Thunderstorms, do I always need to unplug?

You are right, the entry level one is 15 k.

I was more on the funny side IB. it’s very expensive. But I find it very interesting. Clean power can level incredibly a system. I have an 2,5 k powerblock with a power cord. It made significant improvements in my system.

The other interesting aspect is that it’s a battery power. The entry level one has 6 hours autonomy. You can plug everything in it , apart big power amps ( only in the more expensive Stromtank). You don’t have to rely on home electricity.

I did recognise that you weren’t entirely serious!

An additional benefit of battery power is that the power supply can be completely isolated from earth, and so assist prevention of ground plane RF modulation that can/may affect the performance of DACs.

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Switching them on again can be less fun if a fuse goes. Nevertheless, it’s always best to pull the mains plug. I’ve seen what a lightening strike can do at work and at a friend’s house. It’s not worth the risk.

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Great photo! And if someone had been sheltering under that tree, the lightning most likely would have leapt from the tree to finish journey to ground through them, as the human body has significantly lower resistance.

I learnt in childhood that if caught in a storm somewhere out in the open don’t shelter under the nearby tree, but lie down away from the tree and get wet. (Assuming no easy escape from said area).

Sure… but do remember with lightning, unless you have a direct surge, which is rare, the more common damage is caused by induced LEMP…(lightning electro magnetic pulse) so a device not directly connected to the mains may still suffer, if it has wiring long enough to effectively couple with the LEMP. This is what you might also hear as a fizzing sound from a nearby strike. It’s happened to me twice in about a decade and fills me with dread… both times there was damage. First time a NAS was fried… the second a home router, network switch and an iMac Ethernet card was fried.
Naim equipment was unplugged (inc Ethernet) and not damaged luckily on both occasions.

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Many years ago I was in the middle of a field just north of Salisbury, waving an 8’6” carbon fibre lightning conductor** around, when I watched a strike land in the next field - about 300 yards away. Needless to say I vacated the area bl00dy quickly with the aforementioned lightning conductor held low to the ground.

(** Sage GFL, 5 weight double-taper line, with a dry fly on the end)

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Spent much of my childhood wafting 36’ conductors around the canals of the NW. Thankfully never in a thunderstorm!

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36’ eh, I’ve always been impressed how you guys can even hold that length :laughing:

Last time I waved one of those was about 40 years ago, but a hollow glass one … and I still have it! I keep thinking I must go and try my hand some time - do you think it is worth even trying, with line that has been on the reel all that time?!

That fizzing sound makes me nervous too. I associate it with a climbing trip to the Swiss alps many years ago. The first thing I noticed was that the fizzing noise coincided with a tingling sensation in my spine. Then I remembered that my I had stashed my (metal) ice axe between my back and my rucksack, a traditional way to carry it when you’re not using it but want it to be readily accessible. The effect on my spine seemed to be to involuntarily pull my arms backwards, which is not good thing to do while rock climbing!
Rapid abseiling ensued, followed by a sprint across a glacier that we had cautiously tiptoed over on the approach, followed by much beer drinking in the first bar in Grindelwald.

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Check out the last 3 pictures in the album…
We ran down from the top of Mont Blanc.
Almost got caught in the storm… :sweat_smile:

https://goo.gl/photos/Y6mTck229Q28EDC86

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I always unplug the expensive stuff. I live in the Northeastern US summer time it’s almost every evening we get thunder and lighting. My systems been off for weeks! Thankfully I have a Muso II Thats plugged into an Audioquest PowerQuest 3

It can be nice sometimes. :+1:
That one too:

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Thanks, I didn’t knew that.

One of the strangest sights i have seen and it is apparently very rare is ball lightning. I was just a kid looking out of my bedroom window at the thunderstorm when several football sized balls of lightning came out of the sky amidst the normal lightning forks. Actually quite beautiful to watch.

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Your anecdote reminds me of that Tintin album I read as a child :slightly_smiling_face:

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I’d love to see this, although by most accounts, it’s extremely dangerous stuff!

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I’m not biting!

I’ve never considered unplugging stuff during storms, on the basis a direct strike would fry the house regardless (that photo of the tree is astonishing!) But reading the effects of a near miss seems like it might be worth thinking about if I’m in the house during a bad storm. A house in the village was hit a few years ago, so not entirely without precedent. I’m also usually fairly ok with low likelihood risks, so not going to worry about it if I forget, but useful knowledge all the same!