A 12 sensors trial network, called Brazilian Total Lightning Detection Network (BTLN), combining advanced lightning detection technologies with modern electronics was installed in the Southeastern Brazil in 2010/2011. The network is composed of 12 WeatherBug Lightning Sensor (WLS), each of them with a GPS-based timing circuit, a digital signal processor (DSP) and onboard storage and internet communication equipment. The WLS is a wideband system with detection frequency ranging from 1Hz to 12MHz. The wide frequency range enables the sensor to not only detect strong CG strokes, but to also detect weak IC pulses. The sensor records whole waveforms of each flash and sends them back, in compressed data packets, to the central server. Instead of using only the peak pulses, the whole waveforms are used in locating the flashes and differentiating between IC and CG strokes. Sophisticated digital signal processing technologies are employed on the server side to ensure high-quality detections and to eliminate false locations. The main goal of this paper is present the preliminary data provided by the trial network since December 2010.
Redes Sociais