Thank You "Honor Roll" for Pier B cam replacement donations

Thank you to all the viewers who donated yesterday to the camera fundraiser.  It is simply amazing how much support there is for these cams. 

I can't thank you enough!

Den

Camera Update for this weekends Tall Ships!

Update: 080619-10:40 -- projects complete. I tried as best I could to level the Canal Cam-- hopefully, it is a bit better.


In addition to the huge Blues Fest starting Friday at Bayfront Park and the Tall Ships starting Sunday, it will be a busy weekend in the Twin Ports.

I will be operating the cameras to best view the activity, especially the tall ships arrival on Sunday morning.

I just cleaned the camera windows for for PierB and GLA. Tomorrow I will clean off Hillside, Bayfront, Harborcam, Canal and the Bridge cam.  I will also try to  level the Canal cam a bit.

I will get down to the area with my drone and other cameras when I can.

Hope you enjoy the weekend either in person or virtually!

Also, FYI - the Soo Cam is back up

Den

Camera Operations Tonight!

FYI,

We currently have 6 cameras sharing the same 6-8MB upload capability to the internet.
The cams are:
Pier B
Harbor
Bayfront
Hillside
GLA
Wisconsin Point

Cameras usually take 2MB each.

In order to make the most bandwidth available to the cams that will be viewing the fireworks and Bayfront activities, I will be turning GLA, Bayfront and Wisconsin Point cams off. This will double the available bandwidth to PierB, Harborcam, and Hillside.
 I will also be tilting harborcam up a bit.

The GLA Bayfront and Wisconsin Point cams will be going off shortly after the James R Barker arrived at about 19:00. These cams will be turned on after the fireworks.

Hillside and Pier B will be on manual control for the evening to preserve bandwidth.

All other cams will be operating as normal.

More adjustments may be made on the fly if needed.

Thanks,
Den

Camera Update!

Hillside Cam
The Hillside cam went offline a few days ago.  I will take a closer look at it today after I feed the chickens and cut the grass. Hopefully, I will get it back in service soon.

Wisconsin Point Cam
The camera placement is not the best, but, was the only place with power. The signal gets blocked for a few minutes as the boat goes by. Being so close to the water often load up the images transmission path causing it to pause. 
With all of its flaws, the Wisconsin Point Cam gives us a view (occasionally) that we never had before.
If and when the area of Wisconsin points is developed more, there will be more options for improvement in quality.

Marine Scanner
The marine scanner quit working after the last Windows 10 update, I will eventually get it back up, but, not sure when.

 Overall Camera performance
The quality of the camera image stream depends on many factors, but bright sunlight and choppy waves cause the video to really bog down. That's the nature of the beast. I had hoped that some of the technology in the newer cams would help with this, we'll see.

On another note, I'm just an old retired guy who likes tinkering with technology, but, I really (I mean really) don't know what I'm doing most of the time. (just ask my lovely wife)

My motivations for operating the cams is the enjoyment that I see that so many people get from this little window to the world.  I apologize that I'm not able to answer a lot of questions or have the cams often adjusted to acceptable viewing standards. I often make things worse by trying to make small improvements.

I really appreciate all of you and all the support for this site. I'll keep at it, and hopefully, things will get better with time.

Have a great day!
Den

Wisconsin Pt Cam progress

Wiconsin Point Camera Update - The Wisconsin Point Camera needs to transmit the video signal 7 miles from the Superior Entry to the Harbor Hub (my hillside office).  I did some testing today with the first set of antenna's that I thought would work, since they have a 9 mine range.  In realilty I could only get them to reach as far as the Sky Harbor Airport which is 5 miles. So, I am going to try a pair of more powerful antenna's next and will keep you posted. I had a feeling it might turn out like this.

Below is a picture of one of the antenna's set up on a tripod for the first test.    The antenna appears larger then it really is (7in dia).  On the next pole over are the Bayfront Cam, Harbor Cam, Hillside Cam and an AIS antenna.

South Pier Inn Cams

FYI,

We have added the new South Pier Inn Cams to the list. The South Pier Inn has graciously allows up to put them on duluthharborcam as another viewing option.  Of course you can alway go the the South Pier Inn in Website to view them as well.

Camera Status!

I have done a reset on all the cameras and they all appear to be functioning normal.  Please report any issues and I will check it out.
Thanks for your patience last week when I was gone to sea!

I will start posting new boat videos today.

Den

New Camera Update!

Unfortunately, I was informed that the new location for a camera was denied by the legal folks who had the final say on being able to put a public camera in the location that I thought was a sure thing.

Needless to say, I am very disappointed, first that I was looking forward to the new view, and second that I have collected donations from 77 great boatwatchers over the weekend.

All I can say is that I apologize for assuming the camera was a go and will be offering refunds to those who contributed.  Please email me for a refund at denny.ohara@gmail.com.

If there is any money left from the donated money, I will keep in a New Camera Fund and us it in the next opportunity.

Once again, you generosity is amazing and appreciated, sorry it didn't work out this time, but, I'm sure there will be more options in the future.

Best Regards,
Den

Tonight Camera Operation for the Fourthfest Fireworks Display

Bayfront Park July Fourthfest Schedule:

4:00 pm: Gates Open
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm: The Circuit Breakers
5:50 pm - 6:50 pm: Bill and Kate Isles
7:10 pm - 8:25 pm: Jazz Central All Stars performance
8:45 pm - 10:05 pm: Big Wave Dave and the Ripples
10:05 pm - 10:09 pm: National Anthem (TBD)
10:10 pm: Fireworks Display synchronized to music on 95.7
Here is a summary of my camera operations plan for tonight's fireworks:

Visible Fireworks:
You should be able to view the fireworks from the Bridgecam, Harborcam, and Bayfront Cams

Audio: Hearing the ooos and aahs of the crowds at Canal Park is always fun. The Bridgecam, and Canal Cam will be the best cameras for sound.  I will also turn on sound for the Harborcam and Bayfront Cams to hear the fireworks and Bayfront Music.

