Abstract: A lightning detector designed for aircraft carried applications provides for improved lightning discrimination and display. The instrument employs a relatively wide band receiver so as to retain the received waveform or digital replicas thereof. This allows more precise discrimination between desired lightning signals and noise. Signals are processed to provide for effective display of the available information. The display modes that are enabled by the signals include flash and cell mode as well as a combined flash and cell mode. The cell mode provides for generating and displaying a cumulative weight of lightning activity, giving each strike a regional effect as opposed to illustrating it as a point. Color is used to improve the user's grasp of the displayed information; the color illustrating increased intensity from the blue-green to the yellow-red. Flash mode shows locations of the different flashes within the range scale; this mode too may use color for a similar effect.

Abstract: A lightning strike to an aircraft causes problems in existing aircraft equipment. To offset the problem, weather equipment can be used, but the weather equipment is prone to noise interference with existing aircraft equipment. By effectively positioning the weather equipment, the present invention solves the noise interference problem. In particular, the process detects an environment event, using weather equipment, on the subject aircraft. Next, the system identifies an origination point of noise, resulting from the detected environment event, in internal aircraft equipment. After identifying the origination point of the noise, the system makes a measurement to determine if the noise is interfering with a signal of the internal aircraft equipment. If interference exists, an operator cancels the noise and adjusts the location of the weather equipment in an external surface of the subject aircraft in such a manner as to provide an interference free environment for the internal aircraft equipment.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for detecting lightning activity. When a lightning strike is close enough to a receiver, the strength of the signal received will cause the receiver to saturate. In such a situation, a non-filtered signal is used to calculate a range and bearing. In one specific embodiment, a receiver detects energy emitted by a lightning strike and separates the lightning strike to a filtered signal and non-filtered signal. A saturation detector determines if the filtered signal is saturated prior to the filtered signal being filtered. In response to the filtered signal being saturated, a processor processes the non-filtered signal from the receiver, estimates locations of the detected lightning strike relative to the system, determines a cumulative effect of the lightning strike spaced in distance and time, and generates display signals to illustrate the cumulative effect with respect to a grid.