Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
[quote=”sweikert925″]But that was before I found that altimeters are really just barometers and that they work by measuring barometric pressure, not actual height above sea level. Barometric pressure changes the higher up you go. But since barometric pressure ALSO keeps changing with the weather, how DO you get an accurate reading of altitude?[/quote]
Since no one answered this part of your question, I’ll chime in.Aviation altimeters have a current barometric pressure setting window and adjustment knob. You set the current pressure in the window and the displayed altitude is corrected to reference MSL (Mean Sea Level). This is kind of important when flying…
And as for the accuracy of GPS altitude measurements, this comes from Garmin:
[quote]The main source of error has to do with the arrangement of the satellite configurations during fix determinations. The earth blocks out satellites needed to get a good quality vertical measurement. Once the vertical datum is taken into account, the accuracy permitted by geometry considerations remains less than that of horizontal positions. It is not uncommon for satellite heights to be off from map elevations by [b]+/- 400 ft[/b].[/quote]SKY satellite service (http://www.sky.com.mx/centroamerica/) offers the NFL Network channel, and also NFL Sunday Ticket. I was able to purchase Sunday Ticket for this coming season for $81 (it’s up to $100 now I think).
If you are truly in an “off grid” location, satellite service is probably your only choice.
If however you have the availability of ANY speed of ADSL (even only 256 Kbps), any perceived advantages of satellite can quickly disappear.
– As mentioned, the initial purchase, installation, and monthly access costs are high.
– A relatively high level of technical skill would be required to install, troubleshoot & maintain the installation.
– Commonly available systems have a downstream bandwidth in the 400 Kbps range, with the upstream speed being a fraction of that (similar to ADSL).
– Atmospheric conditions will be more of a problem than a typical satellite TV installation, as the upstream broadcasting power is limited.
– Satellite systems tend to send and recieve data in “bursts” rather than the more steady stream in wired connections.
– Latency (the amount of time it takes for the data to travel to & from the satellite, and then return to & from the satellite). The satellite is in a geo-stationary orbit above the equator at a height of 22,240 miles. Even at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) there will be a noticable delay while the data makes this additional 89,000 mile trip.
– Some applications that depend on streaming data (VOIP, streaming media, remote control) will be adversly affected by both the data bursting & latency, some to the point of being unusable.
– In Costa Rica neither ADSL nor Satellite should be consider for “mission critical” applications.While ICE can effectively shut down the Vonage service by blocking that range of ports, VOIP & it’s enabling protocol (most commonly SIP) can be configured to work on many different ports, not just those that the Vonage service uses.
I use a SIP provider that works on port 80. That is the same port number that your browser used to access this webpage. So, it would be highly unlikely that ICE would block port 80 and thus all other web access.
They did what they did simply because it will eliminate a large portion of VOIP users that rely on the “packaged” solution that Vonage provides. And at the same time they may be able to give the impression to others that they have the ability to “shut-down” VOIP.
They have made it more difficult, by removing the “easy” solution & requiring more technical knowledge, but not imposible.
I too would be interested to know (or how to find out) if there are any governmental incentives (reduced duties and/or taxes) on the development, production or purchase of alternative energy products.
Electric vehicles (cars, scooters, bicycles), photovoltaic and wind systems would be examples of things that could be further developed & utilized if there wasn’t such a “penalty” for importing them.
And if importing the finished goods is unacceptable, then provide incentives & allow the importation of the necessary component parts & materials so that these items could be developed & produced in Costa Rica by Ticos.
Is it necessary to itemize & assign a value to each item on the customs form that is provided by the airline?
I will be setting up an office on this trip & will be bringing a computer, flat-screen monitors, printer, telephone, router & other small office equipment. Is there any additiional paperwork required for this?
There is a schedule for the Central Valley at the end of this article: http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2007/april/26/nac01.htm
