 November 4, 2003
New HPWREN Link Redundancy Significantly Increases Network Robustness
After a year of planning and preparation, the southern loop of HPWREN wireless connectivity is now complete. "The completion of this connection significantly increases the robustness of the network, in case of node outages and link weaknesses - such as when we are under interference situations," explains Hans-Werner Braun, HPWREN PI. "It also provides needed extra bandwidth for demanding applications, such as the astronomy observatories that HPWREN connects."
 September 19, 2003
Solid-State High-Res HPWREN-Connected Cameras Provide Quick Access to Environmental Conditions
Two recent additions to HPWREN's camera systems include a four-camera 360-degree view on Mount Laguna and a 90+ degree view camera at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) Ramona Air Attack Base.
 August 15, 2003
HPWREN-Connected Camera Allows for Observation of Ongoing Dramatic Phenotypic Transition in Mimulus aurantiacus Plant
Rolf Baumberger, a biology researcher at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, has been studying the bush monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus) for almost ten years. Until last year, however, he was making several trips per year to the San Diego State University Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve - examining the flower's alteration in shape and color during various conditions.
 August 4, 2003
Southern California NEES Projects Benefit from HPWREN Connectivity
With two Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) project sites now connected to HPWREN, scientists from around the world are able to send and receive even more near-real-time seismic data collected in southern California.
 August 1, 2003
HPWREN Collaborates with SDSU to Link the San Diego Sheriff's Department with the County Fair
Last month, the HPWREN team provided a high-speed link to the San Diego County Fair so that the Sheriff's Department could test the capabilities of 45Mbps data connectivity during a major metropolitan event. Additionally, HPWREN researchers deployed a high-resolution network camera as well as a pan/tilt/zoom video camera, and also extended the network with another 45Mbps link from the Fair site to the Sheriff's communications operations base.
 July 25, 2003
HPWREN Provides Data Connectivity for Remote Wildfire Operations Site
On the afternoon of July 16, lightning ignited the Coyote Wildfire in northeastern San Diego County and more than 18,000 acres were lost by the time the fire was contained on July 23. Thanks to the HPWREN team, the firefighters at the remote operations site were provided with data connectivity for the week-long incident. This wireless high-speed data link allowed them to update wildfire status reports, images, and weather information in real-time.
 July 16, 2003
San Diego's CDF Air Attack Base Collaborates with HPWREN for Mountain Sensor Access to Monitor Fire Conditions
The HPWREN team recently connected the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) Ramona Air Attack Base in San Diego County to its high-speed network. This connectivity allows firefighters to collaborate on remotely accessing high-resolution still and controlable video cameras, as well as other sensors located throughout the county. Not having had high speed Internet access before, this link also provides access to Internet data - such as satellite mapping, infrared data, forest fuel conditions and weather at remote sensors in support of emergency situations.
 July 7, 2003
San Diego Sheriff's Department Connects to HPWREN for Collaborative Evaluations of Emergency Data Communications Network Models
For the past several years, the HPWREN team has been collaborating
with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Initially, the Sheriff's Department provided the HPWREN team with access to
several of their remote communications sites throughout the county, which greatly helped with the buildout of the HPWREN backbone network. More recently, a direct connection to the Sheriff's Primary Systems Center (PSC) of its Regional Communications System enables the Sheriff's
staff to experience firsthand the benefits of high performance wireless Internet data networks in remote areas.
 June 19, 2003
New Palomar Observatory CCD Camera Utilizes HPWREN Backbone for Near-Real-Time Data Transfer
Few realize that current astronomers can only see approximately a few percent of the total cosmos - the rest is often referred to as "dark energy" and is yet to be seen or understood. Thanks to a new project at the Palomar Observatory, however, we may be one step closer to catching a glimpse of this massive unknown.
 June 6, 2003
Real-time Geophysical Sensors Now Linked to HPWREN:
Strainmeter Data Provides Scientists with Insight to Earthquakes
The HPWREN and ROADNet teams recently collaborated to provide two southern California research sites with a broadband network link and an interface to real-time strainmeter data. That is, scientists from around the world can now access real-time long-base strainmeter data recorded at the Pi�on Flat Observatory and Durmid Hill sites, which are both managed by the Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO).
 May 27, 2003
HPWREN Expands into the Licensed Spectrum
Utilizing license-exempt 5.8GHz radios for its 45Mbps wireless backbone has served HPWREN well for the past three years. However, the network occasionally experiences interferences from unknown origins as well as weather-related performance degradations.
