Thanks, Joe:
The problem with distant stations trying to triangulate the location is the azimuth error, even if tiny, becomes a huge factor at distance.
I've not seen nor read about how this system's designer has approached the math to try to filter out signals of less value. The ideal is to have equally scattered stations (not there yet, but with this new batch of equipment available the areas will start to fill in), and have the math pick the highest value, best condition to maximize accuracy.
To rule out a local station seeing a strike 3 miles away may have some value. It certainly doesn't when the strike is 100 miles away and with a good separation of another station so that the angle is maximized.
Flying for many decades using VORs at a distance was proof enough that close is good, and angles of wider separation is good. The factors I don't know are how the GPS timing signals can remove some of the observation error, with the timing available from GPS making the absolute best possible case something in the range of a kilometer anyway.
Lots that we don't know. I'm hoping for a ton of stations to come on line and we can compare. But your 20 miles apart stations (good for you!) would be far different from Lorrick's and mine being about 4 miles apart, when there are few stations within states of us.
I don't recall if you are a Blitz participant also, but I looked at the sferics site last afternoon, and at the TOA (used to be IBM associated) and to the Blitz sites. The facts for the time being (likely due to the lower number of stations) sferics was showing 1-3 strikes/minute, while Blitz with its hundreds of stations showing an almost blinding number of strikes, circles and reporting station lines to the storm that moved through your area (and was hitting the launch complex).
Until the spread and coverage of stations is more equal, the logic and rationale of the implementation of station filtering and more sophisticated code to pick the best of those stations reporting the same strike won't be known for sure, even if there IS a best approach. More than one way to skin a cat, you know.
I'd love to hear more (either official or word of mouth) how these places approach the processing and selection of signals to use. Knowing just enough to be dangerous, I believe long distance propagation of the strike gets mussed up by the various paths it can take. I think that the sweet spot is a couple hundred miles from the strike.
Dale
