2017-05-20, 05:46
(This post was last modified: 2017-05-20, 14:24 by BobW.
Edit Reason: spelling errors
)
So I'm going to start with "I don't have all the answers"....
It appears that the really smooth waveforms are something relatively local to you, and are not due to lightning. The system appears to "think" that some of the pulses are related to lightning strikes, but it's really just coincidence. Look at the time offset on some of your detected strokes. It's many 1000's of microseconds. The pulse fits a stroke that occurred somewhere, but isn't related. Alot of this really is guessing that a timed pulse that's within a window is related. Look at some other stations and yours with some closer strokes. The time offset is much lower. The matches probably occur during heavy lightning periods like tonight in the US. That way, one of the observed pulses has a bigger chance of fitting a window.
Another way to make sense of this. You're in Panama, so I don't know if you do miles or meters, so you may have to convert....
Say there's a single lightning strike exactly 2 miles away. 10 seconds later you hear thunder. (speed of sound is 1100 feet per second, 5280 feet in a mile, so 5 seconds = 5500 feet, or pretty close to a mile)
So now say there's two equally bright lightning strikes that happen about 5 seconds apart. You don't know it, but the first one was 4 miles away, and the second is 1 mile away. 10 seconds after first flash, you hear thunder. 10 seconds later you hear another thunder - pretend it's loud also. So, Do you assume that the first thunder you hear is from the first flash, and the second is from the second flash and calculate the distances accordingly? Two miles for the first flash, because it was 10 seconds flash to bang, and the second flash at 3 miles because it's 15 seconds flash to bang for second flash?
As you can see, if there's occasional lightning with enough gaps between them, you can accurately distance - but not locate - them based on time of arrival of thunder. Put lots together, and it gets difficult. Now think in terms of the zap to pulse received in terms of the microseconds, or low milliseconds that this system has to deal with.
So, how to locate the source of your noise? You can rotate your antenna so you get peak on one channel, and null on the other, The source is then in either of the two directions of the peak loop. It might be interesting to look directly at the waveform page on the controller with the "squelch" disabled. There may be a pattern to the pulses not otherwise visible.
And, I'm sure that there's others that can explain this much better.
It appears that the really smooth waveforms are something relatively local to you, and are not due to lightning. The system appears to "think" that some of the pulses are related to lightning strikes, but it's really just coincidence. Look at the time offset on some of your detected strokes. It's many 1000's of microseconds. The pulse fits a stroke that occurred somewhere, but isn't related. Alot of this really is guessing that a timed pulse that's within a window is related. Look at some other stations and yours with some closer strokes. The time offset is much lower. The matches probably occur during heavy lightning periods like tonight in the US. That way, one of the observed pulses has a bigger chance of fitting a window.
Another way to make sense of this. You're in Panama, so I don't know if you do miles or meters, so you may have to convert....
Say there's a single lightning strike exactly 2 miles away. 10 seconds later you hear thunder. (speed of sound is 1100 feet per second, 5280 feet in a mile, so 5 seconds = 5500 feet, or pretty close to a mile)
So now say there's two equally bright lightning strikes that happen about 5 seconds apart. You don't know it, but the first one was 4 miles away, and the second is 1 mile away. 10 seconds after first flash, you hear thunder. 10 seconds later you hear another thunder - pretend it's loud also. So, Do you assume that the first thunder you hear is from the first flash, and the second is from the second flash and calculate the distances accordingly? Two miles for the first flash, because it was 10 seconds flash to bang, and the second flash at 3 miles because it's 15 seconds flash to bang for second flash?
As you can see, if there's occasional lightning with enough gaps between them, you can accurately distance - but not locate - them based on time of arrival of thunder. Put lots together, and it gets difficult. Now think in terms of the zap to pulse received in terms of the microseconds, or low milliseconds that this system has to deal with.
So, how to locate the source of your noise? You can rotate your antenna so you get peak on one channel, and null on the other, The source is then in either of the two directions of the peak loop. It might be interesting to look directly at the waveform page on the controller with the "squelch" disabled. There may be a pattern to the pulses not otherwise visible.
And, I'm sure that there's others that can explain this much better.
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