 April 30, 2003
HPWREN Provides High-Speed Connectivity for Demos at a George Wright Society Conference and the SDSU Visualization Center
On April 18, the HPWREN team participated in a demonstration that linked the remote Anza-Borrego Desert State Park with San Diego State University's (SDSU) Visualization Center - following a demo that connected the Park with the George Wright Society Cultural Resources 2003 Joint Conference, which was held at a Mission Valley convention center. This activity was the second in a series of remote interactive presentations that allowed participants to virtually tour the Anza-Borrego State Park via HPWREN.
 April 14, 2003
Santa Rosa Native American Reservation Links with HPWREN
Although weather conditions challenged HPWREN researchers during their latest connectivity task, the team gladly reports that the Santa Rosa Native American reservation now has broadband Internet access. In exchange for linking the Santa Rosa Native Americans to HPWREN, the NSF-funded research project was granted access to the tribe's land atop Toro Peak.
 March 31, 2003
California State Parks Distance Interpretation Program Collaborates with
HPWREN for Remote Interactive Presentations
Last week, teachers from around the country paid a "remote" visit to the
Anza-Borrego State Park. The teachers, who were attending the National
Teacher Training Institute (NTTI) Conference in Irvine, participated in an
underwater tour of Crystal Cove State Park and examined fossilized oyster
beds in nearby Fish Creek - while sitting in a conference room in
Irvine about 100 miles away.
 February 28, 2003
HPWREN Experiments with a Smart Camera
HPWREN scientific applications share the common problem of transmitting information between remote sites and campus laboratories. The wide-area wireless network enables field researchers in mountain and desert locations to efficiently transmit large amounts of data in real time. A case in point, San Diego State University's 4344-acre Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve (SMER) has been connected to the 45 megabit/second HPWREN backbone for nearly two years, and this high-speed data transfer capability is changing the way SMER field researchers do science.
 January 7, 2003
Wireless Network Boosts Supernova Search to Stellar
First Year
In results presented this week at the 2003 meeting of the American
Astronomical Society in Seattle, astrophysicist Greg Aldering and
colleagues report that their supernova factory project has discovered
an unprecedented 34 new supernovae in its first year.
 January 5, 2003
Seismic and Ecological Sites Receive High-Speed
Connectivity Via HPWREN's Toro Peak Backbone Node
The HPWREN team recently linked the Borrego Valley Downhole Seismic
Array and the Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center to their
high-speed backbone node at Toro Peak.
 December 23, 2002
HPWREN Provides SDSU Researchers with Direct Link to Remote Field Equipment
Thanks to a partnership between the San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California at San Diego, the HPWREN research project has recently added SDSU as a backbone node on its 45Mbps network.
November 15, 2002
UCSD and CalTrans Connect Sensors on Kings Stormwater Channel Bridge to HPWREN
Last month, installation of structural monitoring sensors on the Kings Stormwater Channel Bridge was completed and connected to HPWREN. Researchers are now able to monitor real-time structural response of the bridge via instruments such as accelerometers and strain gauges that stream information directly from the bridge to UCSD and California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) laboratories.
November 1, 2002
HPWREN Stretches 72 Miles from the Coast to Support Research Site on San Clemente Island
Last month, the HPWREN team collaborated with the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego (SSC San Diego) to provide high-speed network access to a field science site on San Clemente Island. The 72-mile link is by far the longest of HPWREN access links that operate within the unlicensed 2.4GHz band.
October 11, 2002
Two-Week Pilot Study Examines Nearshore Currents and Waves at Black's Beach: Scientists Monitor Real-Time Data with HPWREN-Like Technology
Scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) Integrative Oceanography Division (IOD) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are currently conducting a two-week pilot study that uses 802.11b technology to help them examine surf zone water motions in real-time.
September 24, 2002
San Diego County Sheriff's Department, UCSD, SDSU, and SSC-San Diego Researchers Collaborate for Real-Time Sensor Telemetry Instrumentation Atop Laguna Mountains
Earlier this month, the HPWREN team participated in an activity that instrumented a Mount Laguna wireless communications facility with several real-time data sensors. Specifically, researchers affiliated with UCSD's HPWREN and ROADNet, SDSU's Field Stations Program, and SSC-San Diego's Crisis/Consequence Management Initiative deployed nine sensors that will allow for real-time environmental monitoring.
