Jump to content
Snow?
Local
Radar
Cold?
IGNORED

Strike Alerts


Recommended Posts

Posted
  • Location: Hastings, East Sussex
  • Weather Preferences: Extreme.....
  • Location: Hastings, East Sussex

Hi there. I keep reading about strike alerts and wondered if someone could tell me a bit more about them, how they work, are they pocket size or large etc and where the best and cheapest place is to buy one

Thanks !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256

what's the use? you have to keep watching for an led to blink! some sort of sound would be good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
what's the use? you have to keep watching for an led to blink! some sort of sound would be good.

The best lightning device is a Boltek but your talking a small fortune £500+ to pay for it then buy the map underlay. They are amazingly accurate (after alot of tweaking) , best of all you get a live map of the uk on your pc and as soon as there is a strike it plots it and gives data about it. Not sure the technology in it justifies the price though as you can buy a basic detector ( 1 wire) for about £40, that gives amount of strikes a min distance etc, but no map. B)

Stuart Harvey posted a link to a better device than strikealert allthough alot more expensive, definetly worth the money. ;)

Edited by ¤CloudBurst¤
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
They do beep as well - 1 beep for a strike a long way away upto 4 beeps for a very close strike.

okay, i stand corrected :)

The best lightning device is a Boltek but your talking a small fortune £500+ to pay for it then buy the map underlay. They are amazingly accurate (after alot of tweaking) , best of all you get a live map of the uk on your pc and as soon as there is a strike it plots it and gives data about it. Not sure the technology in it justifies the price though as you can buy a basic detector ( 1 wire) for about £40, that gives amount of strikes a min distance etc, but no map. :)

Stuart Harvey posted a link to a better device than strikealert allthough alot more expensive, definetly worth the money. ;)

Interesting about the boltek kit. if it's just the one detector, how can it give a location as well as a distance? or does it link into a network via the internet? :):)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
okay, i stand corrected :)

Interesting about the boltek kit. if it's just the one detector, how can it give a location as well as a distance? or does it link into a network via the internet? :):)

Well if your refering to the boltek kit, theres a gizmo (procesosr) that first measures the strength and signature thus giving a rough distance, and it also has a digital internal compass that can work out the direction it came from via the antena. It then takes that data and becuase the map has millions of reference codes on it, it takesa the readings and puts it on the specific code that matches, this will put it in the approx postion. Then it takes alot of tinkering around to get it spot on, like you would need a thunderstorm to be able to adjust it so that the plots where in the correct setup. Anyone would think i had one :);) .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
Well if your refering to the boltek kit, theres a gizmo (procesosr) that first measures the strength and signature thus giving a rough distance, and it also has a digital internal compass that can work out the direction it came from via the antena. It then takes that data and becuase the map has millions of reference codes on it, it takesa the readings and puts it on the specific code that matches, this will put it in the approx postion. Then it takes alot of tinkering around to get it spot on, like you would need a thunderstorm to be able to adjust it so that the plots where in the correct setup. Anyone would think i had one ;):) .

sounds like quite a piece of kit. will it export to a geographical information system, eg in .shp file format? it's a bit academic for here really as this has to be one of the most storm-free parts of britain, maybe only 2 or 3 a year, some years barely a rumble in the distance. still, wonder if paul's is still for sale.... :)

Edited by Hairy Celt
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire
sounds like quite a piece of kit. will it export to a geographical information system, eg in .shp file format? it's a bit academic for here really as this has to be one of the most storm-free parts of britain, maybe only 2 or 3 a year, some years barely a rumble in the distance. still, wonder if paul's is still for sale.... :)

I think the actual device will export to any software that supports it e.g weather display. But i agree a handheld option is much more suitable for the few storms we manage to get, and also unlike the bolteks you dont need a pc to work them as their stand alone. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Highley, Shropshire, WV16
  • Weather Preferences: Storms, Snow
  • Location: Highley, Shropshire, WV16

40 odd quid for a beeping box..Hmmm

I thought I was mad spending £400 on a RC truck lol!

Kain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Darwen, BB3
  • Location: Darwen, BB3

Do these new looking strike alerts work any better than the older ones in terms of design?

As the battery force broke the bottom on mine so I have to keep improvising means of holding the battery in and it often causes a lot of false positives.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Worcestershire
  • Location: Worcestershire

:o -->

QUOTE(Tim B @ 7 May 2006, 12:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Do these new looking strike alerts work any better than the older ones in terms of design?

As the battery force broke the bottom on mine so I have to keep improvising means of holding the battery in and it often causes a lot of false positives.

Are you refering to the Thunderbolt?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Darwen, BB3
  • Location: Darwen, BB3

No.

The new strike alerts look different and apparently run off 2 AAA batteries, whereas mine runs off one AA battery and the case was not large and or sturdy enough to hold it in, so it broke the battery holder at the bottom.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
Posted
  • Location: north bristol
  • Location: north bristol

do not drop strike alert(new one) as it will not work again i droped from about 5feet not worked right since no beep somtimes led lights up not relible now gotta get new one :)

Edited by fuzion
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Stewartstown (51m asl) , N.Ireland. (In Dazzling Dazza Land)
  • Location: Stewartstown (51m asl) , N.Ireland. (In Dazzling Dazza Land)

I purchased a couple of the Strike Alert units from Paul and I must say they do a superb job, and are especially handy for when you are out on the Golf Course (if such activity flicks your switch of course) :) .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...