect everything as storms at the moment can flare up anywhere (in the South) at anytime.
I have always done this, don’t want to risk it.
I’m lucky the phone lines to my place are relatively short (<500m) and about 20m underground (they run through some old stone mines).
I still unplug the Naim system though.
I remember one time when I went over to a plotter to take out the finished result; I was about 2m away when the lightning struck and the plotter exploded (literally). Fortunately not much of the debris escaped from the casing, but some of internals no longer existed as such!
Blimey!
Temporarily the flash actually partially did do (only for a few seconds though).
So are the Musos as vulnerable as the separates?
Anything electrical is vulnerable.
Main fuse for audio off. Powercords out and network cable out.
Only when there are big thunderstorms announced.
I’ve had heavy rain with lightning in the last two days during late afternoon/evening, on both days, as each of the 2 or 3 separate storm cells passed through, the lightning was mostly all cloud to cloud, & no ground strikes that I could see. Whatever, if I had seen ground strikes I would have pulled the phone & BB wires & switched off. If it was really bad I would have pulled TV & FM electromagnetic aerials, both are in the attic so not that high a risk, except from maybe a very close hit & its electromagnetic pulse.