Is the Hornby Cam Down?

[typoscount2]

There are times when the cam may be off air for any number of reasons.  There may be a power outage, ustream may be off line, there may be a need for cam or system maintenance.  If the cam is expected to be off air for any length of time, we will post the issue here to keep you apprised.




August 4  2016

We are experiencing some cam issues at this time, and hope to discover what needs to be done to rectify the situation.
At this time the cam may go off air, or may just be staying  stationary

thank you for your support thru  this  

[paintnut]

We contacted the company that provided the cam system about our issues and they are of the opinion that the system took a lightning strike in the storm the other night.  We are now discussing, with their input, what steps we need to take to determine how much damage was incurred and whether or not it can be repaired.  Will keep you informed as we progress.

[boonibarb]

An interesting & exciting update about what might have affected our cam system can be found here.

[boonibarb]

Okay, an update about what is going on with our cam system.
Right now we can*t move the camera, the ptz controller isn*t working so it needs to be tested by our techs.
The mic also went on the fritz after that huge storm.
Apparently all sorts of things on Hornby were turned on & off & got damaged by that storm.
One man lost the $800 controller of his water pump!
If you watch that fabulous video cali made for us of the footage of the storm via the cam, you can hear the static of the lightning being picked up by the cam after each lightning strike.
You can also see that we must have lost power a couple of times, as we lose the mic sound & we get the blue reboot screen of the cam.
Then towards the end, we get that strange black & white horizontal line thing which i have never seen before, & we have no cam or mic for 20 minutes.
When it comes back on by itself 20 minutes later, we have lost that blue startup screen & the mic sound is now just a buzz.
We also cannot move the cam, the ptz doesn*t work any more.
So it is looking very likely that something happened to the mic & cam during that storm.
We need to get both down to be looked at by our techs.
They are repairing & replacing a LOT of their cams, after that storm!
So it isn*t just us.

Yesterday we had our Tree climber booked to go up there & take down the cam & the mic.
But.
We had technical difficulties.
We used to leave the good climbing rope in the Tree, but this deteriorates the rope because of sun & wind & rain damage, & makes it unsafe to use, very quickly.
This rope is what keeps the climber from falling from 200' up in the Tree, where our cam & mic are.
So we had to buy a new expensive rope, which gets stored in a tub between climbs now.
A fine black line is left in the Tree to pull up the climbing rope.
This has worked great, BUT....
This time, a branchy green branch has broken off & fallen from above, & it got tangled in the black line & the black line got rubbed through  & worn out & it broke yesterday when they tugged on it to try to untangle it!
So no way to pull up the good rope now!
He next tried climbing a spindly Tree beside Gregg*s Tree.
It is a LOOOONG way up to the first branch in Gregg*s Tree, & it is the next big branch ABOVE that where the end of the black line is caught.
Our climber had a small heavy sack tied to a line that he wanted to toss over that second highest branch so that he could attach the good climbing rope over that branch.
But when he got up there, he couldn*t get at that second highest limb, he could only reach the first.
When he came back down to contemplate the situation, he decided he wants to get his slingshot, in order to be able to get the line over that second branch, & the slingshot is broken, so now it will be friday before he can try again.
i am hoping something can be fixed in the gray box in the Tree that we see on the cam.
That is where all the connections are.
But our climber highly doubts this.
So, that means the cam & the mic need to be disconnected & brought down, then sent to Vancouver Island to be *bench tested* by our techs.
We are hoping that both can be repaired, but the techs tell me that they are replacing quite a few of their cams, after that storm.
So, wish us well!
Everything is a bit up in the air right now.

[Tigerlady105]

Whew!  Mother Nature 'blew it!'   

Thanks for your summary, booni.   

[Faerie Gardener]

Wow, Learning a lot here!

[paintnut]

August 17 the tree climber attempted a climb yesterday but other damage to the tree had tangled his climbing ropes and he needs another piece of climbing equipment to complete the climb and take a look at and probably bring down the cam to take to our tech people.  He reported he should be able to get the needed equipment by Thursday and plans a climb on Friday August 19

[Rajame]

Wishing everyone all the best in this test and repair process.

[gillie]

WOW sounded like a frightening storm. Hope everything is repairable and doesn't cost a fortune. If you need another fundraiser, I'm happy to chip in. You guys are so amazing just like the eagles you share with the rest of the world. Good luck and thanxxoo

[Tigerlady105]

 

 

[boonibarb]

 
i put four video clips together into one, here.
You can see Dan climbing the spindly Tree next to Gregg*s Tree, which is the huge one to the left.
The girth of Gregg*s Tree is huge, & you can see that to free climb like this he needs to have a loop of safety line around the trunk he is climbing.
This is much harder to do on a huge Tree like Gregg*s.
Plus on these old Trees, the bark is very crumbly & unstable to climb.
He did it once, he doesn*t want to do it again if he doesn*t have to.
You can see the first branch up to the left in the video.
He wanted the second one up, which would put him above the fine black line tangled in the broken branch.
That first branch available to tie to is a loooooooooong way up there.
He wants the higher branch, but ends up aiming his sack on a line to the lowest one, because the second one up is too hard to get at from where he has gotten to on the spindly Tree.
His first toss is successful, so now he has something to attach our climbing rope to & it gets looped over that huge limb in Gregg*s Tree.
The second clip of the four starts with showing how high up he is, but he is much higher than it looks.
He has attached the climbing rope to the sack line & is pulling it up from below.
Now he has a proper climbing line attached to the lower limb in Gregg*s Tree.
But he has decided he is not where he needs to be to get at the tangled black line, so he lowers himself down easily & quickly.
When things go as they should, he would have attached our climbing rope to the end of the fine black line, pulled it up, tied it safe, then he uses some sort of clamp thing & pulls himself up the rope using his arms & one leg, still a laborious task, but much easier than climbing the bark & getting around all the branches between the ground & the top of the Tree.

 
august 16 2016 11:36 - Dan in the spindly Tree next to Gregg*s Tree
 
<iframe width="640" height="385" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RWz3bxd-oGo?fs=1&start=" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
link to my fotos page -  
 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43214021@N08/

[jeavverhey]

  Dan !  What a man!   Thanks for all that explanation Booni. You Re one amazing woman. 👏❤️😀😘

[amazedbyeagles]

Wow!  The complexities of tree climbing are amazing!  Impressive work!  Thanks for sharing, Booni!! 

[Lifegard]

Thank you Booni very much for posting Dan's first climb (this time, anyway!).  For me it helps to orient me to the trees in range of the Hornby cam.             

[paintnut]

The tree climbers went up Gregg's tree yesterday and disconnected the whole cam system and brought it down to the ground.  It will be taken to Securco (the company that built the system) for evaluation.  booni has already mentioned they have many systems that were compromised during that storm so we don't know when ours will be looked at.  Will let you know as soon as we are given any information.