Hi folks,
I think the story I am about to tell, is in a way unbelievable.
After having worked two months on the IP cams installation, retrofitting with Ethernet cables my home etc. I was finally ready to go on vacation with a decent system up a running.
We leave to the airport, the sun was shining, and twenty minutes later we were at the check-in.
Another 10 mins and we were at the gate, waiting for our flight to be boarded.
Through my phone App, I connect to the cameras, and I could not believe my eyes:
there was a thunderstorm, where 30 minutes earlier there was sun shining. Certainly well possible, especially during the summer, but weird because at the airport, the sun was still shining.
So, I was watching the driveway camera, and decided to switch to the one on the backyard, but it was spinning, spinning and spinning again... I tried a different one, same story, none of them could connect.
In the meantime, ready for boarding, so I said, ok i will check again in two hours once we land.
Two hours later, another airport... same offline response.
Took a second flight, 8 hours later...same offline message.
I tried to connect to other devices at home, everything was offline.
I checked with the power provider for power outages, there weren't any, so I thought the router was the culprit.
Day 2, I asked a friend of mine to go to my place and check things out, and he came back to me with this two images from the backyard camera:
He then went inside, we where on a video call and I asked him to check if the NVR was on, everything seemed to be working good with it.
Now, let's check the router: red light, display shows: Error 2000. I asked him to unplug the router and reboot, it did not work. We went through a reset process, still no joy, the router could no longer connect to the ISP.
I called Bell, the ran a few checks, they could not see anything wrong on their end, physically the line is good, they said. Error 2000 is a generic error, so if the router can no longer connect, they are going to send me a new one.
My conclusion is that the house was hit by a lightning and fried the router.
However, I cannot figure out the dynamics of this:
From the image, it looks like the lightning did NOT hit the camera, but an old electrical box that used to power two outdoor lights. (where you see the window, there used to be a door before).
However, I remember I disconnected that cable from the indoor electrical switch, so there is no power in there.
The IP camera is connected only to the Ethernet that goes to the NVR.
If the camera would have been hit by the lightning, it would be destroyed, and the NVR would be fried, or at least the PoE port of the NVR.
How is it possible that a lightning strikes an electrical box instead of a camera that is only 5 inches away? What attracts lightning more than the camera itself?
The proof that the lighting went through the electrical box (someway) is that the its breaker tripped, and it can lo longer stay ON, which explains ther has been an overload and there is a short-circuit.
At this moment, I cannot verify if the the electrical outlet where the router is connected, is protected by that breaker, but chances are that it is. I did it many years ago, and I need to be phisically be at home to verify this.
So, that would explain everything, but still i cannot figure out how a 'disconnected' cable in an electrical box could 1) attract a lightning more than the camera itself and therefore fry the router.
What I find unbelievable, is that in my life, my home was never 'hit by a lightning', and it happened 20 minutes after I was ready to enjoy the result of my hard work to install those cameras.
It is ironic that now, I have to wait to be back home before I can fix all of this, so bye bye surveillance cameras
I am sure I am not the only one coming out with a 'summer' story like this, and likely some of you has an explanation to my main question above.
I apologize for the long-winded rambling , but after all, I am on vacation!
Alex
I think the story I am about to tell, is in a way unbelievable.
After having worked two months on the IP cams installation, retrofitting with Ethernet cables my home etc. I was finally ready to go on vacation with a decent system up a running.
We leave to the airport, the sun was shining, and twenty minutes later we were at the check-in.
Another 10 mins and we were at the gate, waiting for our flight to be boarded.
Through my phone App, I connect to the cameras, and I could not believe my eyes:
there was a thunderstorm, where 30 minutes earlier there was sun shining. Certainly well possible, especially during the summer, but weird because at the airport, the sun was still shining.
So, I was watching the driveway camera, and decided to switch to the one on the backyard, but it was spinning, spinning and spinning again... I tried a different one, same story, none of them could connect.
In the meantime, ready for boarding, so I said, ok i will check again in two hours once we land.
Two hours later, another airport... same offline response.
Took a second flight, 8 hours later...same offline message.
I tried to connect to other devices at home, everything was offline.
I checked with the power provider for power outages, there weren't any, so I thought the router was the culprit.
Day 2, I asked a friend of mine to go to my place and check things out, and he came back to me with this two images from the backyard camera:
He then went inside, we where on a video call and I asked him to check if the NVR was on, everything seemed to be working good with it.
Now, let's check the router: red light, display shows: Error 2000. I asked him to unplug the router and reboot, it did not work. We went through a reset process, still no joy, the router could no longer connect to the ISP.
I called Bell, the ran a few checks, they could not see anything wrong on their end, physically the line is good, they said. Error 2000 is a generic error, so if the router can no longer connect, they are going to send me a new one.
My conclusion is that the house was hit by a lightning and fried the router.
However, I cannot figure out the dynamics of this:
From the image, it looks like the lightning did NOT hit the camera, but an old electrical box that used to power two outdoor lights. (where you see the window, there used to be a door before).
However, I remember I disconnected that cable from the indoor electrical switch, so there is no power in there.
The IP camera is connected only to the Ethernet that goes to the NVR.
If the camera would have been hit by the lightning, it would be destroyed, and the NVR would be fried, or at least the PoE port of the NVR.
How is it possible that a lightning strikes an electrical box instead of a camera that is only 5 inches away? What attracts lightning more than the camera itself?
The proof that the lighting went through the electrical box (someway) is that the its breaker tripped, and it can lo longer stay ON, which explains ther has been an overload and there is a short-circuit.
At this moment, I cannot verify if the the electrical outlet where the router is connected, is protected by that breaker, but chances are that it is. I did it many years ago, and I need to be phisically be at home to verify this.
So, that would explain everything, but still i cannot figure out how a 'disconnected' cable in an electrical box could 1) attract a lightning more than the camera itself and therefore fry the router.
What I find unbelievable, is that in my life, my home was never 'hit by a lightning', and it happened 20 minutes after I was ready to enjoy the result of my hard work to install those cameras.
It is ironic that now, I have to wait to be back home before I can fix all of this, so bye bye surveillance cameras
I am sure I am not the only one coming out with a 'summer' story like this, and likely some of you has an explanation to my main question above.
I apologize for the long-winded rambling , but after all, I am on vacation!
Alex