September 5, 2002
HPWREN Adds Another Node to its 45 Mbps Backbone: Toro Peak Antennas Provide Remote Scientists and Educators with High-Speed Network Connectivity
Last month, the HPWREN team completed a 70-kilometer link using 45 Mbps radios between Toro Peak and Mount Laguna to provide Internet connectivity to Toro Peak and beyond. Not only does the Toro node allow field seismologists and ecologists access to a high-speed network, but it will also provide educators on the rural Santa Rosa Native American Reservation with a broadband connection to the Internet.
August 23, 2002
Researchers Continue to Examine HPWREN Connectivity Between Ground Station and Airplane
UCSD and SDSU researchers recently collaborated for a high performance data communications demonstration involving a research airplane and a ground station. The experiment is the second in a series of multiple tests that evaluate the use of radios that communicate using the unlicensed spectrum with a nearby airplane.
August 9, 2002
UCSD Department of Structural Engineering Partners with HPWREN for Connectivity at Camp Elliott Field Laboratory:
Broadband Installation Supports CalTrans and NSF NEES Research
The HPWREN team recently worked with UCSD Department of Structural Engineering field researchers for an installation at Camp Elliott. The facility, which is located about eight miles east of UCSD, is currently being used by the engineering researchers as a seismic test facility and is now linked to the 2.4 Ghz portion of HPWREN.
June 24, 2002
HPWREN Collaborates with San Diego Sheriff's Department for Tower Installation Atop Mount Laguna
The HPWREN team recently transitioned one of their backbone nodes
from Stephensen Peak to Mount Laguna - thanks to a collaboration
with the San Diego Sheriff's Department, which provided the UC San
Diego and San Diego State researchers with access to their
communications facility.
June 3, 2002
HPWREN Users Workshop Focuses on Current and Future Network Applications
On May 18, HPWREN users ranging from astronomers to educators met to discuss their current uses of the network and how they plan to utilize the connectivity for future applications as well. The meeting was hosted by San Diego State University's Mount Laguna Observatory director Paul Etzel, who also spoke at the workshop. Additional speakers included HPWREN PI Hans-Werner Braun, HPWREN co-PI Frank Vernon, Greg Aldering from the Palomar Observatory, Dan Cayan from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Mike Peralta from the Tribal Digital Village Network, and Pablo Bryant from the SDSU Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve.
 May 24, 2002
Wireless Connectivity Enables Sensors on Coronado Bridge
On May 15, the HPWREN and ROADNet teams participated in a UCSD activity that demonstrated an ad-hoc and temporary multi-media installation of seismic
and visual instrumentation at the Coronado Bridge. The installation provided wireless IP access, using off-the-shelf 802.11b technology, from the bridge to the UCSD campus, where participants examined and discussed the feasibility of a permanent networked monitoring system of this type. The system would specifically be used for UCSD research aimed at the crisis management community.
 May 16, 2002
HPWREN Collaborates with UCSD Academic Computing Services for Wireless Connectivity at 2002 CENIC Conference
For the second year in a row, the HPWREN team worked with UCSD Telecommunications to provide the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) annual conference with wireless connectivity. Additional collaborators in the activity included UCSD Media Services and Cisco Systems.
 April 30, 2002
SDSU Collaborates with HPWREN to Test High Performance Wireless Connection with Airplane
San Diego State University's Global Change Research Group (GCRG) and Field Station Programs recently collaborated with HPWREN to develop and test a high performance data communications link between a research airplane and a ground station. Rommel Zulueta, a doctoral student in the GCRG's program as well as the airplane pilot; along with Pablo Bryant, research technologist from SDSU's Field Station Programs; and HPWREN's Todd Hansen and Hans-Werner Braun ran their first flight test in a San Diego inland area on April 9.
 April 15, 2002
Swiss Botanist Studies Southern California Wildlife Using HPWREN-Connected SMER Camera
When Rolf Baumberger, a biology researcher at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, studies southern California wildlife, he no longer has to buy a plane ticket to San Diego. Instead, he logs onto a computer. Together with Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve Director Claudia Luke, Education and Outreach Coordinator Adrienne Marriott, and Student Conservation Association Intern Maria Wiehe, Baumberger will use HPWREN's camera stations at the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve to determine the role of hummingbirds, bees, and moths in the pollination of bush monkey flower, Mimulus aurantiacus.
