View Full Version : Lightning Strike Alert gadget
http://www.strikealert.com/ProductInfo.htm
Anyone heard of or try this product? Sounds pretty useless, sort of like the spot device that had more trouble finding karl than his crew did. Just curious.
Eh, I'd save my money and watch the weather pattern(s) myself.
Exactly. Even if it works as advertised, it makes people lazy for figuring stuff out for themselves. I can see someone carrying one of these, batteries die and they hear a storm coming... probably panic themselves into more trouble than there is. just saying
fiddlehead
10-05-2008, 09:24
Pretty easy to do what this thing claims simply by listening.
5 seconds between seeing and hearing is a mile.
Pretty simple.
So, if this thing becomes popular, i want their marketing director on my team.
Having done a bunch of hiking, i don't get concerned too much unless the lightning strike is within a mile.
The first time i ever hiked long distance ('77) i had a near miss. (lightning hit a tree about 20 feet away and i felt an electrical shock across my knees)
Had some close calls in CO a few times but learned to head down even just a little when they are closer than the 5 seconds.
Usually I don't have to wait longer than 15 minutes for it to go by.
Pretty easy to do what this thing claims simply by listening.
5 seconds between seeing and hearing is a mile.
Pretty simple.
So, if this thing becomes popular, i want their marketing director on my team.
exactly, wonder what's next? privy detector? :rolleyes:
Our scoutmaster bought some sort of lightning detection device. It tells us when storms are approaching pretty far out. How useful is it? Eh. It goes off and he makes us take shelter (usually in cars on car-camping type trips) until the thing stops blinking and making noise. The longest "take cover" event was 3 hours stuck in cars, during which time it rained and we had a few flashes of lightning overhead. I really think the thing is more than we need. Keeping track of the weather and knowing what to do in bad situations is sufficient, IMO.
As far as SPOT goes, I have to tell you, we used it for a week-long hike through SNP, and it worked perfectly for us every day. The drawback for me was that it worked perfectly every day. One of the parents who was following us became something of a backseat driver on the trip. When I got back, he and his wife were very critical of the times we started/stopped each day, when we got off trail, why we stayed so long in one place, etc. I won't ever use it for anything more than emergencies and ok messages on another youth group trip. Too much information got back to people who decided they knew more than those of us on the trail.
As far as SPOT goes, I have to tell you, we used it for a week-long hike through SNP, and it worked perfectly for us every day. The drawback for me was that it worked perfectly every day. One of the parents who was following us became something of a backseat driver on the trip. When I got back, he and his wife were very critical of the times we started/stopped each day, when we got off trail, why we stayed so long in one place, etc. I won't ever use it for anything more than emergencies and ok messages on another youth group trip. Too much information got back to people who decided they knew more than those of us on the trail.
Yikes! Any parent even thinks our scout troop is going to do a spot check is going to have two choices: come along or keep their kid home. We don't even let the sniveling ones call their parents using a cell phone... until they stop sniveling anyway.
kayak karl
10-05-2008, 10:38
http://www.strikealert.com/ProductInfo.htm
Anyone heard of or try this product? Sounds pretty useless, sort of like the spot device that had more trouble finding karl than his crew did. Just curious.
Just as SPOT (i do own one, nice toy :)) was developed for small aircraft pilots, i am sure this was developed for contractors or some other outdoor activity that is susceptible to lightning.
if you promote off peoples hiking fears, you can sell them anything:D
Just as SPOT (i do own one, nice toy :)) was developed for small aircraft pilots, i am sure this was developed for contractors or some other outdoor activity that is susceptible to lightning.
if you promote off peoples hiking fears, you can sell them anything:D
i used to collect toys, but i got bored with them too quickly and i stop using them, so i stick to basics these days... ymmv, not that there is anything wrong with that. :)
Geez, what a useless piece of crap. Most outdoorsy people get pretty good at reading the sky and seeing what's coming.
NICKTHEGREEK
10-05-2008, 11:30
A cheap AM radio receiver is all it is. Of course they don't make AM receivers like they used to in the old days (geeze, geeze). But about every scout of my generation bought the 1 dollar crystal radio kit at camp. We could tell when the t-storms were coming by the static.
NICKTHEGREEK
10-05-2008, 11:32
Geez, what a useless piece of crap. Most outdoorsy people get pretty good at reading the sky and seeing what's coming.
There's plenty of places where there's very little sky to see through the canopy or you get caught on the other side of a mountain. Looking up makes good sense when you can do it.