Here is the email I sent to Tracey:
The camera system is back up. However, since noone informed me that the website password had been changed, I wasted several hours yesterday trying to get the system running when the problem was not the hardware but the password change. After talking with Chuck today he informed me of the change.
I moved the website to a personal site.
When last we spoke you indicated you would pay the costs to repair and reinstall the system. I indicated this would be around $150.
I replaced the electronics, the battery and the case, and modified the installed system to be more robust and withstand greater winds & weather.
You should understand that in building this system in the first place, I spent over 40 hours of time assembling the components, and testing & retesting to get the system to operate continuously during daylight hours, rain or shine. There are NO comparable systems on the market. The parts costs alone cost me over $500. The solar cells are unique, made by my company, and where some of the first high quality, high efficiency thin silicon cells, designed with the high voltage needed for the charging system. I sat for many hours out at the cliff making sure it was working (or not), until it was reliable. It took over 60mph winds to bring the system down.
You should be aware that this system will require periodic maintenance, primarily to clean the windows, replace the rechargeable batteries, & maintain the website. I do intend to add additional features to the website, including saving all images to disk with accessibility by users so they can see the trends of the weather as well as what is happening at the moment.
I expect this maintenance cost will run around $130/year.
Please pay the $150 into the club fund, marked as payment for my glider spaces. Let Charlie know this & cc me.
I expect the $400 issue to go away also. The $400 given to me was nowhere near enough to cover the costs I incurred.
I also sent you an invoice for the time, and travel for the wasted trip prior to the elections. I have not received any confirmation that payment has been made per my instructions.
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Since sending this email, Tracey has gone back on her offer to pay me the $150 for the repairs. She has indicated she would talk to pilots about getting donations to pay for the Westlakecam.
I admit it - I was wrong to ask for the $400 as partial payment for the camera, offer to pay it back, then not have the $ to do so in a timely manner. What was I thinking? I should have just asked for the money, period. I guess in a moment of unbridled generosity I thought I would offer it for free. The original intent was to have a receipt for payment as a stake in the ground for patent rights.
The Westlakecam is a valuable addition to our view of whats happening at the Fort, and gives a much better idea if there is a sheer or what is happening at Westlake. Its the first real addition to our tools at the Fort in how many years?
We can waste $1000 a year for pizzas for the club meetings and not pay a measly $400 for a valuable new tool?
The general consensus of everyone I talk to is that the club should pay for it. In others words, drop the issue.
The site is publicly available:
www.custompowersolar.com/westlakecam