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| Kite-Squatch | Posted on May 21 2011, 07:02 PM | ||||
Pete, glad I was able to help. I'm not a "HAM", nor have I ever tried lofting an aerial by kite. So any info you need you'll have to find online. I found several webpages about it just doing a GOOGLE search, and with MY online search skills, if I can find the info you should have no problem finding it....  One thing, make sure you play it SAFE. Being a kiter, I know that extending an electrical conductor several hundred feet up into the air *can* have serious consequences. Even if you're not flying around powerlines - which you should never do with kites anyway - you can build up a good static charge just by wind flowing past the airborne conductor. And DEFINITELY watch for lightning. {Can you say, "Ben Franklin"? <g>} Most of the webpages I found go into some detail on how to insulate or ground these things so they're safe. One other thing, if you've got {the Canadian equivalent of} $$$ to spend, you might want to check-out ALLSOPP HELIKITES. They're 'balloon-kites', and have the properties of both balloons & kites. They will provide life in zero wind, but won't get blown-down to the ground like balloons when the wind speed increases. If you were able to watch the show MYSTERIOUS ENCOUNTERS with Autumn Williams in Canada, I *believe* that on at least one episode they used a Helikite to loft a thermal infrared camera at night. Here's the link: http://www.allsopp.co.uk/ |
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| Peter Smith | Posted on May 19 2011, 08:36 PM | ||||
We use FRS/GMRS radios all the time. After reading Kite's post, I got thinking about the kite idea. So we purchased two radios that have removeable antennas, so we can attach a remote antenna. I remember my kite days when I could get a kite up a few hundred feet, using a large trolling reel, and 30 lb. test line. Once you get to a good altitude, the kite remains fairly stable for hours. I am going to experiment with a remote antenna on a kite. Thanks for the idea. |
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| Peter Smith | Posted on May 3 2011, 09:23 PM | ||||
| We spent the weekend in the Blind River area, visiting several areas where there had been previous sightings. We retrieved the cameras that we had left there a week ago, but no photos, and the bait that we had left was untouched. Probably the heavy rains all week were a factor. A few hundred yards north of this location, while we stopped on a snow machine bridge for a few minutes, we heard two distinct tree knocks, followed by two more, of the same duration, a few hundred feet away from the first. We waited, then made two similar knocks. No response. No, they were not woodpeckers. Several miles away, we observed prints that had no boot indications, but no toes either. They were the shape of a footprint, but there was no indentation. The ground was covered in wet leaves, and the prints were like a wet foot had lifted the leaves, leaving a bare spot on wet ground. The prints were a few feet apart, and although interesting, were not conclusive. Definitely not made by a boot, but a flat foot. We found the area interesting enough, that we will return some time in the future. One interesting location, was a pond, where the frogs were very vocal, and loud, during the day. Normally, when a motorised vehicle approaches a pond, the frogs stop vocalizing until you move away. Not so here, they just continued the same pitch. So we left trail cams here. The following morning we retrieved the cams. There was one IR photo, taken on Friday night, that shows good eye shine. It appears to be a bear or black cougar. All photos are in PBucket, which can be accessed from the links page. A very good weekend, and the weather was good to us. We woke up to rain on Sunday morning, so broke camp, and headed out. Thanks to Stonekicker, and his RV, we were very comfortable. |
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| Peter Smith | Posted on May 3 2011, 06:17 PM | ||||
| I wish we had had that coverage map with us. Just above the word "Blind River" is a dead area, shaped like a fist and thumb. We were on the NW corner of that small lake. So we had coverage all around us, just not where we were at. We travelled on the trails NNE of the base camp, so we had coverage for most of the time, just not at base camp. We will have to check coverage maps in future, before we setup camp. |
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| Jason Goldring | Posted on May 3 2011, 09:45 AM | ||||
| It was a real hit & miss according to the group and I know that Tim is on Telus - He had coverage but it was spotty at best, as you can see from the picture attachment anything north of Blind River has little / no coverage. I like the idea of floating an aerial up onto a kite. We have used walkie talkies with moderate success for local communications and we have sourced out a resource that sells very cheap two-way GMRS radios that have a detachable antenna (unlike the typical FRS radios) so that an external antenna can be used. Past experience with these sort of setups have been promising. |
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| Kite-Squatch | Posted on May 3 2011, 03:14 AM | ||||
| FWLIW, if you can't get good cell coverage on an expedition, I've read that 'Ham' radio operators have used kites to lift wire aerials (antennas) to improve range. I'm NOT an amateur radio ' type' - I'm not even IN Canada <g> - but if anyone in the group is a Ham, maybe you might want to check into it. Of course, an amateur radio operator would probably already know that, so what I'm suggesting is really 'academic'.... My two cents. 'Nuff said.... -Allan, aka KITE-Squatch N.E. North Carolina, USA PS I was briefly part of an expedition...recently. One thing I thought of trying - though I was never able to do it - was to use a kite-lofted aerial just for reception. Some of the folks I go out with use those RCA <?>-type 2-way radios (I don't own one myself). They've had trouble receiving when someone travels some distance away. Using a kite-lofted aerial *might* improve reception, which could be crucial in case of an emergency in the field. More 'food for thought'.... |
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| Jason Goldring | Posted on May 1 2011, 06:29 PM | ||||
| Nothing yet from the group but I am sure that we will get a report soon once they get back to camp, unless a squatch got to them!!!! LOL!!!! Weather forecast has changed three times today for that area, from rain, to partly cloudy, back to rain. Will be interesting to see what actually happened up there.... |
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| Jason Goldring | Posted on May 1 2011, 08:15 AM | ||||
| UPDATE Received a few messages from Tim - The team is up there and we have a video report showing that conditions are favorable and all is good. Nothing more to report at this time, they have a very poor signal so I am assuming that they go to a specifica spot by base camp to send and receive, then they go about their day. (Wink wink nudge nudge to the cell providers...Put some more towers up!!!) |
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| Jason Goldring | Posted on Apr 30 2011, 10:02 AM | ||||
| UPDATE All is well - low signal reported. Audio recorded all night. Heading out now to do some exploring. Note that this was rcvd earlier in the day as we are having some text messaging delays with the phones going in & out of service. |
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| Jason Goldring | Posted on Apr 29 2011, 11:49 PM | ||||
| UPDATE Heard from the group. Big wolf tracks, porcupine caught up close and personal in a video...LOL. Tim pointed out that it is a low to no signal area so reports will be scarce. J |
