Electric Field Mills

• Description: Aircraft Eletric Field Mills
• Manufacturer: NCAR (Set of Six)
• Sensor Serial Number:
• Used for lightning detection

• Enclosure
• 3/8 inch waterproof adjustable cable gland
• Extension cord with 4 outlets at the end
• Raspberry Pi + case
• Electric Field Rotor (EFR)
• mounting plate for EFR
• Power adapter for running EFR capable of outputting 29.5 Volts at 3 Amps
• Male outlet plug x2
• Conductive tape
• 18-20 AWG wire
• 22-16 AWG ring terminals x2
• Multimeter
• Wire strippers + cutters
• Scissors
• 9 mil socket for lock washers
• Philips screwdriver
• Allen key set

• Drill a hole in the bottom side (closest side to latch for door) of the enclosure the same size as the inner diameter of the mounting plate (cutting blade should be in clifford 423)
• Remove old mounting plate from EFR if it is still attached and bent.
• Secure the mounting plate to the bottom of the enclosure using bolts and lock nuts (lock nuts should be inside of the enclosure)
• Slide EFR into mounting plate (it may be necessary to file away parts of the enclosure to get the EFR into position)
• Secure EFR to mounting plate
• If no hole has been drilled for the 3/8 in cable gland the hole should go on the left face of the box with the door pointing up and the EFR pointing towards you/ down
• Tape the entire exterior of the enclosure using conductive tape, it is not necessary tape the inside of the box or the space between the back of the door and front overhangs of the box

• Cut the plug off the end of the extension cord and feed the cable through the cable gland ( do not tighten the gland yet)
• Separate and strip the cables of the extension cord and connect them to a new male plug (middle is always ground, use a multimeter to test for conductivity between the new plug and the outlets on the extension cord to determine which cable is hot and which is neutral, the large slot on the outlet is neutral)
• Check for conductivity between all three blades of the plug and their respective slots on the outlet (make sure the power switch on the extension cord is closed or there will be no continuity between the hot sides of the cable)
• Strip off one end of the 18-20 AWG wire and add a ring terminal to the end of that wire
• Cut the wire to 6 inches and strip the other end
• Attach the stripped end to the ground leg of a new male plug
• Strip off one end on a new 18-20 AWG wire and add a ring terminal to the end
• Cut the wire to 6 inches and strip the other end
• Loosen one of the 4 outer allen head screws on the top (inside the enclosure) of the EFR and secure the stripped end of the new wire to the loosened allen head and tighten it, tug on the wire to ensure it is secure
• Take the ring terminals of both wires and place them on the stud at the top of the enclosure near the door
• The enclosure should have came with a yellow grounding cable that has ring terminals on both ends, locate this cable and place one end on the stud in the enclosure and the other end on the stud on the back of the door and place a nut on both studs
• Using either double sided tape or velcro secure the end of the extension cord to the top of the enclosure (if using double sided tape, remove the 4 rubber stands on the back of the outlet box on the extension cord so the tape makes contact with the wall)
• Pull as much cable from the extension cord out of the enclosure, tighten the cable gland, and tape it over with electrical tape

Electric Field Mill on top of Clifford Hall

Power Adapter for Electric Field Mill Rotor Ground cables setup Ground plug and outlet box Relative Positions of holes to be drilled for enclosure