This is part of my project to fit a solar powered RaspberryPi webcam at Mt Lyford that starts here
An excuse for a field trip (to a skifield) on a nice day, is not to be missed, however this trip was all business, with a couple of other things to look at/repair as well.
The exact location and mounting method was one of the things on my list.
Snow, ice and the odd heavy machine (groomer) means that unless its well anchored, its very likely to move.
Snow is a strange thing, and this year they received the largest dump in 30 years, over 2m (78 inches)
Many barns and sheds around the area, caved in with the weight of the fairly wet snow dump.
The snow was also delivered with high winds, which meant some drifts were 6m deep, and the only access to the field was by helicopter.
Obviously any mounting (and what its fitted to) needs to withstand some abuse, add in some brittleness from extreme and prolonged cold, and you need to plan carefully.
This pole is driven well into the ground and is solid.
It also is far enough away from the groomers when they shape the return track, as the corner is widest at that point.
The base of the pole has a nice area for a wooden battery box, that will withstand the elements (and the odd hit from a shovel ... if they need to dig it out).
The view from the location is right, and while this isn't from the RPi, gives the option of two tow lines to aim at.
(There has been very little additional snow and warm weather since that first dump, and as a conseqence a lot off trail has been lost.)
While I was there, I considered where the sun would be, and looked at what options there were for the solar panel.
This photo was taken at 12:46 pm and gives me a pretty good idea of the panel angle and orientation.
It can be combined with the other mount and will fit on the pole easily.
Because I couldn't ski that day, I had to borrow one of the new Snow mobiles, which I have to say are a bit addictive.
However it wasn't a joyride as I helped deliver some fuel to the rope tow ...
Mark
