Thursday, May 31, 2018

What is the changing number on the bottom left caption line of the video?

Question: What is the changing number on the bottom left caption line of the video?

This number is the number of video kilobytes per second streaming onto the web from the camera. A good smooth video stream is usually under 1500.  With bright sun and small choppy waves, this number greatly increases and tends to bog the camera down. This number is constantly changing with the changing lighting conditions and the scene. That is why you will see this number usually increase as a boat approached and fills the screen.

There are many setting within the camera that I can use to control this number and every one is a compromise of image quality and streaming smoothness.  So, my job is to keep playing with the settings to find a compromise that works for that time of day and time of year. Some days will be better than others and often the issue is not with your device.

The second # is the frame rate, this also can be throttled to improve smoothness or quality.

Hope this helps you understand why this venture is like a dog chasing his tail -- never seems to catch it.

Edwin H Gott arrived Two Harbors 05/30/2018



Edwin H Gott arrived at Two Harbors Wednesday evening.



Music by: Eric Matyas

http://soundimage.org/

Harborcam Replacement/Upgrade

The harborcam is four years old starting to fade at night. I would like to replace it with with a new updated model by July 4th.  This will leave us with only two cameras older than 4 years (Bayfront and Hillside) The replacement model for the Harborcam would be able to cover Bayfront and Hillside if needed because it would be able to pan, tilt and zoom. 
I hope to start a new Harborcam fundraiser on Monday.

Thanks,
Den

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Palabora arrived Duluth 05/30/2018

Hillside Cam in service

I was able to use a bunch of parts from the old Bridgecam to get the Hillsidecam up and running.

Should be good for now.

Den

Stewart J Cort arrived Duluth 5/30/2018

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

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Summer Storm 05/29/2018



Thunderstorm roll through with amazing force and beauty. The harborcams captured this early evening storm as it moved into the Northland.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Algoma Transport arrived Two Harbors 05/23/2018



Algoma Transport arrived Two Harbors Wedneday. Interesting slide into home plate.

Algoma Transport departed Two Harbors 05/24/2018



Algoma Transport departed Two Harbors early this morning with lightning to the south.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Mesabi Miner arrived Duluth 05/22/2018



Mesabi Miner arrived Duluth at noon today to load coal

Canal Cam outage

Update 12:00 -- installation of the new Canal Cam complete -- I still need to make final adjustments.  
Den
FYI,

The Canal Cam will be offline today between 10:30 and 12:30 while I install the new camera.

Thanks,
Den

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Edgar B Speer departed Two Harbors 05/19/2018



Edgar B Speer departed Two Harbors this morning.



Music by: Eric Matyas

http://soundimage.org/

Friday, May 18, 2018

American Victory takes its first step to the boneyard!

The American Victory was towed to Fraser Shipyard today where it's boom and other equipment will be removed for spare parts. The rest of the boat will be towed to Greece where it will be cut into scrap.

This distinguished boat had a good long life. You can read more about this interesting part of our nautical heritage  HERE.







Thursday, May 10, 2018

Edgar B Speer arrived Two Harbors 05/10/2018



Edgar B Speer arrived Two Harbors this afternoon.

Wisconsin Point Cam -- Area View

I have set the Wisconsin Point Cam to do a scan of the area once every 15 minutes during daylight hours unless there is a ship scheduled. We'll see how this works. I can always make changes.

Two Harbors Twilight -- By Christian Dalbec

There is amazing beauty to be found just after sunset as in these photos by Christian Dalbec.  You can catch more of Christian's wonderful work at: https://www.christiandalbecphotography.com/



Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Stewart J Cort departed and Roger Blough arrived Superior 05/09/18



Stewart J Cort departed and Roger Blough arrived Superior this evening'

Wisconsin Point on rotation for a few hours

FYI,
I put Wisconsin Point Cam on rotation until 18:00 today so you can have a look around.

Den

Presque Isle departed Two Harbors 05/09/2018



Presque Isle departed Two Harbors this morning.

Indiana Harbor arrived Duluth 05/09/2018



Indiana Harbor arrived Duluth this morning to load coal.

Canal Cam Upgrade -- Plus

Since we overshot our fundraising goal by $300 for the Canal Cam, I have decided to extend our fundraiser a bit more with a goal to replace the Bridge cam also, as long as I was working on the roof of the Marine Museum anyway.  So here we go up to a new goal of $2000 for both cams.

Thank You so much!
Den

Burns Harbor departed Steward J Cort arrived Superior 05/08/2018



Burns Harbor departed Steward J Cort arrived Superior during the rather stormy evening hours.

Monday, May 7, 2018

Joseph L Block departed, Hon James L Oberstar arrived Two Harbors 05/07/18



Joseph L Block departed, Hon James L Oberstar arrived Two Harbors this morning.



Music by: Eric Matyas

http://soundimage.org/

Important Camera Update!

We now have 10 cameras as our little windows to the world.

While the cams run great, there is always some tweaking and adjustments to make. Different lighting, wave chop, and atmosphere all affect the camera stream to some extent.

We currently have 5 cameras of the same model - Bayfront, Harbor, Hillside, Canal, and Bridge which are all 4 to 5 years old. The manufacturer no longer supports these cams and they have an upgraded model, which is the same as the new GLA and Two Harbors Boat launch.

These cams have all been reliable through wind, cold, rain and ice.  I would like to begin upgrading the cams over time starting with the Canal Cam. The benefit of replacing the Canal cam now is that the old canal cam can be used as a backup for the other 4 cams of the same model. The newer models also use less bandwidth for streaming.

I will be starting a new fundraiser to raise the $1000 needed to replace the Canal Cam. I hope this is not asking too much as this is the third project of the year and I hate asking for money.

We also have $150 left over from the Wisconsin Point Fundraiser to start with.

Anyway, I hope you understand why it's important to try and stay ahead of the troubles.

Thanks,
Den

p.s. I also don't mind doing this work when it is warm.

CSL ASSINIBOINE departed Superior 05/07/18

Algoma Niagara arrived Two Harbors 05/07/2018



Algoma Niagara arrived Two Harbors Sunday afternoon.

HON JAMES L OBERSTAR departed Superior 05/07/2018

HON JAMES L OBERSTAR departed Superior this morning headed for Two Harbors.


Walter J McCarthy Jr arrived Duluth 05/07/2018



Walter J McCarthy Jr arrived Duluth this morning to load coal.

HON JAMES L OBERSTAR arrived Duluth 05/06/2018



HON JAMES L OBERSTAR arrived Duluth Sunday evening.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Saturday, May 5, 2018

James R Barker departed, American Spirit arrived Duluth 05/05/2018



James R Barker departed, American Spirit arrived Duluth this afternoon.

Two Harbors Timelapse Dec 15-31 2017



Time always seems to fly by, that's why a look back helps us appreciate what lies ahead.

This 15 day timelapse of Two Harbors from last December shows how busy and beautiful the Two Harbors is.

Michipicoten Arrival - by Jeff Doty

Michipicoten Arrival - by Jeff Doty

Two Harbors Sunset - By Christian Dalbec

Beautiful Two Harbors Sunset - By Christian Dalbec
See more of Christians work at https://www.christiandalbecphotography.com/



James R Barker - Paul Scinocca.

James R Barker departing Duluth with a cargo of coal loaded at Midwest Energy destined for St Clair.
See more of Paul's work at:
https://www.facebook.com/paul.scinocca

CSL TADOUSSAC arrived Superior 5/5/2018



CSL TADOUSSAC arrived Superior this morning

James R Barker arrived Duluth 05/05/2018



James R Barker arrived Duluth early this morning.



note: I added the Barker's Horn audio

Edgar B Speer departed Superior 05/05/2018



Edgar B Speer departed Superior early this morning

Friday, May 4, 2018

Hillside Cam repaired

I used some parts from an older cam to get the Hillside cam going again.  Happy boat watching!
Den

Edgar B Speer arrived Superior 05/04/2018



Edgar B Speer arrived Superior this morning for BN

Roger Blough departed Superior 05/03/2018



Roger Blough departed Superior Thursday evening loaded with iron.



Music by: Eric Matyas

http://soundimage.org/

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Tuesday, May 1, 2018