(Prompted by Re: Topband: Good Conditions, little NA Activity) How much the conditions at ELF frequencies parallel the conditions at 1.8 MHz, I can't say. However, I noticed last evening that many lightning receivers in Europe were picking up lightning strikes SW of Central America in the Pacific Ocean. Were conditions as good on 160 meters as they were at ELF?
Those very long distances are not that common in the lightningmaps.org worldwide lightning detection network. Propagation was very significantly enhanced at these ELF frequencies, from about 15 kHz up to 60 kHz. Could this also be an indication of Topband conditions? Please try it, and let us all know! :-) You can view those strikes and propagation conditions at lightningmaps.org. You'll see individual lines drawn on a world map, from the individual strikes to the distant receiving stations. Adjust the Lines setting in a drop-down menu on the right to 3 or more. Also, in a menu on the left, select BOTH lightningmaps.org AND blitzortung.org. These custom SDR lighting receivers --which constantly send strike location and GPS- based timing and station location information to the blitzortung.org servers in Europe-- *use very small broadband loop antennas*. The majority of them use ferrite rods and vertical wire probes less than 10" long! Others use two or three 2-to-4 turn wire loops, a meter or less in diameter (which I use on my stations #1977 and 2294), instead of the ferrite loop antennas. That indicates just how sensitive these receivers are. Due to health conditions and obligations, I am not now in a position to compare ELF conditions to those on 160m. I hope a few reading this will, and share their observations here. Discussion forum: https://forum.blitzortung.org Other website: https://www.blitzortung.org 73, Mike W0BTU _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
