Question about optimal H-field antenna placement for noisy urban areas - Printable Version +- Blitzortung.org Forum (https://forum.blitzortung.org) +-- Forum: Public Forums (https://forum.blitzortung.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=29) +--- Forum: General Discussion (https://forum.blitzortung.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=31) +--- Thread: Question about optimal H-field antenna placement for noisy urban areas (/showthread.php?tid=4155)

Question about optimal H-field antenna placement for noisy urban areas - alicesphere - 2025-11-17 Hi everyone, I’m new to the forum and still learning how the Blitzortung/LightningMaps system works, so I hope this is an appropriate place to ask. I’m considering setting up my first H-field station in a fairly dense urban area, and I’m trying to understand what kind of antenna placement would give the best results. My main concern is electrical noise. I live in an apartment building with plenty of nearby power lines, elevators, and general broadband interference. I’ve read that proper antenna orientation and distance from buildings can make a big difference, but I’m still uncertain about what is “good enough” before I invest in a kit. A few questions: How far from a building wall or metal balcony should an H-field antenna ideally be placed to reduce noise pickup? Does height matter more than horizontal distance from electrical sources? Would placing the antenna on a rooftop help, or can rooftop equipment (HVAC, solar inverters) actually make interference worse? Are there any practical noise-testing steps I can do before buying hardware? I’d really appreciate any tips from members who run stations in similarly noisy environments. Looking forward to learning more and hopefully contributing to the network soon! RE: Question about optimal H-field antenna placement for noisy urban areas - cutty - 2025-11-17 Start here: https://forum.blitzortung.org/showthread.php?tid=2756&highlight=noise If you can pass that self-inventory, etc., go for it. Now, that's an older post, and Dries doesn't reference the newer mini system. But that doesn't matter. Blue mini only has 2 H field channels, No E channels.  Otherwise things are virtually the same as the docs he links to. (Those are the ORIGINAL docs... there have been many upgrades, etc since then, but I'm not posting any links. These basics haven't changed.) STUDY THEM then, might peruse this more updated version... https://docs.lightningmaps.org/station-operation/ 'Noise' is somewhat relative anyway.... as long as you can get an impulse signal > twice your noise level, with ADC trigger at twice the average noise level, the controller will (generally) send it. It likewise will send any noise junk above that threshold. The receiving server takes over from there. (where the noise analysis and Sig/Noise level is reanalyzed using more complex algorithms).  The problem arises from TOO MANY SIGNALS, then the controller hits 'interference mode' and stops sending ANY signals.  These 'signals' don't have to be 'noise'.  A cell can have so much activity that the signals are all mixed together, too strong, whatever, and the controller will also go into interference mode. Might spend a few minutes looking at my systems live status: Click the left hand set of station icons below: