Noise ranging assist – Boltek NexStorm Lite User Manual
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Lightning Detection Software, Version 1.0
Figure 12. Radial elongation example. Note how the radial length of these two storms varies depending on
which ranging adjustment method is used
Noise Ranging Assist
During nearby thunderstorm activity and where the environment around the detector is free from interfering
noise signals, a series of noises immediately preceding a valid strike will in most cases indicate that initiating
portions of a strike were captured by the detector (related intra-cloud component, stepped leader etc). The
Boltek detector is capable of detecting these relatively weak electro-magnetic signals at close range but
determining the direction of such an event can be difficult and they are therefore often classified as noises.
If such a noise pattern is detected by NexStorm, the program will utilize it to produce a better estimation of the
distance to a co-incidental strike. The Noise Ranging Assist has four effect levels where Full is the default
setting. If you notice that ranging of close storms is too much biased towards center, try lowering the Noise
Ranging Assist gradually until ranging becomes more accurate.
The Noise Ranging Assist function is vital for achieving accurate close storm ranging and should only be
disabled if you are having serious noise problems with your detector! It is imperative that you make sure that
your lightning detector is not picking up continuous noises from artificial sources such as electrical equipment.
If you find that you are unable to use the Noise Ranging Assist feature then this is a good indicator that
relocating your antenna might be necessary. Alternatively, you could try to find and eliminate the noise source
that is causing your problems.
Occasional noise indications of 1 per minute or less frequently does not affect the performance of Noise
Ranging Assist.
Edition: 5/L1
2007-09-02
© 2007 Astrogenic Systems
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