dirtybird

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I would like to install a weather station at my home field. For some strange reason the weather there is usually quite different there than at my home 20 miles away.
MY thought is to buy a weather station off ebay and install it at the field then install a cell phone to photograph the monitor and upload the results to facebook via the mobile net when I call the telephone,
That way the information would be available to anyone I designate as a friend on facebook.
My question is: does anyone know of a cell phone that is capable of doing this?

flyinwalenda

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I was just discussing this the other day. The "checkthesock" site uses google to forecast field conditions and it's a neat set-up except in my case it's gathering data from a weather station 18 miles away from the field!
I thought of getting a digital weather station, a cell phone, and buying or building a data device/switch that would interface the phone to the station and when the phone is called it would connect and display the stations info. I suppose you could also get a CC camera connected to a data switch connected to the phone so when it's called the camera image pops up.
I didn't dig into it to far yet but I may start tonight.

flyinwalenda

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Here's something I found :
[link=http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-remote-controlled-camera-from-a-cellphone!/]http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-remote-controlled-camera-from-a-cellphone!/[/link]

Hoping to find something a bit simpler . I found commercial data loggers that will accept weather sensors and allow you to call the cell and it will read back the info but they are pricey. I would think there are cheap simple weather stations out there with a data logger built in that could be connected to a cell.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I have been doing some research on the net. I have not found a cell phone that will automatically take a picture and upload it to facebook but I have found this:

http://teencellmonitor.com/

It will partly do what I want but at the same time it scares the crap out of me.
It turns out you can buy a complete weather station for less than $100 and they don't need solar power. Some alkaline batteries will last for a year or more.
You would need solar power to keep the cell phone charged but it would be small and cheap
What you would do is set up the weather station,clamp a cell phone with picture capability so it views the WS monitor, and make a timer that keys the cell phone pic take button as often as you like. then use the teencellmonitor to read out the picture whenever you want a report. Then you could manually enter the data on facebook for your friends or put it on your club website.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

That pic set-up would work but is not user friendly...to many buttons to push.
I did find this place for the cell phone /connect/read back set-up:[link=http://www.varmintbox.com/html/Sensalert/CPIU07.html]http://www.varmintbox.com/html/Sensalert/CPIU07.html[/link]

I searched rcu and rcg and found folks who wanted to do the same thing using either video or cell connect and no one got anywhere short of spending big bucks for high priced commercial rigs.

I would think there is some cell phone that has or with an easy hack that has the ability to force itself into video mode when texted or called and reset when disconnected.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Do you not trust the weather service? Our club website has an active link posting weather conditions by GPS coordinates.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

quote]

Without sensors at the site they have to send the data they have from the nearest weather service. In our case that is about 20 miles away.The weather 20 miles away is completely different from it is at our flying field.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

Quite a unit but way out of my price range

flyinwalenda

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Agreed. There has to be a cheap way to do this via video or read back using a cell phone.

flyinwalenda

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Ha ! That's a good one !

I live 10min from our field and the conditions at my home could be sunny and no wind yet when I get to the field it's sunny and windy. Very unpredictable because of where it's located.
As stated the gps weather info and sites that use it are useless when the reporting station is miles away.
I'm just looking to place an anemometer with a way to read it using a cell phone.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Glad I could make you guys smile

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Well the cameras do exist. It takes a sim card and you can call it and watch live video, you can schedule it to send pics to email , etc...
Now just need to find where it's sold!
[link=http://www.i-tuta.com/Product.asp?id=15]http://www.i-tuta.com/Product.asp?id=15[/link]

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

That looks like what I am looking for. Have you sent him an email?
Update:
Its available on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Home-Remote-...item23133ec6e4

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

No I didn't. Still looking for a retail site but haven't found one yet.

Here's a place in Canada selling something similar. Not a lot of detail on it though.
[link=http://www.spyshop911.com/3g-camera-phone.html]http://www.spyshop911.com/3g-camera-phone.html[/link]

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I found this thru AARP.

http://www.vuezone.com/promotions?ut...ezone2012Media

The battery lasts up to 6 months

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

From what I read on the specs this looks like it's a wifi camera. You need an internet connection to access it. There is no sim card in the camera...again from what I read. Plus paying them for something you can set-up for free.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

You are correct. It needs a high speed internet connection. You really have to dig in their info to find that .

flyinwalenda

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I'm going to keep trying to locate more info on the previous two sim card cameras. Not sure why it's difficult to find these here in the states. If one of these can stream video when called that's the way to go. Mount it in an enclosure ,put in a small solar panel and battery and just point the camera it at the wind sock. If it only sends a snapshot then an inexpensive digital weather station would be required too and put the display in the enclosure with the camera.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

I'm going to keep trying to locate more info on the previous two sim card cameras. Not sure why it's difficult to find these here in the states. If one of these can stream video when called that's the way to go. Mount it in an enclosure ,put in a small solar panel and battery and just point the camera it at the wind sock. If it only sends a snapshot then an inexpensive digital weather station would be required too and put the display in the enclosure with the camera.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I have to wonder about this:

www.easy-cellphone.info/tracker.php

flyinwalenda

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I'm always skeptical of ads where after you read all of the pages they never tell you how much it is ! I've seen cell phones you can buy and give to a target that allows you to monitor everything from a pc or mobile.
Even with this the phone at the flying site would have to be recording video 24/7 in order to view it remotely .

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

This page tells you how much it is:

http://www.easy-cellphone.info/order-page.php

Wayne Miller

Hi,

The Kitchener Waterloo Flying Dutchmen (KWFD) in Kitchener, Ontario Canada have a weather station at their field. You can view weather data and see a picture of the field updated every minute (not much to see in winter with no one flying). Click on the links below to see the system. You may want to contact them if you are interested in that type of a system.

Weather data:
http://www.kwflyingdutchmen.com/index.html
(Click on the weather icon upper left of screen)

Field View:
http://www.kwflyingdutchmen.com/webcam/webcam.html

Hope this helps.

Fly4Fun,

Wayne

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Thanks Wayne. Looks like that club has internet at their field. This would be a simple solution with an internet connection!