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Can a lightning storm damage my amp?

#21
JimmyM said:
Sorry, no truth to that one, bro. Lightning surges make us all equal in the eyes of the Lord, whom you may be seeing if you play during one ;)
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+ infinity

Humans have come a long way since the dawn of time but we are still and always will be at the mercy of our world. Those who think they can outsmart God or Mother Nature always lose in the end. Neither your surge protector nor your breaker box nor your rubbersoled shoes or your car tires can protect you.


And if I haven't told you yet, happy B-day. :)
 
#22
Rockin Mike said:
Well that's why we have homeowner's insurance.

Again, I'm not talking about a direct hit, but even a strike miles away can cause the lights to blink.

Surges come in all sizes. My question is, are amps more or less vulnerable than computers?

I would guess they are tougher than computers.

and yes I agree nobody should play bass outdoors during a lightning storm. The rain can rust your strings.
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Amps aren't any more or less vulnerable than computers, TVs, kitchen appliances, or other consumer electronics.
 
#23
I suppose, given my username on here, I should comment on this as well =)

Yeah, unplug things during a storm...there is no surviving a direct hit when it comes to stuff hooked up to your outlets. Unplugging is great, but make sure that you keep the plug at least a foot away from the actual outlet....just in case.
 
#24
will33 said:
+ infinity

Humans have come a long way since the dawn of time but we are still and always will be at the mercy of our world. Those who think they can outsmart God or Mother Nature always lose in the end. Neither your surge protector nor your breaker box nor your rubbersoled shoes or your car tires can protect you.
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No, but lightning rods, spark/arc gaps and grounded lines can. The core idea in lightning protection (aside from preventing a strike by preventing leader formation) is to shunt the strike to ground and around the gear you're trying to protect.

That's why the highest thing on utility poles and power substations is a grounded line or structure. It's the reason the power usually stays on during lightning storms. But when a strike hits one of those grounded lines, it'll induce currents in nearby electrical conductors, like the power, cable TV, and phone lines on utility poles. That's where the surges come from.
 
#26
will33 said:
Humans have come a long way since the dawn of time but we are still and always will be at the mercy of our world. Those who think they can outsmart God or Mother Nature always lose in the end. Neither your surge protector nor your breaker box nor your rubbersoled shoes or your car tires can protect you.
:)
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Lightning, as I have learned, always strikes from the ground up. Its weird how it appears the other way.. but based on that notion is why rubber soles and tires are attributed with the feature of on not getting struck. (I only assume that is correct). But if something is by no means conductive of electricity, how would these items not protect someone even against the mightiest of bolts? (I by no means question the power of Mother Earth, or her atmospheric affiliates.. ) I am just pondering this all as I type it... it is not even fully thought out.. I just keep typing with no real goal or direction.. I assume the best way to close this post would be to simp.............
 
#30
Papa Dangerous said:
Lightning, as I have learned, always strikes from the ground up. Its weird how it appears the other way.. but based on that notion is why rubber soles and tires are attributed with the feature of on not getting struck. (I only assume that is correct). But if something is by no means conductive of electricity, how would these items not protect someone even against the mightiest of bolts? (I by no means question the power of Mother Earth, or her atmospheric affiliates.. ) I am just pondering this all as I type it... it is not even fully thought out.. I just keep typing with no real goal or direction.. I assume the best way to close this post would be to simp.............
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Sartori said:
I'm pretty sure that's an urban myth.
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No, it's not.... but it is also not completely true. Lightning usually strikes down, but it can strike up.

EricssonB said:
"Pssscht, whatever. I do what I want." - Lightning.
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This is the truth. Electricity "always takes the shortest path"... except for lightening. There is so much energy in lightening it goes wherever it wants. This is why surge protectors are next to useless. Aside from the fact that most are just snake oil, the lightening will just jump over the surge protection.
 
#31
Papa Dangerous said:
Lightning, as I have learned, always strikes from the ground up. Its weird how it appears the other way.. but based on that notion is why rubber soles and tires are attributed with the feature of on not getting struck. (I only assume that is correct). But if something is by no means conductive of electricity, how would these items not protect someone even against the mightiest of bolts? (I by no means question the power of Mother Earth, or her atmospheric affiliates.. ) I am just pondering this all as I type it... it is not even fully thought out.. I just keep typing with no real goal or direction.. I assume the best way to close this post would be to simp.............
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Thanks for making me want to look that up. Fascinating stuff.
 
#35
Papa Dangerous said:
but based on that notion is why rubber soles and tires are attributed with the feature of on not getting struck. (I only assume that is correct).
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Not correct. Rubber soled shoes MAY protect you from getting shocked by a bad ground in some equipment, but lightning, as someone else mentioned, will zip right through several thousand feet of empty air as an insulator - Lightning just laughs at 1/2 inch of rubber.

Tires are nothing to lightning as well. Some years ago I was working in Houston, and my boss's wife was driving down the Southwest Freeway in a thunderstorm and her car got struck by lighning, dead on. Blew out all 4 tires. Destroyed the electrical system in the car. She was scared out of her gourd, but otherwise fine. Of course the car insurance company tried to say she did something to the car. :rollno: The real reason a car will protect you is that its a conductive cage (Faraday cage) surrounding you, and the lightning basically takes the... (wait for it)... path of least resistance... around you. Here's a fun and enlightening (sorry... had to...) link. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#36
geoff_in_nc said:
Not correct. Rubber soled shoes MAY protect you from getting shocked by a bad ground in some equipment, but lightning, as someone else mentioned, will zip right through several thousand feet of empty air as an insulator - Lightning just laughs at 1/2 inch of rubber.

Tires are nothing to lightning as well. Some years ago I was working in Houston, and my boss's wife was driving down the Southwest Freeway in a thunderstorm and her car got struck by lighning, dead on. Blew out all 4 tires. Destroyed the electrical system in the car. She was scared out of her gourd, but otherwise fine. Of course the car insurance company tried to say she did something to the car. :rollno: The real reason a car will protect you is that its a conductive cage (Faraday cage) surrounding you, and the lightning basically takes the... (wait for it)... path of least resistance... around you. Here's a fun and enlightening (sorry... had to...) link. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
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oh man.. that was awesome! But I have to admit.. I was a little disappointed tho.. I read that Hammond gets hit by lightning in a golf... I thought a hammond organ was going to blow up and make the most killer organ tone ever! However that did not happen... which is okay I guess because hammonds are good organs. xD
 
#40
Lightening can make for a killer stage show:
tr7zCz428249-02.jpg
 

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