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Related

Lightning Strike Counter

3dprinterwannabe
3dprinterwannabe over 10 years ago

How many times does lightning strike the Empire State Building? How about the pyramids? Does anyone really know? I suggest that Ben Heck should make a device using a Raspberry Pi, or similar smart board that makes an online spreadsheet that can show how many times the Pi's lead wire has been struck by a large voltage. Say, for example, that the Empire State Building had a wire running down from its top which is connected to a step down circuit, then connected to a Raspberry Pi's GPIO. The Pi is running a program that senses any spike in voltage coming from the step down circuit, and puts it on an online spreadsheet that can be accessed by anyone, or privately. This could also be used in houses to count lightning strikes, or to tell if something is going haywire. Yay! More stuff for the Internet of things!

     So, this would be a simple project for you, Mr. Heckendorn, to build, needing only some wire, a step down circuit, and a Raspberry Pi, and is so simple (in theory) that I (a twelve-year-old-at-heart) came up with it. Thank You for your time.

 

-3dprinterwannabe (a Raspberry Pi enthusiast)

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Top Replies

  • dougw
    dougw over 10 years ago +2
    It would be interesting to design a lightning strike counter that used the power from the lightning to power the circuit. By the way, lightning strike counters are commercially available, although a home…
Parents
  • DAB
    DAB over 10 years ago

    There are several lightning detector circuits on the web.

     

    I made a simple one for the backyard challenge, but I have not had a chance to test it yet.

     

    DAB

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  • clem57
    clem57 over 10 years ago in reply to DAB

    No lightning in the area?

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  • DAB
    DAB over 10 years ago in reply to clem57

    We had a few storms, but none while I was able to test the circuit.

     

    My disability limits when I can do things and for how long.

     

    Don't worry, spring storm season is coming and I should have plenty of opportunity to test the circuit and take some measurements.

     

    DAB

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  • DAB
    DAB over 10 years ago in reply to clem57

    We had a few storms, but none while I was able to test the circuit.

     

    My disability limits when I can do things and for how long.

     

    Don't worry, spring storm season is coming and I should have plenty of opportunity to test the circuit and take some measurements.

     

    DAB

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