[TowerTalk] TowerTalk Digest, Vol 127, Issue 27

[David Robbins]

the even BETTER way is to detect them before they approach... example, I took a hit this spring that blew up some beverage transformers... it was the first and last stroke anyone heard out of the storm!  you can watch or subscribe to warnings from lightning tracking services that will warn you ahead of time for storms that are being tracked by their networks, but this of course only works for storms that are already producing lightning... it sure doesn't help for that storm that pops up right on top of you and hits you with the first stroke, or one that is only producing one stroke an hour or other such things.  however, if you run an electric field meter you 'should' be able to detect the presence of the charge in the cloud near you even before the stroke gets started.  this won't help except for the very last millisecond for those bolts from the blue.  I can do this by ear if I am listening on 6m or hf, you can hear the corona start to build, and build, and build, then blam and the corona noise stops, then usually starts to build to another stroke.  this can of course lead to false alarms if the storm doesn't build up quite enough charge to cause a stroke, or the charges discharge within the cloud, but it can give you seconds to minutes of warning that there
is charge building up nearby.


Jul 11, 2013 01:47:41 PM, dmitchell at alionscience.com wrote:

Re: Lightning - Damage & Detection

Perhaps the best way to deal with potential lightning strikes is to Detect them as they approach...
IF you had a Lightning Detector (also called Strike Finders in aviation - search Goodrich WX950 or StrikeFinder), you could use it to count the strikes within a certain distance. When it meets your pre-programmed threshold, it could be used to "unplug" stuff, or ground stuff via relays etc.
I had a WX950 in my plane and it worked great! Gave me lots of heads up and found every strike within 200 miles in calibrated distance and bearing.
See the last link to build your own! Easy and cheap.

http://s1106.t.en25.com/e/es?s=1106&e=123851&elq=27f34a91b22b4ca09701574fc97f1152

http://www.insightavionics.com/strikefinder.htm

http://www.techlib.com/electronics/lightning.html




Mitch Mitchell - K8UR
Alion Science & Technology
306 Sentinel Dr., Suite 300
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701
(240) 646-3604

-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Michael Tope
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 11:18 AM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] TowerTalk Digest, Vol 127, Issue 27

On 7/11/2013 7:05 AM, Jim Lux wrote:
>
> A overhead power line to a building a mile away, though, with the 
> other half of the loop being the ground between the buildings, and 
> you've got a nice big loop. But also one where the wave propagation 
> needs to be considered.

Sounds loosely like the a very long beverage antenna.

Mike W4EF.............

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