On Friday 01 October 2004 12:40 am in rec.boats.electronics just me wrote:

A recent lightning storm (not an unusual occurance in Texas) knocked out
most all of my Raymarine instruments. ST 7000+ autopilot display (not the
course computer), ST 60 Multi (2), Wind (2), Speed, Depth. What is
strange (to me at least) is that the Tridata, which is wired directly to
the transducers and is connected by Seatalk to the others, was not
affected.
The repair costs are $900. My question is what, if anything, can be done
to
protect this from happening again. The boat WAS NOT struck by lightning.
There were numerous airbursts and other boats were struck directly (none
nearby). Ideas????

Such failures are caused by voltage spikes being induced
into long wiring runs. The solution is simple, you need
a ferrite ring for each cable, take 2 or 3 turns through
the ring and support it to prevent the weight causing
stress. The rings should be located as close as possible
to the sensitive electronics, less than a foot .

This also helps to keep out RF interference.



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