Lightning is Striking Again
Jul
24
Written by:
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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The Challenges of a Home/Studio Network
Ever since I built my studio nearly 15 years ago, I have learned to dread lightning. At the time I thought it was pretty slick to lay conduit with two “category 5” cables to connect my home and studio phones and computer network. The cables worked great, except that I soon learned that lightning strikes, even some distance away create powerful electrical fields that translate into surges in wires, whether they are above or below ground. I have a major collection of burnt network switches, computer cards, routers, and surge protectors to prove it.
I eventually figured out that I needed a surge protector at each end of each wire I ran underground. However, the network surge protectors I installed adversely affected the performance of the network. This was because they increased the effective length of our network cable, which was close to the functional limit of 330 feet for Ethernet cables. So, I had been protecting the studio end (where I have more to lose and then trying to unplug the other end when storms approached.
A summer drought and record high temperatures here in Tennessee had nearly burned things to a cinder when some welcome rains came along a couple of weeks ago, and along with them lightning at an intensity we have not seen for a quite a while. I had just decided that it would be foolhardy to risk running home in the middle of an electrical storm to unplug my network wire, when lightning struck outside my office window. It fried a router and network switch at home, but also confirmed the wisdom in staying put. I had been researching alternatives to my underground Ethernet cable for some time and had a potential solution, and the lightning bolt supplied the last bit of motivation I needed. Here is what I did:
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Wireless Bridge Unit on Studio
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I installed a wireless bridge between home and studio. A “wireless bridge” is basically a pair of radio transmitter/receivers that send a wireless network signal between two points. The ones I used Ubiquiti Nano Station M units and are theoretically capable of sending a signal up to 15 km with a throughput of 150 Mbps. The pair cost about $160. These need a “line of sight” installation, although it is possible to beam a signal to a third unit configured as a “repeater” to get a signal around an obstruction. I learned about these on a farming website. Apparently, these are frequently used to get Ethernet connections to farm buildings – I guess so the cows can stream Green Acres reruns.
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It is still possible for the wireless bridge or the mast cable to pick up a lightning surge, so I installed my network surge protectors, one on each unit, and grounded them properly. The units I have come from L-Com and are specifically sold to protect against lightning. They use a gas tube element that will handle the higher voltage from lightning strikes. While it is still possible to blow these out with a high surge, they are less vulnerable than the typical consumer surge protector you might pick up at a big box store. (I have piles of those that have been fried). These protectors cost $40 each.
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Ethernet Surge Protector
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I upgraded my telephone surge protectors to similar gas tube units. My telephone cable is still underground so I installed a surge protector on each end. I have two lines and a two line surge protector was about the same cost as for a single line unit - $40 each.
I also verified that I had functional AC surge protectors connected to each piece of computer and network equipment. I am looking into whole house surge protectors that install at the breaker box.
Between the labor and materials of laying cable and the cost of fried computer equipment over the years I probably would have come out ahead by hiring a networking expert when I built the studio. If you are not comfortable with this stuff, it would certainly be worth spending some money on a professional consultation. If you want to learn more about how to protect your equipment from lightning, the National Lightning Safety Institute has How to Protect Your House and Its Contents from Lightning by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) available as a free download.
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