• 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.

Autonomous Remote Controlled TIV?

Joined
Jan 28, 2022
Messages
10
Location
Oxford, Mississippi
An idea popped in my head and I was wondering if anyone has tried it yet.

So the idea is basically a hybrid between a drone and the TIV.

I'm wondering if it would be feasible to somehow equip an offroad automobile or gas ATV with remote controlled steering, weather instruments, and camera so it can be driven into a tornado from a distance?

There's no telling how money it would take for a project like this.
 
It's not a horrible idea - but what would the purpose be? What sort of value would you hope to get from data inside of the funnel?
 
The type of data would of course be things like pressure, humidity, temperature, and wind speed. The purpose of capturing this kind of data may reveal small-scale structures within the tornado that were previously unknown and capture new data from subvortices in multiple-vortex tornadoes. Have cameras pointing up that could possibly capture "Eye-like" features inside large tornadoes.

Personally, I have no use for this kind of data.....I'm not a meteorologist. I'm just a photographer. I just wanted to toss the idea out there.
 
Ahh okay - thanks. The real need for data is outside of the tornado - but if you do develop this project, I'm sure people will take advantage of your pics :)
 
I highly doubt such an idea would be considered financially reasonable. People have been trying for decades to place instrument pods in front of tornadoes with limited success.

You've seen what you're gonna see from the TIV (see the 27 May 2013 TIV2 tornado intercept video for a look at the best you're going to see from a TIV-like vehicle).

Remote-controlled full-size street-legal vehicles are not a thing (as far as I'm aware), and I doubt they ever will be. Combined with Warren's comment above, it's just not practical to bother with such a venture unless you plan to be self-funded and do everything for yourself (i.e., nothing for society or science). I wouldn't blame you for doing that, but just be prepared to have to dole out all your money.
 
Back
Top