Topic: WHOA!

[Cutty Sark Sailor]

A note... new station requests and email inquiries worldwide, as a result of recent media publicity and an incredible surge from social media contacts, have just about swamped Egon and Tobi, Ricoh, etc. in Europe. It's almost impossible to answer tons of emails, do media interviews, monitor forums, and assemble and fill so many orders in a respectable time frame... not to mention do needed firmware and server upgrades. Look for the backlog to increase as parts supplies weaken, e.g. as we move through summer, ... we may need to keep new folks in "patient" mode as orders will be delayed somewhat...
Meantime,  let's try to take a load off our developers, if we can, by answering as many questions as possible on the BO forums and elsewhere,  and thoroughly qualify those contacts who inquire, and not send anyone to order, unless they can build a kit themselves, for now. We can define that and ease up on Egon, Tobi, et.al. having to tell them the same thing, or answer any other questions we have the knowledge to deal with.
Yes, this is similar to a surge last year, but is greatly amplified. You will see some changes down the road. 

Isn't this exciting?????

Mike

[Jumpin Joe]

A note... new station requests and email inquiries worldwide, as a result of recent media publicity and an incredible surge from social media contacts, have just about swamped Egon and Tobi, Ricoh, etc. in Europe. It's almost impossible to answer tons of emails, do media interviews, monitor forums, and assemble and fill so many orders in a respectable time frame... not to mention do needed firmware and server upgrades. Look for the backlog to increase as parts supplies weaken, e.g. as we move through summer, ... we may need to keep new folks in "patient" mode as orders will be delayed somewhat...
Meantime,  let's try to take a load off our developers, if we can, by answering as many questions as possible on the BO forums and elsewhere,  and thoroughly qualify those contacts who inquire, and not send anyone to order, unless they can build a kit themselves, for now. We can define that and ease up on Egon, Tobi, et.al. having to tell them the same thing, or answer any other questions we have the knowledge to deal with.
Yes, this is similar to a surge last year, but is greatly amplified. You will see some changes down the road. 

Isn't this exciting?????

Mike

It is very exciting!!

[JonathanW]

Regretfully, I must take some responsibility for helping to swamp them.  I've been shamelessly promoting the system at every opportunity.

In all seriousness, is there anything we can do to distribute the work of putting kits together to send?  Maybe to take some of the load off...

Someone on Gawker mentioned the idea of starting a "gofundme" effort to help cover the cost of systems for some people who have the skills and interest, but not the cash to pay for systems.  It's a thought (though in my experience, I doubt it will actually generate a lot in the way of funds).

[Cutty Sark Sailor]

Regretfully, I must take some responsibility for helping to swamp them.  I've been shamelessly promoting the system at every opportunity.

Someone on Gawker mentioned the idea of starting a "gofundme" effort to help cover the cost of systems for some people who have the skills and interest, but not the cash to pay for systems.  It's a thought (though in my experience, I doubt it will actually generate a lot in the way of funds).

Oh no, the publicity is great... the overwhelming response is a surprise, and something, although anticipated, much greater than expected. My suggestion is to generally ask folks without the skill to build, to hold off awhile and be patient. Same advice might apply to those with limited funds, and those with only 'curiosity' as a driving force.,.. if you follow me. Things may get tighter as spring/summer roll along.

[JonathanW]

Well, I'm certainly willing to help out any way I can.

I'd really like to see at least 6-8 more stations around the DC area--Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, etc.  But that's my own selfishness speaking    Iowa and Missouri definitely need quite a few stations, as well (I'm an Iowa transplant, so I sympathize).  And, of course, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska...

A great question from my meteorologist acquaintance who posted the writeup of the system yesterday - he was surprised that the stations in the upper Midwest were picking up lightning in the Gulf, and wanted to know if that was really happening.  I told him it was (also mentioned Stan's globally-active station in Hawaii), but that it wasn't really ideal.  We need more stations

[Cutty Sark Sailor]

In all seriousness, is there anything we can do to distribute the work of putting kits together to send?  Maybe to take some of the load off...

