The Future of te DPOF Ospreycam

As mentioned in Tom Ludlam's summary of the 2007 ospreycam season in the Post-Morrow newsletter, we are looking at what could be the last season for the ospreycam due to the restrictions of our technology, money and volunteers' time.

At the planning session for the 2008 season, we laid out initial steps that need to be taken to securely sustain the cam into the near future. These steps require an infusion of money beyond what we are able to scrape together each year from grants and donations, and volunteer time beyond the current level of generously donated time.

In addition to specific hi tech upgrades to keep the system going, the infrastructure that supports the system is aging due to time and exposure to weather. So, at this time, a single unexpected hardware, software or infrastructure malfunction could cause a premature end to the season. We can keep patching the system with a new camera here, a new wire there; but unless the entire system is rebuilt and upgraded it will, someday, no longer be usable.

If the appropriate skilled volunteers and adequate donations materialize during this season, we can keep the Osprey Cam operational through 2008. We can use the upcoming season to bring this help up to speed on the system; and then we may be able to do the work needed to do a complete upgrade of the system to continue beyond 2008.

Please send your donations now to save the Osprey Cam and let us know if you are interested in volunteering your time. To get an idea of what is involved in the present system, please see this list of compuer related skills used.

We thank you in advance for any and all of the help you can supply, and hope to thank you again with our osprey cam's future success.