A couple of hours ago, we had a severe but very short electrical storm. So we turned off the TV, as we always do when it gets really dicey weather-wise, and a few minutes later the storm passed. Then we went to turn on the TV after it was over and the samn thing would not turn on. The storm was so short that we didn't really have time to unplug the TV, we just turned it off, and I guess there must have been some sort of surge or something. My wife thought she heard a weird noise but I didn't hear a thing. Anyway, I think the TV has been plugged in during about 3000 storms but it decides to conk out today. The children are of course devastated (because after all we had only seen "Camp Rock" 12 times yesterday) and it looks like we're headed to Wal-Mart to by a replacement which financially is not exactly coming at the best time.

I think I'm just mad because we should have unplugged it but we are talking about a storm that lasted 5 minutes! I guess I should have known something like this was going to happen because only 4 days ago I was talking to my wife about how great it was that the TV had lasted as long as it had without a single problem. 11 years old and it looks like a stray lightning bolt has taken it out. Bummer!

I will miss you TV (1997-2008). You served us well.

you just gotta let it go ...

GottaLetitgo said:

Don't be so melodramatic. As if the child in you is not cheering for the possibility of that flat screen tele now...

you home owners insurance should cover it.
My grandparents lost all theirr tvs in storm, 3 total. All ancient.
the insurance covered three nice new high end tvs as replacements.

but did you have a nice anniversary?

i've had my tv since 1992

TV, we tip a forty to your memory.

so- u have to unplug electrical equipment during a storm ..

ive only ever turned them off at the power point

but i do have surge guards on puter/ tv equipment..

sorry about ur tv

11 yrs- thats a long time 4 an appliance today- mine usually snuff it - just out of warranty

emm said:

I think we have one here from 1988 and it still works fine well, until it all goes digital

ZombieKitten said:

when is that? hubby came home with a tv/digital tuner/dvd combo late last yr- but its not HD

prb said:

ours is not HD either, but it still looks better with the HD instead of SD signal
I think 2009? they keep changing it

BlueZebra said:

LOL i was just about to type that!

The worst I've ever been affected in a storm was part of an old computers hard drive getting fucked up, but it was nothing a reformat didn't fix luckily.

Stupid digital crap, I hope they fix everything here in Canberra because all of the channels which are meant to be already up don't work all the time, ie the signal pops in and out...

Haven't exactly "let it go" as some of you suggested but I have reached a peaceful state with the whole situation.

Tried turning on and off the TV for an hour, plugging it and unplugging it into the surrounding outlets. The lightning got it good! (I will check my homeowner's to see if its covered but our insurance is not great so probably not). For me, the most painful part is the series of events that cause something like this to happen...all these cosmic events have to come into place. It has to be lightning, the TV has to be plugged in, and the lightning has to hit this exact spot...I mean it's the kind of thing that had never happened with this TV or any TV I had ever had in 36 years. Why today? Who the hell knows. Could have been so much worse if either had my daughters been near it when it surged so that puts it all into perspective.

Went to Wal-Mart to get a new TV. Desperately wanted one of the beautiful HD flat screens but had to settle for an RCA 27 inch big old fat tube TVs for $248. The rest were just out of our price range and we figured 27 inches wouldn't look that much smaller than our departed 36 incher. We were wrong of course...my wife calls the new TV our old TV's "Mini-Me" but hell, at least we did not have to spend a substantial period of time without TV. Even now I am enjoying the completely in Spanish "Sexo Urbano" on HBO Latino in my slightly smaller but higer resolutioned new TV. The old TV is a few feet away, lying in state until I can figure out how we're going to get that 200 pound mother out to the garage.