Streamer tubes are becoming increasingly important in high-energy physics experiments. They are used as drift tubes for the localisation of charged-particle tracks, and also as sampling devices in sandwich calorimeters with cathode readout only. The streamer pulses carry charges which are several orders of magnitude larger than pulses from proportional chambers; this provides a good signal-to-noise ratio and makes them appropriate for a wide field of applications in highly compact detectors. The signals induced on the cathodes are also important for measuring — in addition to the anode wire – a second coordinate, and for resolving ambiguities in track recognition. When connecting the signals from two opposite cathodes to the two inputs of a differential amplifier, a left/right bit could be added after suitable buffering via the same signal line as used for time digitalisation. Another essential feature is the association of time information from the anode wire and the cathode. For the streamer tube used in this experiment the pulses induced on the cathode on either side of the particle, and on the anode, are measured by a fast analog-to-digital converter. A simple two-dimensional model ρ( r, θ) at t = 0, without any time-dependent effects other than a constant electron drift velocity of 50 μm/ns, is used to compare the charge distribution in a streamer with the measurements of the pulse lengths at the two opposite cathode strips. First the field generated by a static voltage is calculated. Then the effect of a “space charge” is evaluated. The Green's function of the square domain is a prerequisite for determining the field and the surface charge distribution on the electrodes. It is obtained from that of a concentric circular counter by a conformal mapping. Representations of Green's functions are calculated by series expansions.