I forgot what a high it is after a successful chase as it feels like its been so long. Regardless, I've had a couple days to regroup and rummage through my things and take stock of the dress rehersal which went well in about every imaginable way.
First of all, I was overjoyed with my Sprint connection and the software which ran from it. Rarely did I ever have connection issues. The only place from which I did not receive service was on the stretch of Hwy 87/64 between Clayton and Raton, NM. Beyond that, I had a good signal in most places with the exception of some small holes. I'm hopeful my recently arrived amplifier will fill those smaller holes and strengthen my signal in the other areas. Hardware-wise, the phone itself was nearly flawless. While I did check email and other info form the phone itself a couple of times, I mainly had it tethered to my laptop via the hotsync cable. The cable itself had an issue where the side connector would come loose and thus cutting of my data. A minor issue that won't take much to fix. Beyond that, it worked like a champ. The hotsync cable also allowed for a constant charge so battery power in my phone was never an issue. This also freed up a cig-lighter plug as it ran from the laptop's USB.
Internet access of this type is priceless. Not only did I have SPC available to me constantly, but I was able to make updates to my site on the fly. I had posted the first shots of the tornado on my blog and Stormtrack within an hour of the tornado. And I was able to do this on the move without stopping to mooch Wifi. Another thing which is becoming an issue (although we didn't encounter it on this run) is Wifi spots being locked down. War-driving, as I believe it's called, is becoming a big enough concern where places such as hotels are locking their Wifi only to guests. Cell phone internet, while much slower, gives you the ability to check data from anywhere AND on the fly. This also saves you time as you're no longer making data stops. Just gas and go now!
This chase was a good chance for me to test out WeatherLab and Interwarn. I probably didn't get the total experience as I literally had the program a few days prior to heading out. Thus I was using VERY basic features. I know of many others this program can do, but I haven't had a chance to test them out. The radar software with StormLab was great. It updated fast and was much more detailed than WXWorx. A feature I was thrilled to see later on was the automatic saving of all radar images. I was able to run a loop of the entire cycle of the storm for as long as I had the program running. I want to familiarize myself with the FTP capability so I can update a radar screen to my website. I did have some technical issues with the GPS part of the program, however I am currently working on that with both a Bluetooth and USB GPS puck. Interwarn was nice as it quickly popped up SPC products and allowed me to free up time which usually went into checking on my own. This was a cool feature. Interwarn will have to be customized pending my chasing target to get the most use out of this. Otherwise, I figure this will be much better as a home-base program. Well worth it by any means as it archives text products such as discussions and warnings.
WXWorx was not activated for this trip, thus nothing to report on my end with that. Verne had it with him and it worked flawlessly for him. Having both internet and WXWorx within a team is nice as you can compare images, however if my cell phone proves to be useful in a large majority of chasing areas, I'm likely to pass on the XM updates and offer my unit for sale.
Delorme was upgraded to the 2007 version and worked flawlessly as usual. Because I didn't have my keycode for the Bluetooth, I was unable to run Delorme on the Bluetooth as I would've liked. As of this writing, I have not tested the Bluetooth on Delorme, so no comment on that right now.
The van did extremely well for its first run out. My repairs and maintanance came in a hurry the day before I left, so I really forked out a lot more money than I would've liked. However, aside from needing to balance my tires, everything ran smooth. Gas mileage for the trip was right about 21mpg, but the average was seriously killed when I went from Amarillo into Raton in the 60-80mph winds I endured. That stretch of travel barely made it in the teens. Prior to that, my mileage thingie was pushing 23-25mpg, so under normal driving circumstances, I was pleased with the results.
The new Nikon D70s was also broken in. I didn't get a chance to shoot lightning like I wanted, so that big feature to me remains unknown. The rest of the shots turned out quite well. All-in-all, the DSRL was more fun to use and I look forward to getting a better looking storm to get it on. For general shooting, I used my Canon S2 IS as I assigned it primarily to shoot website stuff. The Sony TRV350 shot like a champ as usual. Aside from the crappy, untripoded tornado video, nothing new there. I've always loved my Sony camcorders, so I'll rarely complain about my TRV350.
All-in-all, I'm very happy with the performance of my gear and the ride. I still have untested items I'm dying to get out such as the cell phone amplifier. I'm hopeful for a weekend March chase or a trip over Spring Break to get the rest of my gear checked out. Of course, I can only hope for results as good as Friday's! We shall see!
