Airport : Wireless Technology for Race Rocks
In April 2001, The APPLE Learning Interchange supplied an AirPort wireless Base Station and three AirPort cards for the iMacs at Race Rocks. Now all cameras can run on Wireless computers at Race Rocks.
		We started experimenting with using the AirPort base station for wireless web casting in June of 2000 . This link shows several pictures of the AirPort in use at that time.
	In September when our students came back for orientation week, another series of experimental webcasts were done throughout the week. This time in order to get a better coverage over more of the island while using the mobile camera and computer, we hoisted the Airport up the flagpole . This "original solution" worked well, except it was a bit of an effort to have to take it down after every webcast so it would not get damaged in the wind. On September 14, 2000. The Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Herb Dhaliwal and the Provincial Minister of the Environment Joan Sawicki, visited Race Rocks and Lester Pearson College to officially designate Race Rocks as Canada's first Marine Protected Area. We used the AirPort here seen in the background on a cairn of rocks. Someone just had to come up with the observation that it was probably the first "AirPort Inukshuk" . See the this link for coverage of the day.
	Garry, Michael and Jean undertake to attach a new Lucent Wave-LAN extender antennae to the existing AirPort base Station in order to give greater coverage for mobile webcasting on the island. This procedure involved taking the AirPort apart, removing the Lucent PCMCIA card and cutting out some plastic of the supporting case with a hot needle in order to fit the small plug into the antenna. Detailed directions may be found at this link . An operation which of course voids the warranty, but one that if successful will extend the range of our wireless webcasting to 200 meters. This should adequately cover the whole island, and out to the boat when we are diving offshore. A successful operation - and now to take it back out to Race Rocks to install it on the roof of the Marine Science Centre building. By early October we had done just that. In an inverted plastic gallon jug with an Apple on one side and a Lucent circle on the other, the new antenna inside now gives exceptional coverage of almost the whole MPA, well beyond the 200 meters recommended. A wire runs through the roof of the science centre and connects with the AirPort base station in the Attic. This is plugged into the LAN which leads to the Microwave radio for relay to the internet at Pearson College on Vancouver island. Garry couldn't wait to see what range was possible so a quick trip out with Angus in Hyaku proved it was working. From the location shown above, using netscape on the iBook, the remote camera on the island was focused on the boat. At the same time using the G3 PowerBbook, on the boat, transmission of a webcast of the tower and the island was achieved. The following day, the racerocks.com crew came out to test out the reception at different locations on the island. Webcasting using Sorenson Broadcaster, reception from the boat out near West Race Rocks was as good as that right next to the marine science centre. We have webcast successfully now from as far away as the West side of West Race Rocks. On October 11, the students of the racerocks.com activity did the first webcast on their own while Garry introduced them and racerocks.com from the QuickTime Live 2000 conference
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