Qualify inquirees, don't ask involved 'what if' or 'why not' questions on the main forum, let the system be for a bit, and answer everything we can, right here, and on the BO boards and from media and social media so developers don't have to be contacted. Discourage email 'inquires' to BO... etc... Answer questions on Facebook, Twitter, etc, as you can to free up the BO moderators and developers who cannot possibly answer them all. Remember, about media, anything that is even remotely commercial cannot use our data, whether public data or private data.  TV, other Weather Networks, and sites, etc... Registered, contributing stations only, other than what is publicly available on the BO sites, including LightningMaps.org. and even that cannot be used commercially.

[DaleReid]

Indeed this IS exciting.

I was particularly pleased to see the Mexico station come on line and watch as his eField antenna only reaches out, sometimes way up into British Columbia and over to the east side of Florida.

I wonder, then, if we could ask people who are building or waiting for an ordered kit to arrive, but not yet on line, to state their approximate location here in the North,Central and South American locations at least?

I was disappointed in how long it took me from receipt of kit to going on line, but yet see other members here who get back from a long business trip and two days later are furnishing data.  Or have gotten it together and running in less than a week.

The Tstorm season is here in full force, just look at the maps the last few days.

Yet it is fleeting and as much as I hate to admit it, we are just days away from the longest day of the year here in the northern hemisphere.

To run this request for locations of stations that are likely to come on line and furnish data yet this year would be of interest only, and little help, but certainly could be a rallying call for those of us who have gotten online and while not experts, have been able to overcome those little things (some large) that kept us wondering if we'd ever submit data.

We could start another topic, just for that purpose, and have people respond there with a note.  As a matter of fact, maybe I'll start a new thread since it really won't cause any problems except more posts, and perhaps a place for people to begin to feel comfortable posting and asking questions.

Dale

[W3DRM]

Yikes, I was just about ready to place a notice on my websites that we need MORE BO systems in the western US. See the note below I was working on when Mike's post came out. Now, I'm not sure what I should do - sit back and wait a while or plunge ahead and using some kind of a "yet-to-be-determined" qualification criteria for new members...

After reading through the posts in this thread I was thinking that we really need some kind of a standardized ad (or notice) about Blitzortung and the need to add more stations to the central and western US, including Hawaii and possibly Alaska and of course Canada too. The ad needs to be simple and attractive but also without too much detail which may scare-away some potential participants. The other piece that needs to be answered before we do anything is how do we handle inquiries? Do we have a central link on this forum where we send all respondents or do we set-up some kind of an email address for handling the inputs and questions?

Once the ad is established and how to handle the responses, then we need to establish qualification criteria if that is what we want to do. If we do, then we need to come up with a list of "must have" and "nice to have" criteria. Does anyone want to start a list that we can add to? There is a lot of talent on this forum so I don't think coming up with a "reasonable" list of criteria will be very difficult. What will be difficult is weeding out the unnecessary criteria. Perhaps all of this should be started in a new thread that is specifically named such as "New BO Recruitment Ideas" or something similar.

[Cutty Sark Sailor]

Yikes, I was just about ready to place a notice on my websites that we need MORE BO systems in the western US. See the note below I was working on when Mike's post came out. Now, I'm not sure what I should do - sit back and wait a while or plunge ahead and using some kind of a "yet-to-be-determined" qualification criteria for new members...

After reading through the posts in this thread I was thinking that we really need some kind of a standardized ad (or notice) about Blitzortung and the need to add more stations to the central and western US, including Hawaii and possibly Alaska and of course Canada too. The ad needs to be simple and attractive but also without too much detail which may scare-away some potential participants. The other piece that needs to be answered before we do anything is how do we handle inquiries? Do we have a central link on this forum where we send all respondents or do we set-up some kind of an email address for handling the inputs and questions?

