I’m watching right now and notice the lens is seriously obscured with moisture or something, rendering it pretty much useless for the time being anyway. I was wondering how often is the lens cleaned and the camera itself checked and inspected and if it’s enclosed or hooded in some fashion? A photo of it would be pretty cool too. Thanks [swg]
Take it from someone who’s been there (a lot of us have, really): it’s not too much to look at. No, it’s not enclosed. Usually weather doesn’t stick to it like this stuff is, but the wind is probably blowing directly at it at this point (judging from what we’re experiencing here, about 50 miles east of it). I suspect it would be a bit of an effort for someone to get up on the roof where it’s located, but perhaps an occasional wiping off of the lens (and a hood that wouldn’t be visible) might be in order.
I’m guessing the camera has snow drifted in front of it right now.
A view from the north side of the diamond (taken a few years ago):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85729295@N00/4305332224/
Click on the link to see a larger view of the shot.
A photoshopped crop of the shelter in the previous pic- you can make out the camera on the peak of the roof, circled in red, as well as my wife and Carl’s wife sitting in the shelter, trying to stay warm.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85729295@N00/4305332258/
I think that’s Carl standing to the right…
This is the camera. The photo has been cropped from a much larger one, so the quality is so-so. As for maintaning it, you could reach the (gently) sloped roof with a 12 foot ladder, so I don’t think access is a problem.
