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ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION AND SEVERE WEATHER

Building An Electrostatic and Magnetic Pulse Monitor

by Richard W. Fergus

Start • Monitoring Parameters • Analysis Procedures • Pattern Observations • Hardware • Monitor Programs • Forecast • Sources

Sferics is an abbreviation for "atmospheric electromagnetic radiation" and is the subject of a severe-weather-monitoring project that I’ve been involved with for nearly 40 years. The monitoring techniques have progressed from an omnidirectional pulse counter to detailed measurement of pulse shape and relative timing with the appropriate data-analysis procedures. The results from each monitoring system dictated the requirements for the next step. This project has been a tedious journey because each step generally required one or more yearly seasons to determine the relevant factors for the next step.

Currently, the monitor consists of a crossed-loop antenna array, analog preamplifiers, microcontroller, and PC. The microcontroller performs real-time analysis of the input pulses to determine the direction-of-arrival and several pulse characteristics. A standard PC is used to display, store, and manipulate this data for pattern analysis and correlation with severe weather.

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