February 13, 2002
Wireless Tests Aboard US Navy Ship Include Exploration of USN/SIO SeaLab II
Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy Deep Submergence Unit (USN-DSU) brought their ship, the Kellie Chouest, as well as the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Scorpio, to the waters off Scripps pier. Their mission: to locate and dive the site of SeaLab II, a USN/SIO undersea habitat that operated in August-October 1965. This would be the first return to the site since the habitat was pulled up. This cruise was a regularly scheduled training exercise for the USN-DSU personnel; however, several guests (including UCSD faculty and staff) were able to join the crew for a day-long excursion.
January 30, 2002
HPWREN Team Experiments with Small, Low-Power Network Performance Measurement Machines for User Sites
While network measurement machines typically consist of relatively large desktop or rack-mountable computers, the HPWREN team is currently experimenting with a 3"x3"x3" computer that examines the quality of links at user sites. An early deployment includes the Pala Native American Learning Center, which is connected to HPWREN. This machine allows for reachability as well as throughput tests and is available for additional applications, such as weather stations.
 December 18, 2001
HPWREN Team Participates in Phase Two Tests of Coastal Wireless Networking Deployment
Earlier this month, the HPWREN team worked with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Integrative Oceanography Division and UCSD Telecommunications to conduct a wireless network feasibility demonstration, as a follow-up to initial connectivity tests that took place in June.
December 6, 2001
HPWREN Partners with Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve for High-Res Camera Installations
Field researchers are now able to take high quality images of the Santa Margarita river crossing - thanks to a newly installed camera that overlooks the river. The Ricoh RDC-i700 camera delivers more than three megapixels per image and is controlled from a remote server across the Internet.
November 15, 2001
Real-time Distribution of Seismic Data Now Available Via HPWREN's Mquake
Last month, HPWREN researchers wrote and implemented software that utilizes SIO's Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) existing seismic sensor network to distribute real-time data to client computers.
November 9, 2001
Interdisciplinary Team of Researchers Plan to Drive Real-Time Environmental Technology to New Levels: HPWREN Provides Wireless Networking Expertise for New Scripps Institution of Oceanography's ROADNet
Although the ability for scientists to collect and store remote environmental field data is becoming more commonplace in today's wired world, researchers still need interdisciplinary repositories from which they can easily share and infuse real-time information straight from the field. Along the shoreline of southern California, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is leading efforts to create an environmental observing/monitoring testbed that will demonstrate the collection and streaming of real-time seismic, oceanographic, hydrological, ecological, geodetic, and physical data via wireless networking.
October 3, 2001
Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve Connects to HPWREN's 45 Mbps Backbone: Researchers Now Capable of Remotely Accessing Real-Time Field Data
Spanning more than 4000 acres, the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve (SMER) is nestled between the Santa Ana Mountains in the northeast portion of San Diego County. Until last week, remote access to field data was only a dream. However, SMER scientists are now connected to the HPWREN 45 Mbps backbone and have the capability of accessing real-time field data from anywhere in the world.
September 26, 2001
Local Agencies Team with Researchers for Crisis Management Exercise
Imagine this.
A truck hauling hazardous chemicals crashes in an urban environment, causing a poisonous plume to penetrate the area. Multiple government agencies ranging from the Police Department to the Department of Transportation are called onto the scene. All agencies involved have capabilities to dispatch information to one another via voice systems; however, the ability to transfer descriptive maps and images between the agencies is not possible.
This scenario is not uncommon in urban areas, and a group of local San Diego government agencies recently collaborated with Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego (SSC San Diego) and HPWREN researchers to demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating real-time images and maps into such incident management situations.
August 27, 2001
HPWREN Backbone Expands to Red Mountain and Mount Soledad
Three HPWREN antennas were recently mounted on the California Department of Forestry tower atop Red Mountain. While one eight-foot dish points toward Mount Soledad, another 4-footer points toward the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve. The new connectivity extends the 45 Mbps HPWREN backbone.
August 1, 2001
Palomar Observatory Receives High-Speed Network Connectivity Via HPWREN:
Near-Earth Asteroid and Supernova Researchers Reap Benefits
More than 50 years have passed since astronomers first started using the Palomar Observatory's 48-inch Oschin telescope to study the night sky. Known throughout the world as the meter-class-aperture telescope with the largest field of view, the Oschin's most recent "claim to fame" is its link to an NSF-funded 45 Mbps network - the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN).
