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From: vail@tegra.UUCP (Johnathan Vail)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,sci.physics
Subject: Re: lightning
Message-ID: <512@atlas.tegra.UUCP>
Date: 22 May 89 21:26:46 GMT
References: <583@coplex.UUCP>
Organization: Tegra, Inc., Billerica, MA
Lines: 27
In-reply-to: dannie@coplex.UUCP's message of 16 May 89 15:16:45 GMT


While flying in a helicopter I saw a device called a Stormscope which
showed lightning strikes as dots on a display.  This made storm fronts
easy to see and hopfully to avoid.  It had several different scales, I
remember on being on the order of 250 miles.  It operated like a radio
direction finder, according to the pilot.  There were several antennae
on the bottom of the helicopter that it used.

Pilots could probably tell you more.

TV stations around the country are installing similar (fixed) devices
for their weather departments.  An interesting twist here is that they
collect data, send it to a nationwide center and then presumably
massaged data is given back (sold?) to various TV and radio stations.
Channel 5 near Boston is part of this.

Sorry I don't have more details, these are just my observations.  Hope
it helps...

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|     | Johnathan Vail | tegra!N1DXG@ulowell.edu
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