Mobile internet help

[Jason Boggs]

I chase for a local TV station here in Amarillo and we are looking at getting a laptop and wireless internet access. We have thought about getting Barons mobile threat net but we are not sure yet because we want to access other data such as SPC products and other data. I am wondering what you guys use to get consistent updates in the field. What set-ups have you had good luck and bad luck with? Thanks for the help.

 

[David Drummond]

Jason, have you looked at GRLevel3 and a feed from Allisonhouse.com. Tyler got me all set up recently on this and I was blown away. The amount of data you can get on his feeds is incredible. He's even providing a lot of stuff from F5data.com. The mesonets out here are on the feed as well, a feature I particularly like!

I will be putting this to use this year. The drawback is your going to need that cellular connection to get the data, and as you probably already know, we have some holes out here around the South Plains and the Panhandle with the digital cellular coverage.

To get complete coverage all the time, your pretty much going to have to go with the Threatnet. A combination of the two, which is what I have in the plans, will provide a darn near "complete" product suite for chasing.

 

[Jason Boggs]

David, Thanks very much for the information. I really do appreicate it!

 

[Jason McKittrick]

Jason,

I use a Sprint data card, however as you probably suspect coverage decreases exponentially after you leave the interstate. I also have Mobile Threat Net and it is far more useful and hopefully, although "it may be a while", someday they will feed SPC products, band width permitting. BTW are you chasing for Bill this year?

 

[Jeff Snyder]

I use Cingular for my data purposes. Sure, it's not "always on" like WxWorx, and I've had to putz with it and been w/o coverage before, but it gives me substantially more info than smoothed radar data. Don't get my wrong, I'd gladly accept a WxWorx system should someone want to give me one ( ), but w/o SPC products, multiple bref/srv tilts, NWS discussions, profilers, and other products, I can't think that WxWorx would be "far more useful" for me. I suggest a provider with relatively large data coverage (e.g. Cingular) and GRLevel3 (the paid version, so you can get the latest-n-greatest from the recent beta version). Again, if someone wants to give me an XM unit, I'd gladly accept it. Until that time, I'm not saving up for it since Cingular serves me just fine, and at a cost that is at least an order of magnitude less than WxWorx.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Originally posted by Jason McKittrick
Jason,

BTW are you chasing for Bill this year?

Yes Jason, I will be chasing for Bill this year. Matt Hines, the morning Meteorologist, will be my chase partner like he was last year. I hope we get on some good storms this year. If you go out this year I wish you luck.

 

[mrobinett]

Jason I hope to run into you again this year, it was good meeting you in Garden City that night after the "funnel in the mirror". :lol:

Mike

 

[Benjamin Sipprell]

I invite you to check out my thread to view the various options ... it's sort of a compilation of threads that have been posted on this board. The moderators get angry at me when I don't do previous research ... but I think I covered myself pretty well this time. :wink:

Hey ... at least I saved you the time of having to dig through the forum! Now grab a snickers, and satisfy your hunger.

http://stormtrack.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9918

 

[Jason Boggs]

Thanks Benjamin, I will have to put the snickers in the freezer first cause I like them frozen. :lol: Seriously though, I very much appreciate all the responses in this thread.