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Re: (meteorobs) computer plotting vs chart manual plot
Hi George,
I hesitate to even begin another dialog with you, but perhaps i can address
a few of your concerns...
The type of device that we (the AMS) are working to develope is one which i
hope will ultimately make data collection easier than the current methods.
For the user of this device, there will be no more tape recorder, clock, red
lights, piles of pencils, straight edges, and soggy charts on clipboards.
Instead of copying the act of collecting data on paper, what I hope to see
is a device which will let the observer lay back and collect data without
his or her eyes ever leaving the sky or turning on a light.
Note that i only say ultimately easier. Initially, the setup will probably
feel quite awkward, but become easier with time and practice. Any device or
methods used in collecting data on visually observed meteors will require a
period of skill acquisition, old fashioned or new. As you have already
pointed out, Many of the observational skills acquired in learning to
collect data using the manual methods will carry over to the use of the
computer device.
I also do not think that using computer aided data collection will be for
everybody. The observer should be able to choose whatever method works best
for them, and the AMS will continue to accept data on paper for many years
to come. Also, you have already pointed out that such devices will be
muchmore expensive than current equipment used in the field. I can add to
this that equipment accidents in the field will also be much more severe.
No matter how rugged we make the device, dropping it into a mud puddle can
create a costly mess. Dropping a pencil into the mud just creates a muddy
pencil.
The real magic of the device comes after the data has been collected,
because computer collected data makes processing the data easier for both
the observer and the researcher. On the observers end, filling out forms
will be eliminated, and the observer can either upload his data to the
researching organization via phone modem, or mail the data off on diskette.
Backup files of the data can be kept by the observer which require only disk
space, rather than file cabinet space. Time can also be saved by avoiding
snail mail. Most researchers today use computers to do the huge amounts of
statistical number crunching required to work with this type of data, and
the receipt of data in electronic form will allow it to go immediately into
the computer database. This would save time and the use of personnel to
input the data which is sent in on forms. By making the process paperless,
it thus becomes more efficient for all parties involved.
On your favorite subject of data accuracy, I expect that first generation
devices may have an accuracy slightly less than the manual plotting you are
doing now. With experience and development, I would hope to see devices
which are more accurate than current methods, and as I said before, easier
to use. There are yet many issues to resolve before this can be achieved,
and I have enjoyed listening to your concerns, in order that we may address
them and make any such device bvetter.
Thank you, and take care,
Jim Richardson
Graceville, FL
Richardson@DigitalExpdot com