[Bristol-Birds] BBC studying real-time hawk watch data transmission from Mendota

  • From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "Bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:05:38 -0400

Birders,

You may see several test messages originating from
Mendota Fire Tower Hawk Lookout at 3,018 feet
elevation on Clinch Mountain west of Bristol Virginia.

A team from the Bristol Bird Club is working to establish
real time hourly reporting of the fall hawk migration from
Mendota tower to Bristol Birders net and others.

At 6:23 p.m. this evening, Mike Sanders and family had
made a late-afternoon journey and hike to the base of
the tower to assess Wi-Fi connection, cell phone and
data transmission from the site.

Simply put, Wi-Fi is connectivity. It connects us to our 
content and communications over our mobile phone, 
computer, media players and other devices - all without
cumbersome cables. When we're on the move, such as
operating at the Mendota Lookout, it lets us connect to 
the Internet. We believe we might be able to do this at
Mendota without worrying about finding a wired network 
connection. That is Wi-Fi. 

In addition, we are currently working with Washington Co.,
VA officials to identify some of the technical support
system there as well as evaluating the weather station
equipment in place.

Tom Hunter is shopping a remote weather station which
the BBC would like to purchase which will transmit
wireless weather data to a laptop computer at the base
of the tower.  This should provide up-to-the-second weather
data for further studying the hawk migration.  In addition,
we would like to be able to access real-time weather map
and forecast information right at the foot of the tower.

Each day, when the count is completed, Tom Hunter returns
home and translates his written field notes into a form on
the website of the Hawk Migration Association of North
America database for hawk migration.  After that is all
complete,  you have been able to see the actual report
by accessing the website of the database form.

We hope, this season, to access that website and database
directly from a laptop at the foot of the tower every hour
throughout each daily hawk watch.  We do not yet know for
sure but believe you can go to the website at any minute
and see the daily hawk county activity reported hour by
hour to the current hour.

We also hope to give you not only the weather but photos
transmitted of major highlight events and big crowds at 
the lookout, even when you can't be with us.

You may be able to see a list of who is at the tower, who
is planning to be there, arrange with a friend to join and either text
message or email your plans and the coordinator on the
tower will know who is heading up in order to plan coverage
for the rest of the day.

Our cellphone test today were highly successful.  We 
tried data transmission and text message and everything
is working nicely.

You may actually go to the website and, at this moment, look 
around.  Please use the following url but remember that we have 
not set this up to hourly reporting and are a couple of weeks away
from that if it is doable.

http://hawkcount.org/day_summary.php?PHPSESSID=b2eb5deb1ae5a23e55dcf30171c5ba85

Stay tune.

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN

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