Lightning detector online.

Snowbie

My lightning detector is live online now.
I am in the early stages of building my website up and wanted to share with you my data for all to see.
As there is no Thunderstorms events atm,im sure most of you will appreciate that a future event will make it more interesting with a live sferics display.
I have it refeshing every minute and this is as live as you can get.
Just click on the screen and you can use a playback loop feature and zoom display.
If you have any comments or cant view the screen,let me know.
Just click on the link below in my signature.

Damomanye

You are a legend. What a great service your providing here. Thanks Snowbie

aidan_dunne

Great job, Snowbie! Great to see we finally have a live lightning detector that provides accurate information for this country at last. Best of luck with it.

Supercell

Nice work Snowbie - bet that gets busy tonight, fantastic resource, big thanks for sharing

Snowbie

My pleasure lads:)

Snowbie

Due to a noise problem around my area,i am taking my detector off line for the moment.As there is interference which is causing false readings.

Tabnabs

Fantastic site, well done.

For comparison, here's another one situated in Norway with a long range

http://www.lynradar.no/

Snowbie

That is the same software that runs both.Thats what i see from mine as i use to post screencaps to this site form a Dublin centred point.The difference is the one you see on my home page is that you can run a loop at the top of the screen recappturing the last hour and also you can zoom in closer.Its the stormvue applet.
The other one is screenshot i have on my pc which captures in realtime.
Lightning is at its most accurate to within 300km of where detector is placed,because of the curvature of the earth, accuracy subsides somewhat.

Tabnabs

So where is the transmitter for all these areas?

Snowbie

Transmitter??
There is an antanna located out my back yard that is cabled to a console(in my house)which in turn is hooked up to my PC.

For more info clck the link below.I use the ld-250.

http://www.boltek.com/

Snowbie

*Update*

After monumental interference problems from generators from a building site about half mile away,it seems the problem has gone after 6 months of local interference.Need time to recalibrate it but need thunderstorms for that.

At least my detector be back on line for summer storms.

Trogdor

Great news:D Your site will be the first i'll go to when i'm wondering how all the storms seem be bypassing me.
I'm also starting to pick up a bit of interferance on my vp2, every week or 2 weeks it will cut out for a half hour or so, really strange.

Snowbie

Could be a firmware problem your having on the vp2.If the vp2 was built before a certain date(i think Nov 05)the firmware needs updating,was a similar prob for a bloke on another forum i read too.

Also check if battery operated if needs changing or if your on mains check for a fault in the power surge or line conditioner,ups(could be browning or spiking).
These are usually the prob but i have read the exact as you posted as a problem for someone else.

Snowbie

Just added lightning to my weather display live part of my site.Instead of updating every minute it updates every 10 seconds only if a strike occurs,otherwise the info on screen is held untill new strikes occur.Im still fidling around with this atm so expect a bit of downtime.hit the lightning button down the bottom

http://www.irelandlivelightning.info/wdl.html

Just to add a brilliant introduction from astrogenic called SPARK.
SPARK Compact Lightning eXplorer is a Java MIDlet for mobile phones. SPARK.CLX works similarly to StormVue but is optimized for usage on small devices, in particular mobile phones and PDA, and has user initiated reloading of data as opposed to the automatic reloading in StormVue.
It looks a bit like this on my phone

http://www.astrogenic.com/img/spark/w810.png

Peanut

Hi Snowbie, is the lightning detector working ok at the moment?

There was a good bit of thunder/lightning here in the past 30 mins (west dublin/ne kildare) but I don't see any nearby activity on the map.

Cheers

Snowbie

Peanut wrote:

Hi Snowbie, is the lightning detector working ok at the moment?

There was a good bit of thunder/lightning here in the past 30 mins (west dublin/ne kildare) but I don't see any nearby activity on the map.

Cheers

Not atm.Need to do a lot of work configuring with the above settings.
Just as i posted last time my detector is failing to communicate with my server:( bloody typical with the day we have and all.