Harborscan Cam Operation: I will have the Harborscan Cam zoomed into Bayfront Park for the evening and tun it for the fireworks display.

Enjoy the show either by attending live or through the cameras.

Happy Birthday America!

Camera Update - Harbor Patrol Cam

FYI,

Since the Lafarge cam was removed last April due to construction, I put it up on Harbor Patrol.

It will scan the harbor every 10 minutes.   Enjoy the view!

Camera Update!

Just a note on camera operations.   In the lower left hand corner of the display is a number that is constantly changing. This is the kbs stream flow and is an indication of the amount of data that the camera is streaming. The amount of data is very dependent on the scene. Generally, if this number is below 500, you can expect a fairly good video.  If this number is over 500, you can expect some choppiness and stalls on the video.

The upload capacity of the Visitor Center cameras is between 2000 and 3000kbs for both cameras, so it tends to get backed up when there is a lot of wave, people and boats in the scene.

Eventually advances in technology will improve this situation, but for now, I'm doing the best I can.

Thanks
Den

Camera Status

Update:  18:30 - All cameras restored
Update: 18:00 - Cameras down again -- appears to be the streaming service again -- hopefully they get it corrected soon.

Update: 11:45AM - All streams back up.

Update 11:36AM - camera streams should be back shortly.

10AM Sorry, there seems to be a problem with the streaming service.
I am checking into the issue.

Project #4 Progress Report 4/17/2015

Project #4 Progress Report 4/17/2015
The goal of this project is to analyse the internet connection speed, camera setup and network traffic at the Marine Museum in order to optimize available internet bandwidth and minimize camera pauses.

1. Issue - both cameras have occasional pauses due to bandwidth use and speed limits.
2. Bandwidth does occasionally bounce into the 4MB upload limit.
3. The bandwidth needed by each camera stream depends somewhat on the light conditions and busyness of the view.  i.e reflecting morning sunlight on the waves doubles and triples the need bandwidth until the sun moves out of the scene.
4. Last week we raised $600 to investigate ways to optimize these two cameras.
5. I have hired a local computer company to examine the internet/network connection to see if speed can be improved.  We will be starting this examination next Monday and hopefully get these two cameras streaming better then ever.

Camera Update!

FYI,
We have installed a speaker near the cameras that are located on the Marine Museum. After some tweaking, we should be able the clearly hear the announcements made in Canal Park, along with the boats and the bridge.

Once there is more boat traffic, I should be able to make the final adjustments.

Thanks again to all who donated to the camera fund.

Den

Camera Update

All cameras should be back in service.

Notice: Camera Operation in Extreme Cold!

Just a heads up: while the next two weeks will present some beautiful scenes of ice covered boats, it is likely that the cameras will go into automatic shutdown mode for at least part of the day to protect internal circuitry. I will post images that I take, however, my camera doesn't like the extreme cold very much either. With the weather forecast for the week predicting nothing above zero, we'll do the best we can. Den

Camera Update!

Hi all,  FYI, I want to clarify ownership of the cameras:
                                      Owner                                      Operator
Harborcam           duluthharborcam.com                duluthharobrcam.com
Hillsidecam          duluthharobrcam.com                duluthharobrcam.com
PierBcam              duluthharborcam.com                duluthharobrcam.com
GLAcam               duluthharborcam.com                duluthharborcam.com
LSMVC#1            LSMMA/Corp of Engineeers    duluthharborcam.com
LSMVC#2            LSMMA/Corps of Engineers    duluthharborcam.com
Park Point Marina Inn Park Point Marina Inn         Park Point Marina Inn

Camera Update - Harborcam

Well, the streaming idea for the Harborcam didn't work out too well.  The camera is an older model and not really equipped to stream.

I have switched it back to snapshot mode and hope to replace the camera soon.

Response to "Coffee Fund" donations

To all of my friends who have donated to the coffee/camera fund this year - a big thanks you. Watching the big boats, people, weather, and other activity on the harbor cams has become rather addicting to myself as well as others.  While I started duluthharborcam.com to be able to watch the boats myself, I now get much more pleasure knowing that there are more then 400 people watching live each time one of the massive hulks makes its way through the canal.

This site is not a chore, but a gift and my hope is to keep providing memories and reflections of when you were here or will be here. The technology involved to do the streaming cameras didn't even exist 5 years ago, so, we are fortunate indeed.

There are lot's of folks that make this possible, including the Great Lakes Aquarium, Pier B, Army Corps of Engineers and everyone else who helps out.  While this is not a money making venture, the payoff is great and I look forward to more upgrades and improvements as time and finances permit.

December is a great boat watching month - Enjoy!

Den

Camera Updates!

Summary of changes to camera configurations.

The Bridgecam has been upgraded to live streaming and is now showing Bentleyville.  This camera will remain in place with this view Bayfront Park.

The Harborcam is now upgraded to live streaming, however, it is an older camera and will be replaced when I save up the $2000 it cost to change it out.

So, all six cameras are now streaming live!  I have wanted this for a long time hope to keep them all running through the winter.

Please let me know if and when you see errors or have other request, these cameras are as much yours as they are mine, and I consider myself the maintenance guy for duluthharborcam.com and hope to provide the best view of the best place on earth.

Enjoy the views!
Den