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Mount Washington Observatory Taps Trango Broadband Wireless as Official Wireless Network Equipment Provider for the(Wireless News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Trango Broadband Wireless, a developer of high-capacity fixed wireless broadband solutions, announced it has been named the official wireless networking equipment provider for the Mount Washington Observatory, a scientific weather research station based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Mount Washington is the tallest peak in the northeastern United States and is the site of some of the most extreme weather conditions on the planet. A Mount Washington Observatory weather observer leans over the edge of the Observatory tower to inspect a Trango 900 MHz radio unit. As the official wireless equipment provider, Trango supplies the mountaintop observatory with high-speed fixed wireless point-to-point wireless backhaul and point-to-multipoint broadband access equipment, a critical component of Mount Washington Observatory's network in managing communications, collecting, recording and relaying critical weather and atmospheric data and images. Operating a fixed wireless broadband network at the summit of Mount Washington poses extreme challenges since winter temperatures commonly drop into the negative 30s and average yearly temperatures only reach 27.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Average wind speed on Mount Washington is 35.3 mph and gusts typically reach hurricane force once more than 100 days each year. With these types of conditions, cold weather operation, physical form factor, wind loading and a NEMA 4 rating are standard requirements for wireless radio equipment. Trango equipment was chosen for its ability to operate at optimal performance in all these conditions. "Mount Washington Observatory has been testing cold weather operation of all kinds of instrumentation and communications equipment for decades. Finding equipment that can survive and perform under the extremes of Mount Washington is not easy," said Jon Cotton, lead network technician for the Observatory. "The market for high bandwidth, long-distance, flexible radios is constantly in flux with changing options. After scouring the market for a cost-effective solution, not only was Trango gear top performing in its class, it was one of the very few product lines that could withstand our extremes of weather and severely limiting system design requirements." The Observatory uses Trango's high-speed fixed wireless networking equipment in its wireless network of remote site weather stations which provides a profile of atmospheric and meteorological conditions from a 300 square mile region at varying elevations around Mount Washington. Currently in development, the Observatory's "Mount Washington Regional Mesonet" will ultimately connect more than 12 different sites transmitting data and images using Trango's point-to-point wireless backhaul and point-to-multipoint access systems with 5.8 GHz and 900 MHz technology. "Despite the extreme conditions, all the Trango equipment that has been deployed thus far has functioned without problem," said Scot Henley, Executive Director of the Mount Washington Observatory. "Once the final pieces are in place later this winter, we will have a wireless network that provides real time weather data from high elevation sites around the region. In some cases, the sites will include webcams, offering our web visitors unparalleled views of Mount Washington." "With all the information obtained through the Mesonet, our researchers can analyze trends and share data with the public in near real time through our Web site," said Henley. "Data provided by the Trango-based wireless network will also offer information that may be helpful for skiers and ski area operators, giving them insight on what type of precipitation might be falling or whether temperatures might be appropriate for firing up the snowmaking systems at local ski resorts." ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) ((Distributed on behalf of 10Meters via M2 Communications Ltd - http://www.m2.com)) ((10Meters - http://www.10meters.com)) Copyright 2007 Wireless News |