Once the ad is established and how to handle the responses, then we need to establish qualification criteria if that is what we want to do. If we do, then we need to come up with a list of "must have" and "nice to have" criteria. Does anyone want to start a list that we can add to? There is a lot of talent on this forum so I don't think coming up with a "reasonable" list of criteria will be very difficult. What will be difficult is weeding out the unnecessary criteria. Perhaps all of this should be started in a new thread that is specifically named such as "New BO Recruitment Ideas" or something similar.

Oh, no... go ahead and promote! Heck, we just created 'Blitzorduck"... for example. But I'd keep the 'recruitment ideas' in PM's etc for now, if you follow me. The surge 'won't last', but the word is out! Blitzortung is hot right now... let the developers do their thing, ride with it, keep the 'fun' aspect forefront, and remember this isn't a commercial project if we run into comments of disappointment and frustration with 'delays' etc... we don't really need to 'invent' anything, just be flexible and go with the flow... if they really need something 'special' I'm pretty sure they'll ask... it's more on the lines of the " surprise school bus at McDonalds during lunch hour" situation right now....

[JonathanW]

Indeed this IS exciting.

I was particularly pleased to see the Mexico station come on line and watch as his eField antenna only reaches out, sometimes way up into British Columbia and over to the east side of Florida.

I wonder, then, if we could ask people who are building or waiting for an ordered kit to arrive, but not yet on line, to state their approximate location here in the North,Central and South American locations at least?

I was disappointed in how long it took me from receipt of kit to going on line, but yet see other members here who get back from a long business trip and two days later are furnishing data.  Or have gotten it together and running in less than a week.

Dale,
I don't think you should be.  I'd bet taking longer than a couple of days is a lot more common.

[Jumpin Joe]

Indeed this IS exciting.

I was particularly pleased to see the Mexico station come on line and watch as his eField antenna only reaches out, sometimes way up into British Columbia and over to the east side of Florida.

I wonder, then, if we could ask people who are building or waiting for an ordered kit to arrive, but not yet on line, to state their approximate location here in the North,Central and South American locations at least?

I was disappointed in how long it took me from receipt of kit to going on line, but yet see other members here who get back from a long business trip and two days later are furnishing data.  Or have gotten it together and running in less than a week.

Dale,
I don't think you should be.  I'd bet taking longer than a couple of days is a lot more common.

I agree.... The excitement of getting it built and up and running is what can get us in trouble and frustrated. I know, been there, done that!

Taking our time, savoring the process and the learning experience is what we need to strive for.

Let's get away from the hurry up now thoughts and go for "I'm glad I took my time" approach. Right now I am waiting for a replacement IC to arrive.... Because I got in a hurry.

Life is too short let's.... Let's enjoy it while we can.

Joe

[RedRider]

Hello.  Brand new member here, in the greater New Orleans area.  I guess I’m part of the ‘Swamp’ of new interest in Blitzortung.   I’ve gotten my auto reply email from Egon; and over the last week I’ve read a lot of the discussions here on WXForum as well as on Blitzortung.org.  I’ve read the pdf’s and the FAQs. 
   
So, I’ve found answers to most of my questions. One question I have not found much info about is where the most ideal location for a station would be.  The issue of interference seems to be critical.  I understand that I wouldn’t want to locate a station near power lines, sodium lights, sparking electric motors, fluorescent light ballasts, etc.  But what about elevation?
   
The reason I ask is that I could locate a unit in my garage as others have done.  I live in a typical suburban subdivision.  On the other hand I could ask permission to locate a unit at my workplace.  That location has towers (water towers, antennas, a concrete tower and a number of steel girder structures) that rise high above the ground.  I’d guess up to 200 feet up for the highest one.  Would it be a significant advantage to get the antenna high above the ground, or does it not make much difference?  If there is a big advantage, I could start working the process to get permission from my employer.  It might take a while, but I don’t think I could get a system up and functioning for another six months or so anyway.
 
