We've seen diminished interest in StrikeStar and lost a significant number of people in the past few years. The European network got two (2) new participants in the past 3 years and the North American network hasn't fared too well either. So the decision to close it now was a no-brainer.
Microsferics has been live since 2015 but due to my engineer jumping ship a year ago, just in time for the big launch, we weren't able to expand the network further at the time. Since then I found a new guy and we are now in the final stages of developing a shiny new and superior TOA sensor system for Microsferics. Estimated launch is during spring this year, providing all tests pan out well.
I obviously don't have any pricing yet but this is supposed to be a low cost option which means affordable to most hobbyists. As such it will end up well below the cost of a Boltek system and probably slightly more than a Blitzortung system (which I honestly don't know the cost of, just guessing here...). The device is shipped pre-assembled, CE/FCC compliant and comes with a proper E-field sensor included.
Also note that this does not affect my long term support for Boltek in any way. As a matter of fact, a new BETA version of NexStorm was recently made available on our support forum and next in line is a StormVue NGX companion app update that includes a replacement for the now defunct Adobe Flash client. Boltek lives on although the market has shifted more towards Africa and Asia these days, so there is no reason for me to abandon this project. Please do not email Boltek asking questions about any Astrogenic Systems projects as they are not involved in any planning or decision making.