FISHINGmagic.com (who else?) recently scored a first on the UK Internet fishing scene with a series of live reports from the waterside. These reports were illustrated with pictures from a digital camera and transmitted via laptop computer and mobile phone to FISHINGmagic.com almost as the events unfolded. But the groundbreaking venture was not without its problems…….. 
A great deal of work (not to mention expense) had gone into the project, making sure everything worked before the big day. Connections were checked and all the appropriate software loaded onto the laptop. Then I had to make sure I could keep the battery topped up and with this in mind sent for a car battery charger. Luckily, the car would be parked no more than about 200yds from the farthest swim, so that wasn’t a massive problem.
We thought the biggest hurdle to overcome was catching fish, but no, the problems began before we left home, for the car charger didn’t arrive when promised. Then, as I was preparing to transmit the first report and picture I found I had forgotten an essential piece of kit. The cable that connects camera to laptop. I couldn’t upload the pictures. The first report was sent in minus a picture, but this was resolved the following day when I made a round trip of 70 miles to borrow a cable from a good friend.
When the next report was due the battery gave up before the transmission was complete. Mobile phones connect to the internet at only 9,600bps, unlike a fast modem connection of up 56kbps or ISDN connection at 64k or even 128k. It gobbled up the battery like Dave Dowding can drink a breakfast. For, don’t forget, before the transmission I had to write the report by word processor, upload the pictures, edit the pictures in the appropriate software to get them to the right size, and then upload them to the server – before I began to upload the report to the web site.
But at FISHINGmagic we overcome such trivialities, and resorted to going to the local hostelry where the landlord kindly allowed me to connect the laptop to a mains socket. Naturally, you can’t abuse such a privilege by not partaking of refreshment whilst there. So over the odd pint and a meal of fresh cod and chips the subsequent reports were sent wobbling through the ether to arrive on your PC (if you logged on) only a few short hours after the fish were caught.
Next time I shall have the car charger and the camera cable and absolutely nothing will go wrong……..
Got a juicy story for ‘Grapevine Gossip? Send it to me, Graham Marsden, at editor@fishingmagic.com