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
 
Nathan

[JonathanW]

On the one hand,  with VLF signals elevation isn't that critical.   On the other,  getting away from local sources of noise  and magnetic/electric field shielding is a good idea.

One additional source of noise I need to address in my house: triac-based light dimmers.

Also: welcome!

[Cutty Sark Sailor]

Hello.  Brand new member here, in the greater New Orleans area.  I guess I’m part of the ‘Swamp’ of new interest in Blitzortung.   I’ve gotten my auto reply email from Egon; and over the last week I’ve read a lot of the discussions here on WXForum as well as on Blitzortung.org.  I’ve read the pdf’s and the FAQs. 
   
So, I’ve found answers to most of my questions. One question I have not found much info about is where the most ideal location for a station would be.  The issue of interference seems to be critical.  I understand that I wouldn’t want to locate a station near power lines, sodium lights, sparking electric motors, fluorescent light ballasts, etc.  But what about elevation?
   
The reason I ask is that I could locate a unit in my garage as others have done.  I live in a typical suburban subdivision.  On the other hand I could ask permission to locate a unit at my workplace.  That location has towers (water towers, antennas, a concrete tower and a number of steel girder structures) that rise high above the ground.  I’d guess up to 200 feet up for the highest one.  Would it be a significant advantage to get the antenna high above the ground, or does it not make much difference?  If there is a big advantage, I could start working the process to get permission from my employer.  It might take a while, but I don’t think I could get a system up and functioning for another six months or so anyway.
 
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
 
Nathan

H field antennas would probably do ok in the garage... Mine's been there since day one. The E field probe and preamp need to be away from structures, and outside. The e field probe and preamp should be at least 6' or so above ground. I wouldn't install my first system at work,... I'd site them at home... there's a learning, adjustment period. Interference can be an issue... if you've read the threads, you're aware of that... In my location, my noise is H field, so I've a critical location for the H field antennas, and it took a while to find a 'sweet spot'. Typically H field noise won't effect E field probes, although E noise can and does affect H field loops... which is why some of the loops are shielded...

[W3DRM]

Welcome to the group Nathan!

You are about to get involved in a hobby that is taking-off like a rocket. The learning curve can be very steep at times but the rewards of simply learning about lightning and the setting-up of a station is sometimes exciting, sometimes demoralizing (when things don't go right) but most importantly the self-satisfaction of doing this yourself is well worth any issues you may experience along the way. As you've probably already seen, this forum is full of folks chomping at the bit to help others. I've never really seen anything like it on the internet. Just a bunch of GREAT folks waiting to help in any way they can.

Again, welcome to the group and don't be afraid to ask questions.

[RedRider]

n0ym, CSS, & W3DRM,

Thanks for the warm welcome and the advice.  It's well taken.  Mounting an antenna up high and hard to access doesn't make sense if it's unnecessary, so I won't worry about it.  I understand that it's going to take some trial and error to find a sweet spot.  Right now the priority is to get a system up and functioning.  It should be fun.  No doubt I'll be back with more questions as they arise.  Thanks again for your help!

Nathan   

[JonathanW]

n0ym, CSS, & W3DRM,

Thanks for the warm welcome and the advice.  It's well taken.  Mounting an antenna up high and hard to access doesn't make sense if it's unnecessary, so I won't worry about it.  I understand that it's going to take some trial and error to find a sweet spot.  Right now the priority is to get a system up and functioning.  It should be fun.  No doubt I'll be back with more questions as they arise.  Thanks again for your help!

Nathan

Nathan,
To be clear, I agree with Mike that mounting the E-field antenna away from structures and 6' or more above ground is a very good idea (that's also the recommendation of the developers, who have done quite a bit of experimentation with optimal locations).

Good luck, and keep us informed on your results!

Jonathan