2014 Equipment Upgrades?

[Skip Talbot]

Happy New Year, folks. What are you adding, upgrading, or getting rid of equipment wise this year?

Everything is going tablets, but the software just isn't quite there yet on the Android and Apple platforms to match what we've got on the Windows platforms, and I'd say a laptop running Windows 7 or 8 or a Surface Pro is still your best option for functionality. The other platforms are quickly catching up though.

I can't handle chasing with a screen as small as a phone's or tablet's though. I need something bigger. The last couple of years I've been using a 23" ViewSonic optical touchscreen monitor connected to a laptop running Win 7, GR, and Street Atlas. It worked decently, but the optical touch required a little practice and isn't that precise, which is difficult to use with the tiny buttons in Street Atlas and GR. The touch feature on the monitor just gave out though, so I'm going to replace it.

Thanks to the Windows 8 release, touch screens are much more abundant and are coming down in price. I just bought a 22" Dell touch screen that uses a capacitative touch interface. There's no protruding frame, the monitor is significantly slimmer, and the accuracy is greatly improved so it should be a lot more user friendly screen and fit in the van better than the previous one. I'm also running Win 8.1, an operating system designed around a touch interface, and will be trying out custom navigation and radar software as well.

One other big change for this season will be new camera mounts and enclosures. It's time to retire that dome. I've been kicking around alternatives for a couple years now, but I think I have some decent options now. Something more along the lines of a rotating turret with a window. Domes are decent for streaming, but they'll ruin your shot with any number of optical drawbacks if you're trying to do any decent video work with one.

I'll probably spring for a 4G mifi/cradle this season too. Verizon's 4G coverage is awesome.

Other than that, I don't plan on changing my camera setup at all, and will be using a couple of Canon DSLR bodies and a Sony camcorder.

What about everyone else?

 

[Jeff Smith]

I'm tossing the idea around of going at chasing way more simple this year. I had a sweet Christmas this year, with a new Toshiba laptop/tablet bundle. That said, the tablet is Windows 8, so i may just say screw the streaming and chase with the tablet. Of course, I will still have my handy Canon and a couple of old MiniDV camcorders

 

[Dan Robinson]

Two things I'm going to *remove* from my chasing 'workflow' this year: streaming and liveposting on social media. I didn't do much of either last year, but when I did, it had a negative impact on my photography, my video and my overall enjoyment level.

Equipment wise, I'm planning on building permanent mounts for 2 of the dashcams (rather than suction cups) and a interior roof mount for the Cradlepoint router. I've also thought about adding independent dashboard switches for WxWorx and the router, as occasionally one needs a quick power cycle to resolve an issue. Right now I have to use the main switch to power cycle, which temporarily takes down everything on the circuit.

 

[Rob H]

I'm trying to figure out a solution to video that doesn't detract from the chase at all. I focused on video way too much last year, and my photography suffered because of it. I've got some ideas in mind though...

My big upgrade so far has been a new camera. I upgraded to yet another mirrorless camera last year and still didn't find my happy spot, so I decided to try medium format film. Picked up a Fuji GW690ii which is this lovely beast:



It will hurt spending $3-$4 every time I hear the shutter click, but it will be worth it when I snag a great shot and blow it up to poster size without any loss in detail.

 

[Sean Ramsey]

This will be the first season I will be using my GoPro Hero Black 3. I used it a couple of times last season and was super impressed with the quality. I'm kind of debating whether I want to live stream again this year too, there is so much work in trying to stay connected and many times not a lot of viewers. I also will be using a more sturdy tripod this year that will work wonders for photo quality in high winds.

I'll stick with my 17" HP laptop that was awesome last season. Is Verizon 4G worth upgrading to these days? I still use a USB760 3G card...

 

[JeffGonzales]

I have had quite a few upgrades already this of season. This is probably my last season being able to really chase alot before I move to CA for grad school and before kids and will not have as many opportunities to chase once moved.

My big upgrade has been getting a Canon 60d DSLR camera and a Canon 10-22mm lens. I will be using this to video storms as a handheld / tripod video, as well as pictures for lightning shots at night.

I have also went to GoPro 2 to get in the car interaction video and a GoPro 3 Black for in my dome. I have also redone my dome a bit to make it more water tight.

I have also upgraded my XTC action cameras that I use in my tornado video probe. This past year I had 4 Midland XTC-200 units which record in 720p. This cost me when I got an intercept on 5/31/13 on the OKC tornado. Being rainwrapped and dark video did not look good in low light. So I went ahead and upgraded most of the units. I put a XTC-300 (which Midland gave me for being a chaser for them this past year), and I purchased some new XTC280 units which all record in 1080p. Hopefully this will help in getting better video in low light.

