The power button is used to select “On”, “On with tone”, and “Off”. Turning the unit on requires simply a short pressing of the button. Pressing the button for approximately two seconds upon power-up enables the tone (a beep will sound indicating that the tone has been enabled). When wanting to turn the unit off, simply hold the power button down for approximately four seconds (again, a beep will sound indicating that the unit has shut off).

When first turned on, StrikeAlert performs a battery test. The LEDs will indicate the battery level, with each LED indicating about 20 hours of operation. The LEDs will light up, beginning with the red LED and leading up to the current battery level. The current battery level will be the final LED to light and will remain lit for two seconds. StrikeAlert will then begin its normal operation.

During normal operation, the green LED will be on continuously to indicate StrikeAlert is monitoring for lightning strikes. If the green LED is blinking, StrikeAlert is in the presence of interference (see below for more information).

When a lightning strike is detected, StrikeAlert will light the appropriate LED indicating the distance of the strike. This LED will remain lit for two minutes, unless another strike occurs during that time. If a more recent strike is farther away, the LED indicating this distance will light for two seconds, and then return to complete the two minutes from the nearest strike. If a more recent strike is nearer, it will replace the previous LED reading. This LED indicator will be held for two minutes. This allows the user to see all the lightning activity within a 40 mile range, giving clearer visibility to the nearest strike in the last two minutes. If the power switch is in the “On with Tone” position, StrikeAlert will also generate tone(s) indicating the distance of the strike along with lighting the appropriate LED. This allows you to determine the storm's activity without having to monitor the LEDs.

StrikeAlert uses a trend of strike distances over the last five minutes to determine if a storm is approaching, departing, stationary or there is no activity. After the unit has been turned on, holding the button down for two seconds will result with the LED display changing to one of three patterns:

• If the LED cycles from green to red, the storm is approaching.
• If the LED cycles from red to green, the storm is departing.

If the LED cycles from the center LED to the outside LEDs, the storm is stationary or there’s not enough data to determine the direction of the storm. Direction cannot be determined if there has not been enough strikes to identify a trend or StrikeAlert has not been running long enough. Approximately five minutes is needed in the presence of lightning strikes to determine direction.

StrikeAlert is designed to be used outdoors. While StrikeAlert will work indoors, its ability to detect lightning strikes can be affected by common sources of electromagnetic emissions, such as:

• CRTs - (televisions or computer monitors)
• Motors and engines
• High-powered electronics equipment
• Cell phones

Moving StrikeAlert a safe distance away from these devices (usually 3 to 8 feet) should allow the detector to return to normal operation. If StrikeAlert is receiving interference due to such electromagnetic emissions, the green LED will blink or may give a false lightning indication. The static generated by some garments may also produce a false indication. Again, moving the detector just a few feet away from the source of the interference should allow StrikeAlert to resume normal operations. This will be indicated by the green LED remaining constantly lit.