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[Weaver]

I'm thinking of getting this unit for lightning warnings in the night
   http://www.skyview.co.uk/acatalog/LD3000.html

[Weaver]

In fact there are lightning strikes on the mountains of Mull (Muile) right now according to
  http://lightningmaps.org

(live, time right now when you view it, not a captured frozen snapshot)

[sevenlayermuddle]

It claims to show strike distance, how can it do so?

Not saying it won't work, just wondering how. 

[Weaver]

Perhaps it picks up a broadcast data service?

[JGO]

It claims to show strike distance, how can it do so?

There was once a service in the 30s (?) using DF and triangulation  to locate on the atmospherics caused by lightening, for Airships, since they hadn't the speed to avoid storms and with a gasbag full of hydrogen !!!!!!!!!



.

[sevenlayermuddle]

It did strike me (no pun intended) that one possibility would be a device with a microphone, a more scientific equivalent of just counting 1,2,3,whatever miles between flash and bang.   I should imagine, in this day of audio processing and speech recognition, it wouldn't be too hard to 'pattern match' each rumble against the rf spike that preceded it?

No sign that this device works that way mind, just idle thoughts. 

[benji09]

  The Met Office still does use low frequency DF and triangulation techniques to track lightning storms. This subject has reminded me of an article in the Radio Constructor magazine, many years ago, about a very low frequency radio? project using an untuned large frame aerial feeding into an AUDIO  amplifier. The writer said that with his arrangement he was able to hear noises from the upper atmosphere, lightning storms, and even rockets launching etc...........   

[Weaver]

Have had this unit a few days now. It has sounded the alarm a few times, either because of very distant signals, cloud-to-cloud discharges or some such, anyway, it presumably works in one direction. Obviously can only tell you it has failed when it fails to alert me and I lose some expensive kit. My problem is that I can't guarantee that the device will wake me up, and since I'm asleep for most of the daytime (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / M.E.) some days this is a real threat.

[burakkucat]

Obviously can only tell you it has failed when it fails to alert me and I lose some expensive kit. My problem is that I can't guarantee that the device will wake me up, and since I'm asleep for most of the daytime (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / M.E.) some days this is a real threat.

    The sooner you can install some form of an optical isolation barrier, the better.

[Weaver]

> the sooner you can install some form of an optical isolation barrier, the better.

Indeed. It's mainly a matter of recruiting someone at this end to do the physical work.

(Illustration: I have not been downstairs since May when I returned from a period in hospital.)