Feel like throwing in the towel - receiver problems

[garypf]

It's been awhile since I've posted on the board due to work and going to school at the same time. I'm writing in hopes of getting some input on a recurring problem I'm having - namely the loss of electronics due to power surges and lightning. I feel like I'm bleeding money.
Is it just me or does today's electronic equipment not last as long? I still have a Yamaha 6.1 channel receiver that still works. I replaced it four years ago because I wanted HDMI inputs. The receiver I bought in 2011 lasted until 2013 when the house got struck by lightning. I replaced it with the Yamaha 675. I chose this Yamaha model because I had credit with HH Gregg and this was the highest level model that they carried. It also had an extended warranty. Long story short - I went through three of them in two months. Power surges were the culprit even though I had all components connected to a heavy-duty power strip - a Monster component.
All were covered by warranty. Then I discovered that the house ground wire was rusted out. So I had that replaced. Lesson learned.
Last month, there was evidently a power surge. The two year old receiver stopped working. My TV would not recognize the HDMI cable connected from the TV to the Yamaha. Also, my blue ray player and U-verse receiver were not recognized. When I hooked the blue ray player and the U-verse receiver to the TV's HDMI inputs, it worked.
The receiver is covered under warranty so I shipped it to the nearest repair center - Atlanta - via UPS.
Guess what happened - the receiver got damaged in shipping.
So I've made a claim with UPS and they are supposed to pay for the replacement.
So that's the good news. But I am concerned about buying a new receiver. I feel like I will be throwing money away.
Does anybody have any suggestions regarding surge protection? Has anyone had this problem before?
In the words of Capt. Murtagh "I'm too old for this s$%^"
P.S. My blu ray player woes are in another thread)

 

[Towen7]

I don't recall ever having a power surge damage equipment. Sounds like you've addressed the biggest issue and that is a proper house ground.

I wish I had more to offer. Good luck.

 

[Botch]

Wow Gary.
I have an APC power conditioner, quite a bit pricier than a protected power strip (even from Monster) but that'd be the first thing I'd look at; when I have lightning strikes, transformer explosions and Hill AFB bomb drops gone awry (I'm not kidding) that APC will click, buzz, click many times, temporarily disconnect, different LEDs are always changing, and once completely shut down. No problems with my electronics, I love that thing.
However, after reading your story I'd ALSO hire an electrician to come in and check everything in your house. In fact, I did that when I installed my HT equipment 5 years ago and found a similar Ground problem, money well spent. (looking over your equipment list, you and I have very similar systems)
Good luck, and let us know what you end up doing/results.

 

[Towen7]

I guess I could expand a little.

My HT has a couple of APC uninterruptable power supplies which replaced equivalent Tripplite units. All the other electronics are connected to Tripplite surge suppressor switch Isobar filters. The Isobar part doesn't have much to do with surge suppression. We've experienced more than our fair share of power outages but I'm unaware of surges or how to detect them.

 

[garypf]

Thanks Botch and Towen. I will look into the APC power conditioner. I'll also get an electrician out to the house. Will keep you posted.

 

[PaulyT]

You can get a simple plug tester from the hardware store - you plug it into the socket and the pattern of lights will tell you if the ground is disconnected, poles reversed, etc. That might be an inexpensive place to start, just to make sure the basic wiring is ok. Then yeah, a more heavy duty power protector/conditioner/battery backup could help. Also make sure the circuit(s) your gear is on has enough power to support everything, maybe get a volt meter to make sure you're maintaining 110 even with everything going full-tilt.

I've never had a problem with gear failing that way, and I have multiple components that I actually just leave on all the time (some of the amps and my active crossover) because they're older and don't have automatic switching. Of course, the tv and pre/pro and bd player get turned off.

 

[Towen7]

To be clear, I am not proposing that you need a UPS. A quality surge suppressor should be all you need. I only use the UPS because I have my network gear in the same rack as my HT gear, and I wanted to keep the wifi going in case of a power outage.

 

[Haywood]

When I lived in Florida, I got into the habit of running my main system off a UPS and also put a full house surge protector on the main panel. I also put surge protection on the incoming cable TV line. With the amount of lightning down there, I didn't want to take any changes. The overall schema was effective.

 

[MatthewB]

Years ago I had everything just plugged into my Monster 3600 surge protector and it would tell you how many amps and volts that were being used. I would watch that thing constantly fluctuating going from 112-123 volts. Then one day I scored two Monster voltage regulators on a Circuit City close out for 400.00 each and hooked em up to two of my home theaters. What I found strange is my Monster 3600 no longer fluctuates wildly up and down it stays almost consistent all the time and hardly ever moves.

I have all three of my systems hooked up to either Monster or Tripplite surge protectors and Monster and Tripplite Voltage regulators. I have gear in my system well over 15 years old with no issue. In fact I have a Denon 4802R still used daily that came out 13 years ago and is still a workhorse.

My Pioneer Elite RPTV still looks and runs like day one and is 15 years old. In AZ we get severe heat and it wrecks havoc during the summer months with constant blackouts and just last month the power kept turning on and off every few seconds for like 10 minutes. Till the power finally went out for a few hours. So glad all my gear was plugged into protection.

 

[garypf]

Got my money from UPS. Looking at the Yamaha RX-V675 as replacement. Has HDCP 2.2 compliance on some of the inputs. Also wireless. Will also be investing in a stronger surge protection. The receiver may stay in the box until I get better surge protection.