My last upgrade is my SD cards. I went to Sandisk Class 10 32gb & 64gb cards since last year i used the cheapo ones and lost alot of video as a result.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Not really any upgrades for me. I love using tablets to chase since they are much less of a hassle than a laptop. I don't stream, so a tablet does a perfect job for me. I have an ipad, a Samsung Galaxy tablet, and A Samsung Galaxy note phone. I strictly focus on still photography when I'm out and upgraded a couple of years ago to a Canon 7D with the 10-22 and 24-105 L lens. These lenses do a great job for me. If anything, I might upgrade to a newer Verizon mobile hotspot. Other than that, I'm just saving a bit of money and waiting for Mother Nature to do her thing!

 

[Bob Schafer]

My only change for 2014 is a switch to the Verizon MiFi unit. As I have previously posted, my data cards have always ultimately resulted in broken motherboards. I was told by someone that some years ago the OEM's were required to quit using lead to solder their motherboards, making them more fragile and brittle, and my "2008" HP's motherboard failed in 2011. Then I bought an ASUS, and again it is showing signs of motherboard issues while chasing. It makes perfect sense: stick a USB device in the port, then shake the computer for hour after hour after hour, the equivalent of what happens while chasing 20K miles/year, and there's no way the motherboard is going to survive that.

I got the MiFi in October, and it works awesome. I just drove from Columbus Ohio to Orange Beach AL, ~800 miles, and ran all the equipment/software enroute as a sort of dry run.

 

[Mark Ellinwood]

Just getting a pro-level mic for my camcorder this year... saving up for a SUV for next year so I don't have to keep getting rentals every year.

 

[Jeff Duda]

No real tech upgrades for me this year.

I purchased a new car last month because my Taurus was simply nearing the end of its life. Those of you who have seen my junky white Taurus roaming around 45 miles from ongoing tornadoes might be familiar with the car I drove. I didn't get a new car for chasing purposes, though, just one for general driving. It does have hail dents, however, so I will use it to chase.

My in-laws gave my wife and I a Samsung Tablet for Christmas, so I plan to test it out on some chases, but I don't plan on relying on it.

 

[Keith Fronk]

For me the old Cradlepoint CBR-600 is replaced by a the MBR-1400 4G LTE router and adding the Wx Worx / Baron's Mobile ThreatNet.

These will fit behind the fans in the 19" rack mounted in the rear of the Tahoe.

It will be the second year I've chased with the Microsoft Surface Pro but so far it handles ThreatNet and even Level 2 Analyst just fine.

 

[Mark Ellinwood]

Just getting a pro-level mic for my camcorder this year... saving up for a SUV for next year so I don't have to keep getting rentals every year.

Totaled my car a couple of weeks ago (I'm fine), so plans for buying a proper chase vehicle were bumped up and I'm now the owner of a 2011 GMC Terrain SLE 2, and I will be back out chasing this spring with the same crew from last year! Still need to get that mic, though. A new tripod and an extra GoPro battery wouldn't hurt, either.

 

[Adam Lucio]

I have a long list of upgrades I hope to crunch out in the next month. The one I know for sure is a new, powerful laptop for video editing in the field. I've been chasing with an old trusty IBM thinkpad t43, and its finally ready to bite the dust.

Other improvements I plan to make are to finally wire up a 1000watt inverter I bought a couple years ago that has been collecting dust so I can stop using the damn cigarette lighter one (but will always carry it as a backup.) I've also ordered a wind filter for my camcorder too. I hate hate hate HATE wind noise in videos so I am hoping it will have a positive effect. I've wanted to upgrade to a 4G plan as well but I see milenicom now only offers mifi devices, which I hated using in the past, but am told theyve improved since then...so Im shopping around plans at the moment.

Im currently studying for my HAM license too so assuming I pass Ill be in the market for all that junk as well. One thing at a time though...

 

[James Gustina]

My chase partner and I are most likely getting a Verizon Mifi so we can stop relying on tethering his phone (Sprint) to the Dell laptop. I'm debating picking up another heavier, more sturdy tripod that can handle inflow trying to knock it over.

I'm also interested to try applying Aquapel for the first time. I've used Rain-X once and absolutely hated it so I'm interested to see if Aquapel will maybe last a bit longer and not leave so many dang smears on the windshield so I can actually take shots through the windshield without it looking like garbage. Lastly, we're working on maybe rigging up a small Panasonic HD camera on the dash, that'll give us a better chance of getting decent footage of all of the storm and not just chopped up video that goes from tower to tornado in 2 minutes like in chases past.

 

[Brett Roberts]

If you do try Aquapel, let us know how that goes.

I've been a Rain-X fan throughout my chasing years, but the only downside is it needs to be applied constantly during chase season. As long as I buff it well right after application and then wipe it off with wet paper towels 5 minutes later, I haven't really had any issues with smearing. Are you using the spray bottle, or the windshield wiper fluid? I've only used the direct spray type.

Aquapel is supposed to last much longer, but I've read a lot of reviews that say it's also a little less effective (e.g., if Rain-X starts working well at 40 mph, Aquapel is more like 50-60 mph). Once you apply Aquapel, you kind of have to stick with it and avoid Rain-X until it wears off, too. Any other opinions/experiences from Aquapel users would be great, BTW.