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lightning detector

Im trying to build a ligtning detector that flashes an led with each strike. Yes there are many circuits on the net, usually involve transistors/fets but I want to do this with no power source other than the lightning. I was thinking of connecting an antenna to an audio transformer and have the secondary connected to a led and perhaps zener. I dont want to blow the led as Im trying to power it with induced electricity. Yes I could just connect an NE2 neon to an antenna and maybe have a cap across it but I specifically wana power a led that eventually may be part of an optocoupler and counter.

any good ideas appreciated

Reply to
lentildude
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Apart from an academic point of view - why? A couple of batteries should last practically the shelf life.

Dave :)

Reply to
David L. Jones

why? I have been building a weather station from bits over the years, the lightning counter I want to pot in resin and dont want to fiddle with batteries. I could have a solar panel/supercap powering a conventional circuit but with so much electricity in the ether surely theres a reliable way to induce some power to blink an led.

David L. J> > Im trying to build a ligtning detector that flashes an led with each

Reply to
lentildude

Maybe, but I wouldn't bother, as reliability would be hard to determine. Just build a proven low power circuit, power it from some lithium cells, and pot the whole thing. It would not be unreasonable to expect a 10 year battery life from such a setup. If you really want, pot the batteries in a separate pack. Batteries die in 5 years?, no problem, snip the wires and install a new pack. My guess is you'd spend a lot less time installing a new battery pack every 5 years than you would trying to design some self powered system to work reliably.

You can get industrial primary lithium C or D size cells which have an incredible energy density and super long life.

What will your "counter" be powered from?

Dave :)

Reply to
David L. Jones

Just wondered if one of those $5 solar garden lights would be a good power source for your project

David

lentildude wrote:

Reply to
quietguy

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