Peanut

Ok good luck with it!

Wertz

Seems to be doing the business now...

Snowbie

Yep,
I got the source of the problem finally.

looks like a lot going on down the road from you in the drogheda area or thereabouts

Snowbie

Snowbie wrote:

Not atm.Need to do a lot of work configuring with the above settings.
Just as i posted last time my detector is failing to communicate with my server:( bloody typical with the day we have and all.

Well it was the opposite.Already posted on TS thread.The antanna was not communicating with the software properly really ongoing for the last few months.False reading was starting to appear at random.Second sunday in a row this happened when things got lively typical:rolleyes:

Anyway antanna is bunched and instead of getting a replacement antanna which is far the more cheapest way of going about it,i bought the pci stormtracker instead.Same software you'll see on my basic website(soon to be upgraded after ill change my host) but with the added extra type lightning strokes.eg:+-cg and +-ic when lightning appears and info be on screen.

This is handy in a way as it be a bit more accurate for ranging purposes and detecting the weakest of signals and is more interesting.Not ditching the ld-250 in any way,it has served me well for 3 odd years.The 250 is used primarily as a storm chasing tool and uses a retrofit kit to usb on a com port on the desktop/laptop while the pci runs off the main bus and can decipher stroke types with software and capture most if not all strokes,especially the ones that alude me down in the SE of the country.Time will tell if it is the mtns that sponge the signal?
Anyway the more strokes that are captured the better the ranging and plotting.

So bit of a glitch atm and more expense.Should be back up and running come next weekend,if all goes to plan.
From your weather loon of a mod who should be buying kids clothes instead of buying lightning detectors.:eek:

rc28

Snowbie wrote:

Well it was the opposite.Already posted on TS thread.The antanna was not communicating with the software properly really ongoing for the last few months.False reading was starting to appear at random.Second sunday in a row this happened when things got lively typical:rolleyes:

Anyway antanna is bunched and instead of getting a replacement antanna which is far the more cheapest way of going about it,i bought the pci stormtracker instead.Same software you'll see on my basic website(soon to be upgraded after ill change my host) but with the added extra type lightning strokes.eg:+-cg and +-ic when lightning appears and info be on screen.

This is handy in a way as it be a bit more accurate for ranging purposes and detecting the weakest of signals and is more interesting.Not ditching the ld-250 in any way,it has served me well for 3 odd years.The 250 is used primarily as a storm chasing tool and uses a retrofit kit to usb on a com port on the desktop/laptop while the pci runs off the main bus and can decipher stroke types with software and capture most if not all strokes,especially the ones that alude me down in the SE of the country.Time will tell if it is the mtns that sponge the signal?
Anyway the more strokes that are captured the better the ranging and plotting.

So bit of a glitch atm and more expense.Should be back up and running come next weekend,if all goes to plan.
From your weather loon of a mod who should be buying kids clothes instead of buying lightning detectors.:eek:

Nice one snowbie, I still think met eireann should help you out as you are providing a pretty good and accurate service and no doubt they look at your website on days like yesterday:)

Snowbie

rc28 wrote:

Nice one snowbie, I still think met eireann should help you out as you are providing a pretty good and accurate service and no doubt they look at your website on days like yesterday:)

Met eireann have there own detector afaik.Where it is placed,what one they use i dont know.

There was a day like yesterday but more extensive TS and lightning strikes about 8 years or so ago.Most parts of the country if not all had a strike and Evelyn Cusak on the forecast had a pic of Ireland with these little red dots indicating where a strike was in the country that day,so i assume they have one.

rc28

Snowbie wrote:

Met eireann have there own detector afaik.Where it is placed,what one they use i dont know.

There was a day like yesterday but more extensive TS and lightning strikes about 8 years or so ago.Most parts of the country if not all had a strike and Evelyn Cusak on the forecast had a pic of Ireland with these little red dots indicating where a strike was in the country that day,so i assume they have one.

