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A bit of follow-up concerning the location of my StrikeFinder antenna.
When I spoke to Insight, a guru said to put it on the bottom for optimum reception. He said in storm detection, and we forget a simple thing about a lightning bolt. The charge moves from cloud to ground, but the voltage of the strike is produced where the negative charge meets the positive (earth or another cloud). The greatest voltage, which a strike system measures, is at the ground during ignition.
The pack had been outlined on the airplane's belly, so the mechanic pulled an inspection plate off that was immediately aft of the pack; there was plenty of room, so a 15' cable was made and the antenna mounted on the plate. The image is attached to the post above.
Last weekend was a proving run from my airplane, with a flight along the Gulf Coast to FL and back. The return, crossing from AL into LA, proved the SF installation was worth the thinking.
The SF (and approach controller) did a great job of presenting me with a path to join the approach. I have ADS-B In, like most, but you darn sure do not want to use it for this tight work. In the attached ILS image, the weather displayed is actually slightly east of the displayed position; the ADSB delay and the Insight StrikeFinder (ATC) confirmed the wall of the weather was just east of the final approach course.
The Strike Finder continued its good work with the flight into Texas. After that, I had to go offshore and then east. But, again, the SF helped me wiggle my way through the weather about midway rather than take a larger deviation further south.
My Strike Finder is an early unit with the liquid plasma display; when fall approaches, I'm going to send it back upgrade to the ultra-bright LED display.
Also, as a serious Gulf Coast flier, I'm going to go ahead and make the switch from ADSB-In to Sirius-XM. The update and transmission delays are too long for my taste, and I need ground coverage. Being based at VCT, I'm spoiled because of the antenna overlooking the ramp. I need the weather on departures and during the approach and planning an exit during a go-around.
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