Lightning strike to powered console.

Well, I would say it isn't dropping the level of "the whole pa", it is just dropping the level of the input you have plugged the fx into. Check the settings on your fx unit, there are usually input, output and mix controls that are independant of "the pa" and affect the amplitude of the signal going into your mixer from the fx unit.

This mixer will run 2 8 ohm cabinets per side, if this is an older unit, it has only one NL2/combo jack per channel....with the button on the front panel in the Main Monitor position you can run 2 main cabinets and 2 monitor cabinets, you will have to daisy chain your speakers.All speakers powered from the back of the unit must be passive, no powered speakers.....if you want to use this head just to run moitors and run a pair of powered mains then connect the jack on the front that says main out to input of your powered speakers, hopefully your powered speakers can be daisy chained at low level, then if you want to use the 8600 to power only monitors, get a 1/4 in y cable and plug it into monitor out on the front of the mixer and then plug it into PA 1 and PA 2 to the right there and both sides will now be the monitor mix from this mixer and it will run 2 speakers per side, as long as the cabinets are 8 ohms.

Audio Equipment: Is the loud popping sound when you plug/unplug your speakers bad for them?
Most speaker cones are driven from a power amplifier.. The pop - like you said - is a transient spike. But the important thing here is that it gets amplified up through the pre-amp and into the power amp.. Speakers usually move in the ol' in-out fashion with respect the the voltage at the input.. and a big spike could loosen the cone from its suspension mechanism.. The higher the power and the more delicate the cone - the more the danger to the speakers ( what is normal for a woofer cone, could end blowing up a tweeter cone) . For e.g. In live events, where high output PA speakers are used, this is a very serious issue - because such a spike could throw the speaker cone out of its place, and it wouldn't work from that point on. For this reason, some high end audio equipment have a limiter at the output, that prevents signal from exceeding a certain predefined limit. So any occuring transients would never hit the cone at a level that is unhealthy to them.

Most home audio equipment tends to operate at lower levels. That being said, there is still some damage inflicted on the speakers - just maybe not of the same magnitude.. especially the smaller ones.

If your system has a remote control, it might be wise to hit a mute button just before you change to another input... or maybe find a way to turn off just the speakers (if separately powered) before you interchange the connection

Connection all depends on what type PA system you have. Here are the rules: Power this device from the SAME receptacle your mixer is powered by, even if it means running an extension cord. Use ONLY a balanced line from the mixer... either TRS cable or XLR cable.

Proper level setting of the mixer is important. HOWEVER if the clipping is occuring at the speakers the only possible problem MIGHT be that you have a supersonic feedback that is saturating the speakers above your hearing range, Be sure you don't boost the highs too much with the EQ as this can cause the feedback that you can't hear. Also make sure that you power the speakers from the SAME receptacle as the mixer, even if it means running an extension cord to bring power to the mixer. This is to avoid a low frequency hum and common mode distortion/damage. A low frequency hum could cause the clipping.
It would be a good idea to get a sound meter to check the sound level. You should be able to reach 85 Db from this system without clipping. If you need more than that, you MAY need more speakers if the band instruments are too loud. Also if the band has amps that get into the vocal microphones that adds to the clipping level... make sure the mics don't "hear" the band instruments. Make sure your speakers are toward the audience from the mics to avoid the supersonic feedback problem. If the vocalists can't hear themselves with that configuration you need to set up seperate stage monitors.

There are some pretty good videos on YouTube about proper mixer level setup.

There are a number of configurations for a mixer like the 1832, the most common are PA system and Recording system. There are Main output jacks which carry the mix as summed in the main faders. These in a PA system would feed the pa amplifiers which drive the house speaker system for the audience. These connectors are XLR 3 pin type on the rear, intended for professional pa amplifiers which use balanced +4dbv line input level. Amplifier which have 3 pin XLR connectors for input signals can accept that high level signal. For home style HiFi amplifiers, the signal level is nominally -10DBv and balanced or unbalanced signal lines with 1/4in diameter phone plugs which are connected to the mixer by way of a second set of Main output connectors which are 1/4in phone jacks. Use whichever amplifier input level your amp has.
If you are not using it as a main PA house mixer, but using it for recording, the main output connectors go to a 2 channel recorder or computer sound card recorder. The power amp and your monitor speakers are connected to the connectors labeled "Control Room" (CTRL Rm). These output are useful for recording because the signal through the mixer can be monitored from several buses, Solo, main mix, selected by buttons provided. The buttons only affect the signal heard through the control room monitors, and not the main output which only sees the main mix so selecting "solo" does not interrupt the signal going to the recorder while the engineer in the control can be checking other signal paths through the board.

You'll be just fine. The Yamaha PA inputs are able to take high or low impedance inputs via the Line-In (1/4") input.

I would not recommend plugging your trainer into the mic level (XLR) input. The preamp will be fine, but you'll have to turn the gain so low that you'll be in the nonlinear part of the gain circuit, and the sound quality will suffer.

If that helps, hit the "thumbs-up" for me. If you have other questions, or if I can explain further, just post-back and I'll see what I can do.

you can just piggyback the mixers - take the outputs from the mackie mixer (assuming it is NOT a powered mixer) ... those should be line level outputs - send them into a line level input on the digi 002 and then set that channel on the digi 002 and once set, just leave it, and control the mackie channels individually ... should work fine ...

For audio expertise and PA system help with feedback and noise, try our new DVD "PA Systems for Small Groups" at www.rexark.com

This sub doesn't have a gate (keep the sub from engaging when the source level is low) so it'll "hit" for any input signal. What it does have is an adjustable frequency low-pass filter. If it's kicking in for sounds that don't need big bass reinforcement, try turning the filter to a lower number. The sub will then only kick in for really deep sounds.

During a lightning storm, a lightning strike could have induced a high voltage surge in your incoming power lines. Left unprotected from these power surges, the weakest link ( normally low voltage electronic controls) are the most susceptable. Just because you had power available at the wall receptacle after a storm doesn't mean that your washer control system wasn't exposed to one of these surges and got damaged. On the contrary, it is extremely likely that the washer took a 'hit' and was damaged.Other devices plugged into the same receptacle may have survived that hit because electricity travels the path of least resistance.. In this case.. that path may have been thru your washer.. My point being is that your washer could have sustained a power surge and was damaged so don't rule that out. Of course, that surge could have taken an internal fuse or other component out too..