Supplier
Bristol Industrial & Research Associates Ltd (Biral), now trading as Senseca UK
BTD-300 Thunderstorm Detector
Passive thunderstorm detector meeting FAA aerodrome requirements, 83km range.
Specs verified against manufacturer documentation
Detection range
83km (45 nautical miles)
False alarm rate
<2%; max flash rate 120/min
Power
110-240V AC, 50-60 Hz
Operating temperature
-40C to 60C; weight 25kg; IP66
Pricing
Request a quote for current pricing, lead time and delivery to your airport.The BTD-300 is a standalone sensor that reliably detects all forms of lightning — cloud-to-cloud, cloud-to-ground and intra-cloud — using passive quasi-electrostatic sensing of the atmospheric electric field. It warns of overhead lightning risk before the first discharge by detecting charged precipitation, with a false-alarm rate under 2%. It meets FAA performance requirements for aerodrome use.
From the manufacturer’s documentation
Technical specifications.
| Detection range | 83km (45 nautical miles) |
| Principle | passive quasi-electrostatic field sensing (1-47 Hz) |
| Detection efficiency | 95% single flash; 99% for 2+ flashes within 56km |
| False alarm rate | <2%; max flash rate 120/min |
| Power | 110-240V AC, 50-60 Hz |
| Operating temperature | -40C to 60C; weight 25kg; IP66 |
| Outputs | Ethernet or RS422 serial (ASCII) |
| Meets FAA performance requirements for aerodrome use | |
Best for
Use cases.
- ›Airport/aerodrome lightning warning and ground-crew safety
- ›Aviation meteorology and METAR thunderstorm reporting
- ›Offshore helicopter operations safety