Lightning Detector

BOUGHT THIS AS MY FIRST LIGHTNING DETECTOR TO USE JUST AS A REFERENCE WHILE I AM OUT CAMPING OR HIKING. IT WORKS GOOD WHEN THERE IS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WHICH IS WHAT IT IS MADE FOR BUT THE CLOUD TO CLOUD OR INTRA-CLOUD LIGHTNING IT EITHER DOESN'T DETECT IT OR MIS-JUDGES THE DISTANCE. THE UNIT WILL TELL YOU IF THE STORM IS MOVING CLOSER OR MOVING AWAY FROM YOU. IT ALSO GIVES YOU THE STATUS OF THE BATTERIES EVERY TIME YOU TURN IT ON. ITS NICE HAVING THE AUDIBLE ALARM THAT CORRESPONDS WITH THE DISTANCE, BUT ITS EVEN BETTER THAT YOU CAN SHUT IT OFF SO FOR INSTANCE IF YOU ARE AT WORK YOU CAN HAVE IT ON YOUR DESK TO WATCH THE LIGHTNING BOLTS.

I got this lightning detector because I LOVE taking photographs of lightning storms over the South shore on Lake Superior. They happen often during Summer months, often with no sound/thunder nor rainfall. I live about 30-35 miles away from the lake though and rarely get the same shows near my home. So I wanted a way to tell if there was anything brewing over the big lake all the way out at my house. Most detectors only read up to 25 miles max or they run several hundred dollars for a unit. It's mostly just for convenience of having an alert that tells me when it's worth making the drive to take photos, so I can't justify a $200-$300+ detector. This one has worked well for me. Keep in mind it doesn't function very well inside of buildings or vehicles. It's meant to be used outside in the open atmosphere where it can detect the electromagnetic fluctuations from lightning bolts. It will still detect some strikes inside though, just not all of them. The instructions could have been written better in my opinion. But I got the hang of it. You hold the power button to turn it on in silent mode. Or continue to hold the power button when turning it on until it makes an audible beep to put it into audio alert mode. Press and hold until the lights activate to get it's storm direction prediction. Coming in, going away, standing still, or not enough strikes to make a prediction. Then you long press the power button until the device turns off to power down. Not sure why so many people seem to be struggling with the functions, but hopefully that helps someone. Mine hasn't given any false alerts as of yet. And I left it on during a storm all day, all night, and to mid day the following day and the battery was still going strong. I manually shut it off. For the price and the fact that it detects up to 40 miles as opposed to 25 miles, I think it's worth it and reliable enough to trust for a personal safety device or a notification system like I'm using it for. I would recommend it to a friend. There are likely better more expensive ones but this does well enough to negate any need for me to spend that kind of money on a higher end one

This little device works great, no its not as fancy as the 300-500 dollar options but for 50 bucks ill gladly take it. Don't mash the button down crazy hard and it won't break as others have indicated, this is my second one of these. The first lasted 2 years till it was lost on a canoe trip and i didnt have any problems with it. To the people who complain about false alerts, it senses electro magnetic energy nothing more nothing less. It can't tell the difference between your computer, tv or AC compared to a lightning strike. When you use it out on camping/hunting trips with out being surrounded by household electronics then it works like it's should.

I have a swimming pool and while clouds move in you just never know which one to trust. Sometimes the sky is clear and distant storms on the way, this device will let me know. It tells me if the storm is coming or going away from me. I love that it is portable! We take it camping with us. If you are at all concerned with lighting, get one. The piece of mind alone is worth the value.

I bought this for kayaking so I would know when to get off the water. On 2 occasions, I could see lightning strikes in the far distance and this device wouldn't make a sound. Most of the time it did, but sometimes it didn't, and that was enough for me to lose faith in the device. I gave it 3 stars because it has detected strikes that I couldn't see/hear, giving me time to casually paddle close to shore before a storm rolled in.

I purchased this unit 2 years ago. I use it as a football referee. On the football field, it works great. The number of beeps tells me how close the lighting is without having to take my eyes off of the game. Anybody who want to use this indoors or in a car ought not be disappointed as the instructions clearly say the unit will alert from electrical impulses other than lightning. Out on the football field, it seems quite accurate and reliable. This device tell me when the lighting is far enough away that we can play safely or when I need to clear the field.

Purchased this and the accurite 02020CA. And a storm pass thru my area. I could visually see the lighting strike, counted the numbers of seconds till I heard the thunder. it was approx. 7 miles away. This did nothing, no beeps, no lights flashing, Nothing. completely worthless. I put brand new batteries in. I pressed the button to turn it on, it cycled thru it lights and beeped. That was the only time it did anything. If I relied on this piece of junk I'd probably get hit by lighting.

2017 Update: Since buying this unit, I haven't really used it much, mostly on very short hikes. However, I recently carried it on a longer hike and it completely drained two fully charged AAA batteries in only three hours! Because of that, I have downgraded my rating. If you are a hiker or backpacker, or need more than three hours of use at a time, I would suggest you avoid this unit because the electronics are poorly designed. I now consider this purchase to be a complete waste of money. -------------------------------------------------- About a year ago, after getting caught in a serious mountain thunderstorm while hiking, and coming as close as I've ever come to getting BBQ'ed by lightning that was right over my head, decided to start taking a Strike Alert with me on all my hikes. I've tested the unit in my home and it seems to work pretty good. As others have pointed out, the power button is a bit soft, so I am careful about the pressure I apply when turning it on and off. Batteries seem to last long enough, meaning a dozen or so hikes. Downside for me, as a hiker, is close proximity to any electronic gear seems to generate a false alert every minute or so. While hiking, I carry a GPS, PLB, and a pocket-sized video camera operated by a wi-fi remote control. Yep, you guessed it, I pretty much can't carry the Strike Alert without getting a false alert every minute or so. I've tried carrying it as far away from my electronic gear, but still easily accessible, with no luck at all. Apparently, I will never be able to carry this thing while hiking. Since I almost always hike with a buddy who doesn't carry any electronic gear, I decided to let him carry it, instead. However, we still kept getting false alerts every minute or so. Did some checking and determined his hearing aids where setting it off. So he moved it from his shoulder strap and put it in his shirt pocket, but we still keep getting false alerts. Did more checking and determined his spare hearing aid batteries were setting it off. Finally, after he moved the Strike Alert to a pant's pocket, we stopped getting false alerts. Not really Strike Alert's fault, but for other hikers/backpackers out there who carry any kind of electronic gear... you've been warned! :) Took a star off for the flimsy power button, not for the false alerts.