Okay, so I have a TV that was recently struck by lightning. It was a nice TV, and I’d like to have it repaired, but before I lug the thing to a repair shop, I’d like to know if lightning damage is generally repairable, if it tends to be cost-effective vs. buying a new TV (TV is out of warranty), or if it’s a lost cause and I shouldn’t even waste my time.
A little more info: From what I can tell, the lightning came through the coax cable and not through the power cord (as nothing that was plugged into the same outlet was damaged, nor did my surge protector show any sign of failure).
Whether or not the TV is repairable or whether or not it is cost effective to repair can’t be determined without opening it up and performing some diagnostics to see just what got fried. Most shops charge a flat fee to come up with a repair quote that is only due if you decline the repair.
You could get lucky, and find that some sacrificial components like a metal oxide varistor got toasted, or you could be in deep doo-doo with tuner ICs and more smoked.
That’s kind of what I was afraid of. That same lightning strike cost me a router and an Ethernet card – but fortunately no damages to any other computer components, which means I probably used up all of my luck right there.
Meh, that TV’s too heavy to go lugging off to a repair shot just so I can give them $X to tell me that it’d cost too much for it to be worth repairing. I’ll probably just pony up the money to buy a new TV, and call it an early Festivis gift to myself.
May I suggest a surge protector by APC (fill in your favorite brand) that has cox protection so if you get another surge down the catv line your tv will not be damaged and if it is they pay to replace it.
You know, I though of the same thing after it was too late. The thing is, we get very few thunderstorms around here, so it never really occurred to me to do too much to protect my equipment. :smack: Heck, I only used the surge protector because I happened to have it lying around, and I needed some extra outlets.
Oh well, I’ll just consider it a lesson learned, and be glad that my computer didn’t fry as well. I guess it’s time to start pricing medium-sized HDTVs (definitely can’t afford a large one). Might as well take these lemons and try to make some lemonade