I never knew they had a detector, how come they dont share their data? What's holding them back? I never really understood why met agencies never share their stuff publicly like the radar network, it takes a private fee paying service(netweather) to sell the hi-res pics.

Snowbie

But dont quote me on that,i am guessing they do but i could be wrong.No one told me they do, just going on from what i saw and presumed so.That just my analysis on that.

how come they dont share their data? What's holding them back? I never really understood why met agencies never share their stuff publicly

Agree,otherwise whats the use in me geting a detector.Could have saved me a lot of money.;)
A disclaimer i think the reason not for protection of life and property.It could become messy if lightning where to inflict damage to someone or something and was not to show up on the site,well then it could be a legal matter against a met organisation,me thinks.Makes sense in a way.Just my 2c.

Yes Met Éireann do have a detector in glasnevin.DapperGent told me about it a while back.

Bracknell and the london weather centre have them too and don't share the information publically but I'd imagine it is exchanged with other met organisations and meterologica (sp).
Look at it this way, it's a tool they use to track storms and forecast intensities.They make money on some forecasts so it's not in their interests to make it all publically available.

Trogdor

Tristrame wrote:

Yes Met Éireann do have a detector in glasnevin.DapperGent told me about it a while back.

Bracknell and the london weather centre have them too and don't share the information publically but I'd imagine it is exchanged with other met organisations and meterologica (sp).
Look at it this way, it's a tool they use to track storms and forecast intensities.They make money on some forecasts so it's not in their interests to make it all publically available.

Yes, but they're state funded, surely therefore all data should be freely available as we are all paying or it with our tax money(not me or rc anyway;), but most on here). As for being sued, they could have a system where you have to register to see the data and when you do, you have to accept terms and conditions where you agree that it will not be used for protection of life or property ect. and that it may not be completely accurate.

Snowbie

Just to add to this,expected shipping date is set for the 16th July(next Monday),its usually 3 days and then back to the calibration again.Pain in the neck the calibrating end of things.

Trogdor

trogdor wrote:

Yes, but they're state funded, surely therefore all data should be freely available as we are all paying or it with our tax money(not me or rc anyway;), but most on here). As for being sued, they could have a system where you have to register to see the data and when you do, you have to accept terms and conditions where you agree that it will not be used for protection of life or property ect. and that it may not be completely accurate.

I sent them an e-mail and got an interesting reply.
Appearantly, a few years ago they were asked by a minister to try to recoup some of the money lost through maintaining all the equipment and services, so they had to make some of there data and services commercial. Also, don't know who's right, Tristrame/Dappergent or them, but they say they don't have a lightning detector.
"I must also clarify that Met Éireann does not have any lightning detection system in place but relies on the services put in place by other NMSs. The outputs from these systems are distributed to NMSs as part of the global co-operation between NMSs throughout the world."
NMS=National Meteorological Service

Snowbie

trogdor wrote:

Also, don't know who's right, Tristrame/Dappergent or them, but they say they don't have a lightning detector.
"I must also clarify that Met Éireann does not have any lightning detection system in place but relies on the services put in place by other NMSs. The outputs from these systems are distributed to NMSs as part of the global co-operation between NMSs throughout the world."
NMS=National Meteorological Service

I have been speaking to Dappergent about this and he said when he use to work in the forecasting division in Glasnevin,there was little he done with sferics and instrumentation(only dealing with feeds at the end) and so not aware of a detector in place at the service.Most of the feeds came from Bracknell in the UK and he was'nt sure met eireann had a detector nor has he heard of a detector in place within the service from colleagues.

Funny that
Though I havent been speaking to Dapper about it in a while,he did complain that they didnt pick up sferics we had here.
I never clarified whether it was a glasnevin detector he was refering to.
I just assumed it was as the way he phrased it was that he must give the machine a kick.

So there isn't one then?

Snowbie

Apparently not countrywide and as per trogdor's returned mail from the service clarifying same.
Im just as surprised.