General Information

Serial #

2075

Part Number

1

Total Parts

4

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

METAL, SYNTHETIC & WOODEN COMPONENTS.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

20.3 cm

Width

16.5 cm

Height

11.2 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Forestry

Category

Fire fighting

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

QUALITY

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Ottawa

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

THIS TYPE OF INSTRUMENT USED C. EARLY 1970S- 1980S.

Canada

SYSTEM DEVELOPED BYDR. PETER KOURTZ OF CANADA'S FOREST FIRE RESEARCH INSTITUTE. "MUSHROOM" DETECTORS WERE DEPLOYED & TESTED FIRST IN QUEBEC (1973) AND ONTARIO (1974): BY 1977 SOME 300 WERE IN USE THROUGHOUT CANADA. APPROX. 90% OF FOREST AREA CONSUMED BY WILDFIRE IN CANADA ATTRIBUTED TO LIGHTNING STRIKES.

Function

TO DETECT AND LOCATE LIGHTNING STRIKES BY DETECTING CHANGES IN THE ELECTROSTATIC FIELD.

Technical

SMALL ANTENNAE SYSTEM CAPABLE OF SHORT-RANGE (20-MILE) DETECTION OF CHANGES IN ELECTROSTATIC FIELD ASSOCIATED WITH LIGHTNING STRIKES. ANTENNAE CONSISTS OF 2 COPPER-PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS WITHIN A SEALED PLASTIC 'SAUCER', AND A MECHANICAL COUNTER POWERED BY A LANTERN BATTERY. LOCAL PLACEMENT OF THE ANTENNAE WAS IMPORTANT ANTENNA HAD TO BE PLACED IN THE OPEN, AWAY FROM OR ABOVE NEARBY TREES, IN ORDER TO BE EFFECTIVE. POWER OF ELECTROSTATIC FIELDS AT HIGH ALTITUDES (IE. IN BC) REQUIRED ADJUSTMENTS TO SENSITIVITY OF SYSTEM. BY 1980 AMERICAN L.L.P. (LIGHTNING LOCATION & PREDICTION) SYSTEM HAD LARGELY REPLACED MUSHROOM DETECTORS (REF.1).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

.1 "LSC201 LIGHTNING COUNTER Q TECH " printed on front. "SCRQM LC 18" and "MCTAVISH" printed on dymo labels on front. "ST. JOVITE #15" handwritten in orange on top. Plate on unit back reads " [logo] Quality Technology Ltd./ OTTAWA, CANADA/ LIGHTNING STROKE COUNTER/ MODEL NO. LSC-201/ SERIAL NO. 2075/ COUNTER UNIT ". "OK/ 4/1/80/ NEW BATTERY/ LK " handwritten in orange..2 "SACAACCMI/ SCRQM LC 23 " printed on dymo tape labels on mounting post. "281-510" incised on post. "A4F SWITCHCRAFT U.S. PAT.3219961/ CAN. PAT. 761114" incised on cord connector..3 "SCRQM LC 02/ ST-MICHEL" appears on dymo tape label; "281-510" incised on post. "SCO" stencilled on top of dome/ .4 "SCRQM LC 14/ ORISKANY" printed on dymo label on post.

Missing

UNKNOWN- PRESUMED COMPLETE.

Finish

.1 GREY ENAMEL FINISH ON CONTROL UNIT; BLACK SYNTHETIC (?) COVERED ELECTRICAL CORD..2 WHITE PLASTIC DOME HOUSES SENSORS; MOUNTING POST PAINTED BLACK..3 AS PER ABOVE, SAVE POST PAINTED GREY..4 BROWN PLASTIC BUCKET AND PLYWOOD COVER ENCLOSE SENSORS; MOUNTING POST PAINTED GREY.

Decoration

N/A