Pasense, In the small storms that we have had in the North Atlantic for the last 48 hours or so I have been actively monitoring eight stations in the area of interest.
The "signal to stroke ratio" for these stations varies from on average, only over this time period, from 2 signals with 1 stroke, to 8200 signals for three strokes:
i.e. In the last hour and taking the figures hourly your station's figures are 9,725 signals sent 76 stroke recorded. This give the basic ratio of about 130:1 for your station
My figures over the same period are 135 signals sent for 63 strokes recorded this ratio is 2.14:1.
I have only included stations that were recording strokes in this storm, Their squares were lighting up on the map.
They were all Blue stations running ferrite antennas and E field of reasonable size (100 mm).
There is a big disparity between the figures that somehow needs to be explained.
These are stations in reasonable geographical area, using the same equipment, so how come the big difference in ratios, between signal sent and strokes recorded, i.e. 2:1 to 2600:1?
This was based on average, over a short amount of time, using a small sample, but these are not the worst nor the best stations on the graphs or in the lists either.
If this sort of measurement was taken for all stations, which the server could probably do, much easier than one person just doing the sums on a calculator, we would have a better picture about the state of the network in any given period and geographical area, in relation to the amount of lightning activity and ambient noise.
With this information we could then see where our individual station rates are over a different period of time and the affect of any adjustments that we make.
Taking short "snapshots" and saying, "Yes, today I am near the top or near the bottom of the list." is very volatile and changes from minute to minute and is maybe not the best way of assessing either the stations performance, regardless of what it is called, nor probably is it a good way to establish the "relative health" of the network.
I have asked similar questions to you about What is an acceptable signal, and about various forms of noise and interference, in these forums, and I have read the forums in Wx Blitzortung as well, I have responded to the "Should we have a FAQ" forum etc., etc.
Yes, it would be nice if someone with the skills could make new tools or continue in the development of the tools that we do have.
This also takes time and we have to be clear what we want the tools to do.
Basically, we must each take responsibility for our own stations, within the guidelines established, or to be established, and make the best possible adjustments and positioning of our stations as we can.
Not everyone is in an ideal situation in regards to this and we should not expect perfection, however, even given the average stations limitations and the "time" commitments of the station owners, we should be able to do better than what the graphs and the quality of some of the signals in the archives are showing.
I have made several suggestions, both in these forums and in conversation with several individual stations.
They amount basically to this:-
1. Reduce your gains to a much lower level, yes, you may lose a few distant strokes, but your overall efficiency will be much higher.
2. Increase the thresholds to a good level, this will stop many forms of annoying interference triggering the station, and "local lightning is always going to exceed the threshold anyway.
3. Make use of the station itself as a tool to find your local sources of noise.
This can be greatly aided with a Long Wave AM radio, tuned to a reasonably unpopulated frequency and just walking around your house and your locality noting what the prominent sources of noise and interference are.
At least some of these will be in your control and you should be able to deal with these.
Some may be in the public domain, Noisy streetlights and power lines, etc, these should be reported to the appropriate body.
Some other may not be able to be fixed, although a polite letter or patient conversation may mitigate some of these sources caused by your neighbours.
Some noise and interference is not reducible at source Traffic noise, factories, Military installations etc, and you will have to resort to filters on the control board itself. or using different gains and threshold at times of high noise.
Even in these situations you can still record a lot of lightning, using the nulls on your antenna or shielding, but you will have to live within limitations that others may not have.
If you try just these three things you may be pleasantly surprised!
We are still pioneering and like all pioneers to a certain extent we are making the map as we go along, but at least a good path has already been established and although it is not plug'nplay (Where's the fun in that? You might just as well watch the public screens!) it is not too much of a challenge either.
We still have a long way to go, and a lot of things to do, and I am sure that we will all grow as individual and the network will be even better than it is.
Enjoy, do your best and learn from each other, we all have different skills, and sharing in this activity is a good thing by itself.
