Really, really, really isolated project, what would you take / suggest.

[Mark_Thorpe]

No worries Tom, it seems to be developing well with some interest from a couple of prospective associate producers. Fingers crossed.

A beer drop in the middle of the Pacific sounds like a most excellent plan, although if the dancing 'girls' you're on about are anything similar to the sheep I saw leaving a certain camera operators room in Palau then I'll have to kindly refrain. Whilst I rise to the challenge of isolation and shooting the bejeezas outta this location I will have to draw the line at any potential distractions.

A nice twist has recently been added to the location, depending on the way people see it. The one good thing though is looking further at the Delorme InReach product it also allows integration with social media platforms so it may well be that as an added security option we set up a page for this project on a suitable platform so that people can keep an eye on the progress via regime of a daily update.

Cheers,
Mark.

[Michael Dalton]

That being said, I've been planning an expedition (since I've gotten my Epic) to Dalloi in the Danakil depression in the Ethiopia/Eritrea region, yellow sulfur ponds, green acid lakes, towers, salt geysers, black and red salts, what a place for 5K! http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/phot...andscapes.html

Hi Tom,

Funny, I have shot a series with Tom of Volcano Discovery (I was on the very trip the photos were taken), it's about to air internationally and we may do a second season. Great trip, would highly recommend it. I shot HD BTW, so no 4 or 5k. There has been some trouble recently, les then a year ago a bunch of people were shot to death at the camp we stayed at Erte Ale. The military has gone in to secure the area so that is why Volcano Discovery is going back. Tom is also nuts in a good way. Dallol is out of this world awesome. It was my favorite trip every, and that says a lot. I just did 10 days on the somali border with 2 choppers.

On the Somalia boarder we had security with us the whole time because of kidnappings. I brought extra for my red, pictured below.

[Tom Hamilton]

Hey Michael, got your PM, PM-ed ya back :-)

[Jason Comparetto]

That Volcano Discovery website with the photos is completely surreal. Have you had any problems with the salty air mixing with any of your camera gear? like corroding the aluminum oxide coatings, or affecting the metals and paints in any way?

[Mark_Thorpe]

Update:
It looks like we could be adding the option with a microlight tentatively being thrown into the pitch. It all depends on the budget, which is now out to crowd sourcing. If anyone is interested I have also created an Indiegogo profile for the project and raised my first $5 towards the project from an eager Twitter follower, cool beans.

Cheers,
Mark.

P.S The title in the signature now links through to the Indiegogo project.

[Jack Cooper]

Mark, I was thinking more along these lines, standard aviation transceiver, this is the one I use: http://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotStore/sep/2552

The Delorme product above is a good solution as well, but you'll need to pay a monthly subscription, maybe Randall could let us know how much that is?

With the aviation transceiver, once you've alerted an aircraft to an emergency, the same response network will be activated, as with the Delorme folks. A PLB is also a very good idea.

Mark

On these handhelds, I would test them for corrosion as much as you can before you go. We had historically used the Standard Horizon HX470S in San Pedro, here in Belize 18N 88W. One unit never had touched sea water, but daily use in our salt air had corroded the unit so bad the face plate started to "bubble" up and the internal contacts and circuitry where $hit. Weirdest thing I had ever seen.

When I talked to warranty guys in California, they asked, "what, did you leave it in the ocean all month". They had never seen that much degradation in such a short time. This was common with all our handhelds. Keep in mind these were waterproof rated. (submersible (JIS Class 7).

Not sure what the air will be like for you, but they were pretty useless after a very short time. BTW this happens with all our metal.

Best of luck on the adventure.

[Tom Hamilton]

Good info Jack,

Looking at corrosion control for an Ultralight re a project in a heavy salt environment, with no reliable access to daily fresh water rinse. At the moment, Noxit 86 is the chemical deterrent of choice. The machine, however, will have to be stripped to it's very basic components, every nut, bolt, wire, and testicle chemically treated with the utmost care and precision before it's reassembled into flying condition, if we are to get anything more than three to five months useful shelf life.

Gotta love salt. Not only does it efficiently break down electronics, cameras, and airplanes, to the electron level, but oil, plastic, shiite of every imaginable description, Mother Earth's great and all-encompassing cleanser. Just gotta find your middle ground in all of this, in a tip-toe kinda way.

Big project with a really big challenge, not that that's ever stopped anyone here on this thread from doing amazing things :-)

[Mark_Thorpe]

Hi Jack,
Maybe not the correct term when discussing ultralights??

How long before you started seeing deterioration? The air humidity index at this location is around 80 - 85%. What were the steps taken to protect your equipment from the elements? If I am sticking to a regime where the receiving smart device will be mounted in a controlled AC environment at a base station and then 'reporting in' via SMS at predetermined times I will, outside of those times, be storing the transmitter in an airtight wrapping. Small O'ring sealed tupperware or ziplock with dessicate gel pack or other to absorb as best as poss the residual humidity. Expected time per filming stint will be max 5 months per year, filming over two years but the weather window for calm is limited. At circa $269 for the InReach system it may well be that we use a fresh set for the second filming trip in year two.

Great input,
Cheers,
Mark.

[Tom Hamilton]

Mark,

Saw the Delorme unit in action paired to an IPad the last couple of days in a remote fishing village in Baja, very impressed.

Cheers

[Mark_Thorpe]

Sounds reassuring Tom, cheers. Glad the week went well for you.