Yes I agree, after a short while spherics can get very boring. Ok, you might be asking yourself whatРІР‚в„ўs the big deal about popping sounds from lightning in the VLF band anyway. That is if you donРІР‚в„ўt want to build your own receiver. I recommend this receiver for anyone interested in getting into this hobby. The VLF-3 kit which they provide is of very good quality and easy enough for just about anyone to build in a few quiet nights in the radio shack. The Inspire Project is a NASA sponsored (among others) project involved with interactive NASA space physics ionosphere radio experiments. Another option is the VLF-3 from the Inspire Project. IРІР‚в„ўm currently using a homemade receiver for this project which I detail below. As a matter of fact the Schumann resonance receiver which I use, found here, can easily be modified to receive the entire VLF band. Over the years I have built a number of VLF receivers of the E-field and loop antenna type. I have been interested in natural radio for a good ten years now. So it shouldnРІР‚в„ўt surprise anyone that another name for this hobby is РІР‚Сљnatural radioРІР‚Сњ. These types of wide band signals are characteristic of natural EMF activity from Earth as well as our solar system and beyond. This is because a lightning strike is not a narrow band event as is say a military VLF transmitter like NAA in Cutler Maine at 24KHz. Spherics show up as wide band bursts when plotted on a spectrogram. These are the most common sounds heard on the VLF band and can be heard 24 hours a day. The snap, crackle, and pop sounds from lightning activity which one can hear on a VLF receiver, or AM and short wave radio for that matter are called atmospherics or spherics for short.

Simple vlf receiver circuit