That is great that you're going to take the plunge!
Here's a list of things you need that I've been sending to those interested in building kits:
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There are several options for ordering the kits from Egon in Germany. I would send him an email using the inquiry form at
http://www.blitzortung.org/Webpages/index.php?lang=en&page=3®ion=3&subpage_0=30&p=3You will likely get a response like this:
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You can get a complete kit from us that contains all the necessary parts
you need. We do not offer already assembled systems but only kits. The
price of such a complete kit is 191.95 Euro plus shipping and PayPal
fees, if you want to pay by PayPal.
However, I recommend you try to get as many parts as possible in your
country. This is especially true of the heavy material. The price for
shipping depends on the weight. I suggest you order a complete kit
without some or all of the following parts which will reduce the price
as follows:
Amplifier Kit 12.3 = 31.95 Euro
Controlle Kit 10.4 = 74,00 Euro
* two 20cm ferrite rod antennas = +45 Euro
(you can build your own loop antennas)
* USB power supply = +5 Euro
(you can use any 5V USB power supply)
* two 5 meter CAT connection cable = +5 Euro
(you can get CAT cables all over the world)
* USB connection cable = +1 Euro
* STM32F4DISCOVERY board = +15 Euro
(you also can get this board from
www.mouser.com world wide)
* external GPS antenna (SMA 3m) = +15 Euro
(you also can use any SMA externel GPS antenna, may be that 3m are to
short for your application)
(* amber display insted of a green display = +10 Euro)
The price for shipping a kit varies between 7 and 40 Euro depending on
the weight of the order and the country you live.
(here I removed some non-essential text)
Here are four frequently occurring examples:
1.) The two printed circuit boards, the HanRan Network connector, the 8
SMD op-amps for the VLF amplifier, and the programmed ATmega 8
microcontroller send to all over the world for 30 Euro including
shipping payed by money transfer or PayPal:
= 30 Euro
2.) Both kits with ferrite rod antennas, power supply, two 5m cat cable,
USB connection cable, STM32F4DISCOVERY board, and external GPS antenna
send to EU countries (17.00 Euro for shipping by DHL) payed by
a.) money transfer: 31.95+74.00+45.00+5.00+5.00+1.00+15.00+15.00+17.00 =
208.95 Euro
b.) PayPal: (31.95+74.00+45.00+5.00+5.00+1.00+15.00+15.00+17.00)*1.02 =
213.13 Euro
3.) Both kits send to all over the world (10 Euro for shipping because
of the low weight) payed by
a.) money transfer: 31.95+74.00+10.00 = 115.95 Euro
b.) PayPal: (31.95+74.00+10.00)*1.04 = 120.59 Euro
If you are still interested, please send us your postal address and the
information about the parts you want to exclude.
Do not pay before we you get a replied that we have all the material on
stock.
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I recommend ordering Option #3 (the boards and components) plus the two 20 CM ferrite antennas, unless you want to get into making your own. This can be done easily with some ferrite slugs, 26AWG magnet wire and shrink tubing. They will far outperform the smaller ferrite antennas Egon is shipping and have a great track record here in the US.
You can also make inexpensive loop antennas. The ferrites work great, though, and are MUCH smaller.
Deduct the antenna cost from the following if you plan to make your own.
That would bring the cost to 120.59 Euro plus 45.00 Euro for the antennas = 165.59 Euro = $227.27 at recent exchange rates.
Then, order the following items locally here in the US:
An STM32F4DISCOVERY processor board that plugs into the controller circuit board. Get this from Mouser. They have the best price and very fast delivery: $14.88
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/STMicroelectronics/STM32F4DISCOVERY/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMutVogd4PRSvEN8XDBeCtgDYou will also need an active GPS antenna with an SMA connector: $6.22
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-3M-28dB-LNA-Gain-RP-SMA-Male-GPS-Active-Antenna-Aerial-Connector-Cable-/151196398853?pt=GPS_Antennas&hash=item233401f505You will also need a USB 5 volt cell-phone charger with a MINI (not micro) USB cable for the system power supply. It is probably a good idea to get one with a 2 amp output for a little extra capacity over the standard units, which are usually rated at 1 or 1.5 amps. Ebay is a good source. You may have a box of these lying around already.
I would also purchase an additional MINI (not micro) USB cable for programming the board with new firmware in case the web-based firmware upgrade procedure fails. You can then plug the board directly into a PC and upload the firmware with a free utility.
You will need a SHIELDED CAT5 Ethernet cable to connect the amplifier board to the controller board. The amplifier needs to be connected to the antennas with only a few feet of wire. The shielded CAT5 cable then connects the amplifier to the controller. The two boards should be physically separated at least 8 feet to avoid noise pickup from the controller by the amp/antenna. The amp and controller may be much farther from each other for remote mounting, if desired, by using a longer shielded CAT5 cable.
You also need a standard CAT5 Ethernet cable (shielded or unshielded) to connect the controller board to your home network router or Ethernet switch. This can be any convenient length.
I used the following enclosures, which are a bit expensive, but very high quality:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T79SIY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - $20.00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T7ASJC/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - $20.00
The boards do not need to be in a shielded enclosure. Other packaging options, down to using the bare boards on standoffs, will work fine.
The only other option you might consider is an AS3935 lightning detection module from Embedded Adventures. It adds the ability to detect local lightning < 75 kM distance. The chip on the board performs distance estimates to the leading edge of the storm front. The results are strictly local, without any direction indication. Detections from the module are not reported to the Blitzortung servers. I have the unit mounted directly in the controller case, as longer lead lengths don't work well with the I2C communication signals from the Discovery board. That means your controller location should be somewhere where the local signals will be detected (not a sub-grade basement). The firmware developer will be adding audio alerts to the controller web page. For now, the audio alerts are only through the small buzzer/speaker on the controller board itself. The controller can be configured to log data from each strike to an external server with a few simple scripts.
http://www.embeddedadventures.com/as3935_lightning_sensor_module_mod-1016.html - $20.85
If you choose to add the AS3935, this set of parts from Radio Shack makes the task of connecting the board to the controller very simple. It consists of 10 jumper wires with the correct terminations for connection to the controller an AS3935. It also has a header that is cut to length and soldered to the AS3935. Many stores carry the kit locally.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12825864 - $6.29
This should get you started. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Don Froula
WD9DMP