Last evening as the sky grew dark and ominous, I was reminded that it is THAT time of year. Only this year it seems like it is getting started ahead of schedule. It is thunderstorm time of year bringing with it storm and lightning damaged electronics.
In fact, we’ve already started getting a lot of circuit boards damaged by lightning strikes. Many, like this GDI circuit board are repairable. Others are just plain toast – literally.
This particular board came out of a prison located somewhere in Midwestern USA, one of several they sent into ACS Industrial Services for circuit board repair. I couldn’t say that this board had a security related position in the prison because we don’t really know – but we do know we quoted rush repairs as requested. It had no power on multiple channels and was useless.
After replacing several damaged components, repairing the traces, cleaning and testing, this board is ready to go back into service…maybe keeping the bad guys behind bars!
There are some things you can do to help minimize the potential for lightning damage:
•Diversion: ground metallic structures
•Attenuation: careful wiring such as metallic raceways, cable shields, twisted pairs, extensive grounding and earthing
•Suppression: up-to-date suppression devices
Meanwhile, ACS Industrial is prepared for the casualties!