NSM wrote:
"Allodoxaphobia" wrote in message
...

And, then the lightning strike comes in on the phone line or the
cable tv coax or the extension cord laid out to the garden fountain
pump....

When it's a direct strike, your number is up.

Most strikes are induced. Whole house will help in that case.

N

I think it would certainly help to some degree. I had a similar (more
severe) loss about ten years ago. I recently aquired ownership of this
property after renting it for 17 years; so now I have much more latitude in
replacing the antiquated knob and tube electrics.

Neither strike was direct. The last one nailed a stately oak tree in the
back yard (which spreads over the house and is the highest point in the
neighborhood). This strike is as yet undetermined as to it's exact 'ground
zero'; but the actual pulse appears to have had via multiple points of
entry. It took out one unit connected solely to the AC, but also appears to
have caused damage seemingly localized to the phone line and cable as well.
In fact, based on number of devices affected, the major damage looks to be
from the phone line (two phones--three survived--fax, caller ID). I don't
know whether to attribute the TV/VCR damage to the AC, cable or some
combination...probably the latter.

Obviously, any secure whole-house protection would have to secure *all* the
copper coming into the house. I'll be looking into that. Hopefully--some
day--all but the AC will be non-conductive fiber...which will probably
introduce it's own set of issues.

And so it goes....

jak