• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Acrylic vs. Hail

Joined
May 1, 2004
Messages
3,417
Location
Springfield, IL
Does anyone have experience with Acrylic, Lexan, or Plexiglas and how well it holds up to hail? I'm building a housing for my camera and was wondering what thickness I should shoot for so that I don't have to worry about it cracking. The stuff should be much stronger than glass, but I'm wondering if I can get away with a 1/8" thickness as it gets considerably more expensive to double the thickness for large pieces.
 
Skip,
I use the Lexan 1/8". It is stronger than the regular plexiglas and acrylic.
I have this on 5 different housings anywhere from 5" x5" up to 10" x10" and it has been beat with around 2 - 2-1/2" hail with no problems.
 
I just ordered domes from cleardomes.com. I ordered the 1/4 inch thick dome. I will be using it as a roof-cam on the van. The main use will be for the webcam. I ordered one spare dome in case of hail impact. The lexan is considerably more expensive and I would be more worried about scratching on it. I can replace the acrylic dome 7 times for the price of one lexan dome and every replacement will be scratch-free.
 
Those are the guys I was looking at, Charles. It looks like we are on the same page as I'm also planning on mounting it on the roof of my van. If its alright I'll be asking you some questions if and when I get stuck. ;)

Yes, I agree that acrylic is the way to go. Its not as impact resistant as lexan, but acrylic is clearer, scratches less, and doesn't turn yellow from UV exposure. I'm just worried about how I'm going to keep the rain and dirt off of it.
 
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