B-O-O-M-!!! (the culprit is discovered)

[johnridley]

This evening I went to address the fact that the dog's contain collar hasn't worked for a while. I replaced the battery and went to test it since it didn't seem like the old battery was in that bad a shape. Didn't work. So I went to the garage to check on the transmitter. Pilot light was out. Checked and found that the transformer wasn't plugged into the wall. Dug around and found it on the floor, with the plastic case off and the wires all chewed up. OK, some rodent likes wires.

Went inside to show J and to try to find a replacement wall-wart. Then realized, "that doesn't look like chewing. Actually, that looks a lot like the windings exploded." Went and got the transmitter box; it rattled.

It's been about 2 months since we got our close lighting strike; I think now we know what it hit; it must have hit the wire loop that the dog's collar runs on. The inside of the transmitter that's hooked to that loop is covered with black soot, a toroid was blown right off the board, the controller chip has a crater in it, and the transformer has the above mentioned damage. Check it out. I think this is the probable entry point for a big ole' spike.

Comments

Radio receivers

[isherempress.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I've heard that you're not supposed to talk on the phone during an electrical storm, because if the house is hit by lightning, the charge could travel through the phone lines and shock the person at this end of the line. So does that mean that it's okay to use a cell phone or wireless phone during a storm? Don't tell my mother, okay, because that's one of my favorite excuses for getting off the phone with her -- uh-oh, sorry Ma, but a t-storm just rolled in -- you don't want me to get shocked, do ya?

Still seems to me that the collar should've received at least some kind of pulse from that strike!

Re: Radio receivers

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Well, I suppose the collar may have gotten a bit of a pulse, but not because its transmitter was hit, just because there was an EMF pulse in the area and it does have an inductor in it. That thing didn't survive a millisecond once struck, there's no way it put out a recognizable signal, and besides, the dog was in the house, about 90 feet from the wire and its field only reaches about 20.

Certainly it's safe to use a cordless or wireless phone in a thunderstorm. But your secret is safe with me.

I'm currently camping on a couple of eBay auctions to get a PetSafe xmit/receive pair, since I don't need the whole kit. I'd rather go to bed but the auctions ends at 10:30 (4 of them, ending 1 minute apart) and it looks like sniping is in order on these.