Davicom’s Lightning Awareness Products

DVLD Lightning Detector and DVLC Lightning Counter

Davicom’s award-winning DVLD-1 lightning detector is designed to give advance warning of the presence and approach of potentially hazardous lightning activity in its vicinity. It uses a receiver and a sophisticated statistical algorithm to analyze electromagnetic signals and to provide an estimate of the distance to a storm, from as far away as 40 miles (65km).

Davicom’s DVLC-1 Lightning Counter is the perfect complement to the DVLD-1 Lightning Detector. The DVLC-1 detects and counts the actual lightning strikes sustained by a transmission tower or grounded structure. It uses a magnetically-coupled current detector to sense and count lightning-induced pulse currents flowing to ground.

How can the Lightning Detector & Lightning Strike Counter Protect Your Remote Site?

Lightning Detector (DVLD-1)

The DVLD’s storm warning alarm can be used to automatically prepare your site against potentially destructive lightning strikes by, for example, starting up the generator, waiting for it to stabilize, and then disconnecting from utility power while the storm passes-by. Smoother site operation is therefore ensured by avoiding chaotic switchovers during a lightning-induced power failure.

Important communications links can also be protected by temporarily disconnecting them during passage of the storm, thereby ensuring they will still be available for critical communications once the storm has passed.

The Lightning Strike Counter (DVLC-1)

The DVLC will safely signal a Cortex unit whenever the tower is hit by lightning. This functionality gives site operators better situational awareness of the reasons why their site may have stopped transmitting, or even better, that the site is still on-the-air despite receiving a hit!

The DVLC can also be used as a functional indicator of a site’s ground system status. If lightning hits and the ground circuits handle the load properly, then operators can be confident that their site is protected.

Built for Demanding Applications

Davicom’s Lightning Awareness Products can be used for any application where lightning strikes can be a threat to system operations. Utility power generation and distribution, refineries and critical infrastructure can all benefit from approaching storm warnings as well as from actual strike counting.

Sensor Hardware

Lightning Detector (DVLD-1)

The DVLD is made up of an antenna/receiver module that is usually installed outdoors to ensure better signal reception. A weatherproof cable connects the device to one of the Cortex’s USB ports. The DVLD cannot be used without a Davicom unit.

Sensor Hardware

The Lightning Strike Counter (DVLC-1)

The DVLC can be used independently from Davicom products. It comes in 2 parts:

  1. The current sensor is designed to be mounted on one of the tower legs or ground wires and it detects lighting-induced current pulses. These pulses are converted to an optical signal for safe, electrically-isolated transmission through a fiber-optic cable to the optical detector.
  2. The optical receiver is usually mounted inside the shelter and it produces a relay closure every time the detector sends an optical pulse down the optical cable. These relay closures can be counted and compiled with a non-volatile counter, or simply with any Cortex unit.

Technical Video - Lightning Strike Detector

Made by Davicom, a Division of Comlab

The DVLD and DVLC are Perfect Companions for The Cortex Series Remote Site Management Systems

The Perfect Companions for The Cortex Series Remonte Site Management System

Your Remote Site Management Solution For Alarms, Monitoring & Control

Davicom’s new generation of intelligent site management systems is designed to meet the most stringent requirements of the broadcast and wireless telecommunications industries. These best-in-class, stand-alone monitoring and control units interface easily with virtually any type of remote site equipment and sensors, thereby ensuring maximum flexibility and expandability.