Highest regards,
Brian.
The "signal to stroke ratio" for these stations varies from on average, only over this time period, from 2 signals with 1 stroke, to 8200 signals for three strokes:
i.e. In the last hour and taking the figures hourly your station's figures are 9,725 signals sent 76 stroke recorded. This give the basic ratio of about 130:1 for your station
My figures over the same period are 135 signals sent for 63 strokes recorded this ratio is 2.14:1.
I have only included stations that were recording strokes in this storm, Their squares were lighting up on the map.
They were all Blue stations running ferrite antennas and E field of reasonable size (100 mm).
There is a big disparity between the figures that somehow needs to be explained.
These are stations in reasonable geographical area, using the same equipment, so how come the big difference in ratios, between signal sent and strokes recorded, i.e. 2:1 to 2600:1?
This was based on average, over a short amount of time, using a small sample, but these are not the worst nor the best stations on the graphs or in the lists either.
If this sort of measurement was taken for all stations, which the server could probably do, much easier than one person just doing the sums on a calculator, we would have a better picture about the state of the network in any given period and geographical area, in relation to the amount of lightning activity and ambient noise.
With this information we could then see where our individual station rates are over a different period of time and the affect of any adjustments that we make.
Taking short "snapshots" and saying, "Yes, today I am near the top or near the bottom of the list." is very volatile and changes from minute to minute and is maybe not the best way of assessing either the stations performance, regardless of what it is called, nor probably is it a good way to establish the "relative health" of the network.
I have asked similar questions to you about What is an acceptable signal, and about various forms of noise and interference, in these forums, and I have read the forums in Wx Blitzortung as well, I have responded to the "Should we have a FAQ" forum etc., etc.
Yes, it would be nice if someone with the skills could make new tools or continue in the development of the tools that we do have.
This also takes time and we have to be clear what we want the tools to do.
Basically, we must each take responsibility for our own stations, within the guidelines established, or to be established, and make the best possible adjustments and positioning of our stations as we can.
Not everyone is in an ideal situation in regards to this and we should not expect perfection, however, even given the average stations limitations and the "time" commitments of the station owners, we should be able to do better than what the graphs and the quality of some of the signals in the archives are showing.
I have made several suggestions, both in these forums and in conversation with several individual stations.
They amount basically to this:-
1. Reduce your gains to a much lower level, yes, you may lose a few distant strokes, but your overall efficiency will be much higher.
2. Increase the thresholds to a good level, this will stop many forms of annoying interference triggering the station, and "local lightning is always going to exceed the threshold anyway.
3. Make use of the station itself as a tool to find your local sources of noise.
This can be greatly aided with a Long Wave AM radio, tuned to a reasonably unpopulated frequency and just walking around your house and your locality noting what the prominent sources of noise and interference are.
At least some of these will be in your control and you should be able to deal with these.
Some may be in the public domain, Noisy streetlights and power lines, etc, these should be reported to the appropriate body.
Some other may not be able to be fixed, although a polite letter or patient conversation may mitigate some of these sources caused by your neighbours.
Some noise and interference is not reducible at source Traffic noise, factories, Military installations etc, and you will have to resort to filters on the control board itself. or using different gains and threshold at times of high noise.
Even in these situations you can still record a lot of lightning, using the nulls on your antenna or shielding, but you will have to live within limitations that others may not have.
If you try just these three things you may be pleasantly surprised!
We are still pioneering and like all pioneers to a certain extent we are making the map as we go along, but at least a good path has already been established and although it is not plug'nplay (Where's the fun in that? You might just as well watch the public screens!) it is not too much of a challenge either.
We still have a long way to go, and a lot of things to do, and I am sure that we will all grow as individual and the network will be even better than it is.
Enjoy, do your best and learn from each other, we all have different skills, and sharing in this activity is a good thing by itself.
Highest regards,
Brian.
Stations: