myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Paul,

I would (and could!) fulfill your Tobago soap opera fantasies but I do plan to return soon and that would not be very PC of me. Send a private email for the juicy details or better still, look me up this summer and we can share gossip over a few cold ones.

Thanks for your regular and valuable weather updates.

Hugh

Thanks Hugh ... I will bear that in mind

Well ... today there have been showers around but I am not sure how many, if any, have affected Tobago but there are plenty of showers about.

The trough is weakening and will fizzle out.

Regards

Hi Paul.
You might remember my plan to receive satellite pictures in Tobago. It didn't happen as I was too busy on the beach and cavorting in the Carnival.

However as a taster for anyone considering home reception here is one clearly showing the anticyclone over britain and France a couple of days ago. Note the raw deal that Southeast England is getting, courtesy of the North Sea!

Note snow on the Alps and in some other places - distinguishable from cloud, with a little practice.

The graduations down the right hand side represent one minute intervals as the satellite passes over, transmitting continuously, line by line. This pass took about ten minutes from acquisition to fade out. I find these images more interesting than those from geostationary satellites which are above the Equator and much further above the Earth.

Frank

[IMG]

Frank,

which system do you use to receive this ?
Or is it accessable in the internet ?

Cheers,

Andy

Hi Andy.
This is a low technology system which is a continuing development from the very first orbiting weather satellites and is still very much used. It only needs a fairly uncomplicated VHF reciever and simple aerial - not a dish. The radio output goes into your sound card and software does the rest. Because it is not dependent on the internet it is great for yachtsmen, explorers - especially in polar regions where equatorial satellites won't reach - and hobbyists like me!

Lots of information here http://www.geo-web.org.uk/. Click on "for beginners - APT".

Because these satellites transmit a continuously unfolding image,and are much lower than the fixed equatorial ones, they can accurately portray the view from above wherever you are. As you can see the picture is stunning in its simplicity whereas many of those available on the internet are cluttered with extra detail such as Lat. Long. grids and country and city outlines. I prefer the basic land overlay which helps to identify areas covered by cloud. This outline is provided in software and uses the Keplerian elements which are published for every satellite in existence.

Iv'e tried to keep this simple and hope it encourages some weather enthusiasts to have a go. It is very rewarding.

Frank

Hmmm ... interesting ... doesn't look too good in the Algarve either.

I guess it will be a while before I can see images of Tobago in that quality.

Anyway ... it looks like it's going to rain in Tobago today ... I am struggling to contain my excitement

Regards

I hope you're right, Paul, but I confess your promise surprises me if only because today is more settled and calmer than it has been for a week or two. The calm before the storm, perhaps?

Steve

There is a band of showers moving east and these have affected Trinidad already but are passing just to the south of Tobago.

They are creeping north so the rain should fall within a few hours if the moisture doesn't dry up over Tobago.

I am sure that the rain-dances in Tobago are reaching their climax right now

Regards

Paul

Given your constant promises of rain, that hardly seem to materialise, I think we should alter your forum status to 'Rain Teaser'.

Having said that, we did have two minutes of slight 'precipitation' yesterday afternoon. Can't call it rain, but there was a decided minor drizzle. Lasted a couple of minutes, but everything is so hot that it didn't even show on the pool surround on concrete driveway of the villa we're in.

Fingers crossed that you are right.

Oh heck ... about to be demoted

Well the rain is coming and, going by the recent trends, I guess it will rain everywhere except Tobago for the next 3 days

Enjoy the sun while it burns

Wishing I was there ...

Regards

Steve

Could you please explain what you mean about a 'decided minor drizzle'' and also please describe how you examined the pool surround on the concrete driveway (and provide details of the implements used) to come your conclusions?

I think you need give up these reviews and come home mate ... I can help you with this

Take care and enjoy the rest of your holiday/work.

Regards

Enjoy the sun while it burns? Spoken in jest, but you have no idea how true that is....

We've had two wonderful friends out from the UK for the last week and they sadly had to leave on Sunday. So, I took the day off from work. We totally chilled out for the day, until they left on the evening BA flight. Mind you, I wasn't very good company - I had found a good unread Lynda la Plante book in the villa and so grabbed myself a sun lounger and got through it in the day.

Now, although not wearing a shirt, I probably had less than 5 minutes in the sun all day. I was under a covered portico and the direct sun never got near me. Yet, by evening my chest and upper torso looked like a lobster. No kidding! Sure, I didn't put on any sun block/suntan protection, but as I say, I was never IN the sun. Just shows the power of those rays.

Now, I'm suffering. The red is slowly fading but boy are my nips tender.

As the kids say, "Too much information!".

