I am a newbie. I bought an old Bic melody for $150 dollars a few months ago and got hooked. On Monday I upgraded my Bic for a JP Excite-Ride 110L and am dying to give it a go. So I went down to Wello today as they forcasted 10 knot winds which I thought would be good for me to practice on with my new board without doing a million catapults and damaging the nose. Unfortunately when I got there it was stiller than the gold painted man at Darling Harbour so I had to drive all the way back home to Brisbane. Anyway, I thought "wouldn't it be good if there was a wind meter at Wello with a direct feed to seabreeze so I could check the wind at home and avoid a 2 hour round trip for nothing". Does anyone else think this would be a good idea ? I am happy to investigate the options, cost etc if other people would benefit from it.
PS. I am assuming the Brisbane Airport feed does not accurately reflect Wello. Please let me know if this assumption is wrong.
Hi yes it would be great to have a wind meter at wello.
Peel Island is ok to use in a SE just take 3-5 knots off.
In NE however there's really no Meter that is accurate for wello.
manly is prob the best option but doesn't always reflect what wind there is at wello.
That would be really nice! I would chip in. Add a webcam as well ;)
You can find Simon's Manly weather station here:
boardcrazy.com.au
I think it doesn't work for Westerlies.
I am looking to put a web cam on the manly station does any one have experience with a suitable setup
Does someone know if the 'Point of View' restaurant owner would be fine with having a webcam on the roof? I use the 'Brisbane Storm Chasers' webpage very often. It runs really well. Never experienced any downtime. Just made a donation.
I will see if I can find a sponsor and a location to put them. If anyone else finds a sponsor or a location please let me know.
As Gestalt wrote, 'Brisbane Storm Chasers' are the right guys. Their project is based on donations and if we all chip in with a bit of money to get this started they may be more than happy to work on it.
So, the technical part is not the issue. I think it is more to find the right location and to get the owners permission.
I just rang the Point of View resturant at Wello and the owner, Tony, will be back at 4:30. I will call Tony then and see what I can do :-)
EvilC? [}:)] My god we are an evil bunch. Evil Panda is not going to be happy about this.
I have spoken to the restaurant owner and the owner of the building and all looks good. I will talk to the Brisbane Storm Chasers next to see what is involved and the cost.
So, if it's that easy, we need one on top of the lifesavers tower at Currumbin too.
Wonder how they would respond to that ?
Anemometer , at least.
Anyone got a toehold in the clubbie organisation on the GC.
I do know one bloke, but not well. Can't remember his name.
We are in the process of setting up a network of webcams at all wind & kitesurf locations in Brisbane. First lot is due to be installed next Saturday.
Access will be free for all. If you have access to a popular location where we can mount a small housing, PM me! I will cover the cost of all hardware and installation. I plan to have Brisbane covered just like the kiwis - www.windsurf.co.nz/. Every one of the popular spots are covered!
Initially the cameras I use will take still shots every 2 minutes and feed directly to the website. These cameras are 4mp and give excellent quality. People will be able to see clearly how many people are out riding, how many are rigging, or how many are at the beach waiting for wind lol. The angle of these cameras are quite wide, we plan to cover both rigging area as well as the water where possible.
Hi all 
My name is Ben Quinn - I run the Brisbane Storm Chasers site and have created and currently expanding the Weathercam Network at :http://webcams.bsch.au.com
Padi has summarised his intentions - I'll be installing some cameras for him over the next few weeks. My end of it is that for most cameras the view is also good for watching the weather/storms, so the cameras will serve a dual purpose.
Apart from the obvious spot - Wellington Point - are there any other locations where a camera could be useful? I would be happy to install as many cameras as you want to put in. If the view is suitable for weather/storms as well I will install the camera at cost price. A basic install, one that doesn't require huge amounts of cable, is going to be around $250-300.
My workload is crazy at the moment - I have 10 cameras in the existing network (all of which need to be managed) plus I have another 7 installs in progress at the moment, some of which are quite complex. I work 50 hours over 6 days a week and travel 3 hours a day to get to and from work so it's fair to say that I don't have a lot of spare time to do the 'leg work' and scout for people that will host a camera. But, if you guys do the leg work and organise a host, I can put together and install a camera when needed. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to host a camera and the reasons for which they'll do it... best of all if they have an existing ADSL connection there are no ongoing costs for the host, apart from the cost of running a computer (a few $$'s a month).
I can be contacted on 0422 188 164 or by email at benquinn@optushome.com.au
Kind regards,
Ben
A big thankyou to Padi and Ben. I am pretty new to windsurfing but one thing I have noticed already is that eveyone really tries to support fellow windsurfers, good to see 
I will confirm everything with the building owner this weekend and will then put Padi/Ben in contact with the building owner so they can orgainse the install.
Look forward to spending even more time checking out the weather conditions at Wello
Sounds fantastic! Hey Clive, email me in case you need a hand. More than happy to help!
Shearwater and Currumbin for sure !! Best if they include an anemometer though. Not sure about the ADSL from the clubbie tower at Currumbin. Not sure if there is another good site there as there are no buildings in an appropriate spot.
Windykid, if you can find somewhere suitable, I am happy to fund the project. Someone's house with a good view will be ideal, and if we can use their net even better. At present ours is planned to set at taking pictures every 2 minutes, 8am to 11pm, and that chews up around 64mb a day of bandwidth. A month we use about 2gb which isnt a lot.
Onya Paddi.
I noticed you scored some admirable coverage on Scope yesterday for the extreme sport of kiting. he he. It was fun to watch.
Yea, it was a very well put together episode. Thanks to Channel 10! Working on getting the next one in windsurfing. Watch next Sunday's Great South East - we got the seniors in action, my eldest student too (Bob the bird- aged 83)!!!!! Wello comrade Henry was supposed to be in it too, but he got pulled back by his car that day. We are also sponsoring 4ZzZ radio station radio-marathon this month. Wind & kitesurfing lessons + prizes $1500+ for grab just from us! Listen out and donate!
Just to finish this topic. The Point of View Restaurant & Cafe have confirmed they are happy to have a web cam and anemometer mounted on their building and Padi has confirmed he will supply the hardware and Ben has confirmed he will install it. I will give everyone the relevant contact details to orgainse a time for the install.
Good work everyone 
Yeap, greenlight for all. Looking at about 3 weeks on Ben's schedule. This weekend installing one at Sandgate and one at Brighton. With a bit of luck it should be up live at our site by Saturday arvo. Viewing will be free for all.
Padi
Anyone want one at Queens ? Not sure where it would go though, I guess plenty of houses
