Upgrading a Low-Cost System for Measuring Lightning Electric Field Waveforms

Recent upgrades of the low-cost lightning detection and waveform storage system (LDWSS) are presented. The system has been developed for research and operational use in the Amazon region of Brazil and it has been in operation in this region since November 1, 2017. The original version of the LDWSS operated for 10 months at the Lightning Observatory in Gainesville, Florida, where it was calibrated and tested. Two main modifications implemented include the improvement of the effective dynamic range and the capability to detect lightning in different frequency bands. The improvements were achieved by using two pre-amplifiers working in parallel, a new processing (smart saving) algorithm, and programmable analog filters. As a result, a single, low-cost lightning electric field measuring system allows one to record both close and far lightning events with good amplitude resolution and without saturation, and study both wide-band and narrow-band (for example, very low frequency) field signatures of lightning, without modifying the hardware.