Frank,

thanks for info. Do you have any specs for the receiver re bandwith ? I am in possession of several FM VHF radios,
118 to 170 MHz. Is the satellite signal something like a F2 signal, which i would be able to receive and demodulate
with such a radio ?

The antennas offered are rather expensive, i think i could make one of those in my shop instead.

Cheers,

Andy, 9Y4W, AF4DQ

Hi again, Andy.
I've got a feeling you are going to get into this as you are licensed.

The mode is NBFM but you need about 15KHz bandwidth to allow for Doppler shift and to get a good contrast range.
The aerial only needs to be a simple dipole. Not even crossed if you only want overhead passes. The dedicated receiver kits are best but you will get some results on a scanner. Best to join GEO and explain where you are and someone may offer you a spare one. Do you know Patrick from NEMA Tobago? We stay very near his home. We are G(J)3WMR and M(J)0SHI so we will have to meet up next time we come to Tand T.

Paul, please excuse us for wandering of topic but I guess that you would enjoy dabbling in weather pictures as well. If there is a more appropriate thread I can post occasional pictures of European weather when it is significant, like really good or bad!

Frank

Hi Paul,
Just some weather feedback. Still no rain... maybe a bit of liquid sunshine or the smell of rain coming and the trees bending in the wind...hallelujah here it comes and then a few drops. Have not been up by the rain forest in the last few weeks, so cannot comment about any bush fires. Hoping it is not the same as around Mt St George. One valley still smoking after a week and a half, could hear the trees and grass popping with the heat. It was headed up the valley to Goodwood. Scorched spots on the side of the road, out of control slash & burn or?? Many too close to houses. Very scary. Sad to see Tobago turned into a desert; just a small glimpse of what it must be like to live where water is an issue. I can't imagine how any of the farmers (what few of them still exist these days) are managing. Looking like the goat races will be as usual hot and dry!

Well, at least it's not snowing...really looking forward to the April snow storms in Canada!
Cheers,
Carol

Thanks Carol

From my eye in the sky I see the moisture moving off the South American mainland but I guess it dies out because of the dryness around T&T.

I am beginning to be more worried about when some proper rain eventually comes because flash flooding could occur in a relatively short burst of heavy rain as the ground will be so hard and dry. Any areas where fire has destroyed vegetation will be at risk of mudslides and Tobago is prone to mudslides up in the more hilly areas even in normal circumstances.

Lets hope that there is some gentle rain soon which would be good preparation for the downpours that can occur between now and December.

The alleged wet season starts soon.

Regards

Folks,

what we experience is a NORMAL dry season, which deserves the name "dry season", unlike the years before.
Unfortunate is the fact that we had a quite dry "rainy season" from September 2009 to January 2010, where the rainfall
was way below average. This of course has taken it's toll on the vegetation and the water reserves.
If everything goes "normal", we should have moderate rainfall in June. Still 2 months to go through the drought...
I have seen Tobago in a similar condition in 2003 or 2004 (can't remember exactly), it doesn't look nice but
as soon as the rain starts to fall, it takes literally only hours for the green to show again.

Greetings from "burning" Trinidad,

Andy

Hi All,
Andy, I sure hope you are right about the ending of the drought; as the T&T meteorological wizards have called it such and that all will be green again in June. They are also not calling it a "normal dry season"....there is usually some rain; more than 10 minutes (per week or 2 weeks). I know there have been a few other really dry, dry years. Seems 1993 was bad, was there another in 2003/04? or have I blotted it out after the monsoons of last year??. I'm just hoping Tobago is not ablaze with bush fires for the next two months. I'd like the rain forest and the valleys that were starting to recover from excess of slash and burn to be around a few more years.
I'm all for rain dancing; pleads to mother nature, desalting, etc anything to get rain and the water levels up. Time to use some of the technology now available or hocus-pocus And also time for getting people into the idea of not wasting water. Seeing people washing their cars at the stand pipe.!@#
Cheers,
Carol

Carol,

yes we do have a drought, but as i said before, not primarily because of a lack of rainfall between January and March,
were there is supposed to be very little or no rain at all at least for February and March.
We (and our nature) have been spoilt with more than enough rainfall almost right through from (2006?) 2007 until summer of 2009.
We did literally not experience anything resembling a dry season, as the rainy seasons streched out into March and the next rainy seasons started in Mai. Ten months of "rainy" season ! That also caused a lot of unwanted vegetation and all kinds of little creatures to survive, where they would normally die during the dry season. I must say i certainly appreciate this part of the harsh dryness we are experiencing right now.
And i also admit to looking forward to a good crop of mangoes, which don't like it wet early in the year. I am already impatiently observing the growth of plenty mangoes everywhere in the country.
We have to think positive ... The rain will definately come back. I sincerely hope it will be in moderation.

Cheers,

Andy