June 29, 2001
San Diego's Black's Beach Receives Wireless Network Connectivity via Scripps Pier: HPWREN Participates in Demonstration with UCSD Telecomm and SIO's Center for Coastal Studies
The HPWREN team recently worked with UCSD Telecommunications and SIO's Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) to conduct a wireless network feasibility demonstration from Scripps Pier to Black's Beach. By extending a fiber optics network connection across the beach via a wireless ethernet bridge, scientists from CCS and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will soon have the ability to relay real-time data from ocean sensors to their laboratories.
May 15, 2001
UCSD Telecommunications Works with HPWREN for Wireless Connectivity at May's CENIC Conference
The HPWREN team collaborated with UCSD Telecommunications to provide the recent Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) conference with wireless connectivity. The connection provided a temporary two-day link from SDSC to Mount Soledad to Paradise Point, which was the location of this year's CENIC 2001 � A Network Odyssey.
May 2, 2001
Mount Laguna Observatory Streams Images From Telescope to SDSU Laboratory via HPWREN
Last month marked an important event in the history of San Diego State University's 15-acre Mount Laguna Observatory (MLO). On the evening of April 16, astronomer Bill Welsh streamed images from MLO's 40-inch telescope to his laboratory at San Diego State University (SDSU) via the 45 Mbps backbone of the NSF-funded HPWREN. The following morning, the images were displayed to students in Professor Janet Wood's Astronomy 101 class.
April 25, 2001
HPWREN Collaborates with SDSU for Wireless Networking Demonstration at Local Ecological Reserve
On Saturday, May 5, the HPWREN team will be participating in a wireless demonstration at the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, located in the local Santa Ana mountains. The activity will connect four points within the 4344-acre reserve to demonstrate several new techniques for gathering environmental data via wireless technology.
February 21, 2001
Local CDF Firefighters Participate in HPWREN Mobile Rapid Response Demonstration
Despite wet and foggy conditions, HPWREN researchers and local California Department of Forestry (CDF) firefighters recently demonstrated a rapid response mobile wireless access point via a relay using tripod-mounted antennas. The connectivity originated from the HPWREN 45 Mbps backbone node at Mount Woodson, where an antenna was mounted atop a rock pointing toward Iron Mountain, the relay point, which communicated via an additional tripod-mounted antenna with Dos Picos Park, a pre-determined incident base for CDF firefighters.
January 24, 2001
HPWREN Provides Seismologists with Improved Seismic Data Collection and Distribution Methods
Today's seismologists can view activity from the earth's interior as it occurs - enabling scientists from around the world to gain extensive insight into the often elusive patterns of seismic waves. However, current seismic research techniques only allow researchers to look at rather broad datasets, which is not always enough information to determine the exact cause and effect of an earthquake.
Frank Vernon, a researcher at SIO's Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP), is taking real-time data collection and distribution one step farther with HPWREN.
December 13, 2000
Mount Laguna Observatory Astronomers Benefit from HPWREN
Situated at an elevation of about 6100 feet, San Diego State University's Mount Laguna Observatory (MLO) is 35 air miles from the SDSU campus (on a direct line of sight) and 45 miles from metropolitan San Diego. With telescopes that achieve maximum resolution, an astronomer at the observatory typically generates 200 images on a long winter night. In order to transfer the data from Mount Laguna to on-campus facilities, digital audio tapes (DATs) are currently used. However, high-speed Internet access provided by UC San Diego's HPWREN project will soon open up a world of opportunities for MLO astronomers.
November 29, 2000
HPWREN Backbone Nears Completion
Significant progress has been made within the past few weeks toward the NSF-funded High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network backbone installation in remote San Diego county. Specifically, a 45Mbps full-duplex wireless backbone is being established between the San Diego coastline and the county's eastern mountains, which exceed 6000 feet in height.
The initial high-speed application will be the Mount Laguna Observatory, which is operated jointly by San Diego State University Astronomy Department and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Another immediate application includes earthquake sensors deployed by UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The HPWREN backbone consists of four nodes: SDSC, Mount Woodson, Cuyamaca Mountains, and Stephenson Peak.
November 13, 2000:
Backbone Installation Begins for UC San Diego's High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network
Though brisk temperatures and harsh winds stalled the backbone installation for a few days, significant progress is being made this week. Two antennas have now been mounted at Stephenson Peak, one pointing toward SDSU's Mount Laguna Observatory (MLO) and another toward Cuyamaca Mountains; the heliax cables will soon be attached as well. Meanwhile, installation of the MLO antenna has also been completed. Special thanks to Glen Offield and Bud Hale for their hard work on the towers!
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May 10, 2003
December 10, 2002
