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Yeee Harrrrrrr !!! new toy has arrived...

Posted: Tue 21/11/2006 20:36
by kaimaikid
Both the Boltek stormtracker and the Nexstorm software arrived today so looking like a busy weekend coming up...

Have location and housing sorted out, unsure if I need to use utp or stp cat5e - will suss that out soon I guess...

next will be to fine tune it and get it up and running online...

8)

any advice???

Posted: Tue 21/11/2006 21:23
by Weathermad
get out more often and meet people!

haha only kidding

All sounds good and good luck in getting it all together!

Posted: Tue 21/11/2006 23:16
by Manukau heads obs
will be great to have a boltec/nexstorm from tauranga :)
now need some thunderstorms!

Posted: Tue 21/11/2006 23:28
by Willoughby
GREAT!!! :P With the four bolteks up here now the correlation will be just as good as the MetService's trackers :)

Get that boltek as high above the roof as possible! :)
Are you housing it in a PVC pipe? Ricky's done that to mine and Brian's.. and I rarely record strikes from noise (e.g. light switching) here, so it's pretty good.
Manukau heads observer wrote:now need some thunderstorms!
Quoted for truth! :cry:

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 10:30
by Andrew Massie
GREAT STUFF! All the more boltek's the better!

Now... can someone tell me the supplier/website please so I can pass onto our techo who's currently building a station and software so we can get a second one down here?

Cheers

Andrew :D

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 11:12
by spwill
now need some thunderstorms!
Spring has been dead, I guess we blame El Nino.

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 15:50
by Skywatcher
Andrew Massie wrote:Now... can someone tell me the supplier/website please
According to some Aussies on a lightning detector group last week, the cheapest place to get a Boltek is Provantage http://www.provantage.com/boltek-stormt ... OLT001.htm

I'd guess that would be about $650 at the current exchange rate including customs GST and allowing US$30 for shipping.

The best place for the Nexstorm software seems to be the UK e.g. http://www.meteorologica.co.uk/product. ... =&PT_ID=82

That would be about $240 including shipping and there shouldn't be GST if it's a personal import.

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 17:35
by Manukau heads obs
sphere technologies in australia is cheaper for nexstorm, and qucik turn around too ;)

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 18:32
by Skywatcher
Do you mean http://www.sphere.net.au/site/prod_info.php?itemId=124 ?

They want almost A$330 without shipping :shock: Most deliveries from the UK only take about 5 days by airmail.

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 19:05
by Manukau heads obs
humm, OK,,,
personaly though i would not poke a barge pole at that UK site, but thats just me having run ins with that person over the years
but thats just me, so dont let that stop anyone

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 20:32
by kaimaikid
The NexStorm software came to approx $210NZ inc freight ex Boltek

The stormtracker came to $600NZ inc freight ex Provantage + some bullshite NZ get stuffed tax to be added to get through customs :evil: (theiving govt.)

both took approx 7 days to arrive

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 21:06
by Willoughby
Invercargill or Dunedin needs a boltek.. far too many storms get missed that way. ;)

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 21:11
by Fujita Phil
Hey we could run a Telethon for a Boltec for me... "Thank you very much for your kind donation, thank you very much, thank you very very very much"...

Just a thought ;)

Posted: Wed 22/11/2006 23:26
by Manukau heads obs
did you use sphere technologies kaimaikid in the end?

Posted: Thu 23/11/2006 03:45
by kaimaikid
Manukau heads observer wrote:did you use sphere technologies kaimaikid in the end?
no - got it from Boltek

pulled my mast down last night, stripped all of the antennas from it and removed weather station

Posted: Thu 23/11/2006 06:21
by Manukau heads obs
i mean for nexstorm?

Posted: Thu 23/11/2006 06:43
by tgsnoopy
He got it straight from Boltek Brian.

Posted: Thu 23/11/2006 07:28
by Manukau heads obs
ok, i did not know Boltex sold it, you learn something new every day!
8)

Posted: Sat 25/11/2006 09:00
by Manukau heads obs
i see you have the nexstorm png on your weather web site, good!!
next to get stormvue working (which is on the nexstorm CD)

Posted: Sat 25/11/2006 11:49
by kaimaikid
Manukau heads observer wrote:i see you have the nexstorm png on your weather web site, good!!
next to get stormvue working (which is on the nexstorm CD)
yup that is the next mission and also to level the mast guy ropes on the pole used for the antenna...

tell me, is nexstorm meant to come with a manual?


while the wind blows and the sun shines, a lttle boy waits.... praying for thunder... :twisted:

Posted: Sat 25/11/2006 12:42
by Willoughby
Hi, it's on the CD as a pdf file.. :)

You'll start tracking or picking up weak strikes from the tropics or E'n Aus in no time at all.. only really at night though.. but will plot them quite closely at around 600km.
The night time range shift I use is 155% with a general shift of 1.05.. works out well. :)

Posted: Sat 25/11/2006 12:49
by Manukau heads obs
ah, i just set mine to 155% (was 200%)
i still cant find the electric fence short....it could be a faulty insulator
i need to get a electric fence volt read out (i think i got one somewhere at the farm)

Posted: Sat 25/11/2006 17:06
by kaimaikid
http://kiwiradio.blakjak.net/sv/StormVue.html

up and running - need to do some fine tuning and orientation :? :D

Posted: Sat 25/11/2006 19:06
by Manukau heads obs
good work!
:)

Posted: Sun 26/11/2006 02:08
by ricky
Excellent! I'll add you to my correlation for when there are some storms around :?