Mobile Threat Net Evaluation
Introduction
I was recently contacted by a member of the Tiffin RV Network regarding a new product called Mobile Threat Net. This product, designed by Baron Services of Huntsville, AL, provides real-time weather information in a mobile environment. It's not just a software solution. It also includes a proprietary hardware box that connects to a laptop computer via a USB port connection. In addition, an XM radio antenna is included to receive weather information via satellite. An optional GPS feature enables you to track your vehicle's position in relation to any storms in the area. The hardware box can be powered by a 12 volt vehicle power plug or an AC adaptor. If you access the unit's webpage at Baron Services, you'll be given detailed information regarding this product as well as a few testimonials from storm chasers, who find this product very useful.
I had the chance to evaluate this unit over a rainy Memorial Day weekend while stationary and also on a 3 week trip to the Pacific Northwest. I've detailed my finding below and included a number of screen shots to help you visualize the data presented.
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Mark Quasius - "Cruzer"
Installation Overview
The Mobile Threat Net package includes the portable receiver, a portable antenna for the XM radio feed, DC and AC power cords, and a USB cable to connect to your laptop. A GPS module is an optional accessory. This unit can be mounted out of sight if desired. On my Allegro Bus I chose to place the receiver inside the center console, beneath the bottom drawer. I then connected the 120 VAC power adaptor to a nearby outlet. If I were to make this a permanent installation I would simply use the 12 VDC power supply and wire up a switched 12 volt outlet inside the console to neaten things up a bit.
The XM radio antenna is used to receive all of the weather data via satellite. I left it lay on the dash but the cord is plenty long and in a permanent installation I'd run the cord underneath and up the windshield trim, locating the antenna up in the front cap. The only thing that would then be visible is a USB cable coming out of the dash to my laptop.
My laptop currently runs Delorme Street Atlas USA on it. I've relocated the Delorme GPS module into the front cap and fished the USB cable down through the trim to the laptop. This makes for a neater installation. However, the Delorme GPS unit uses proprietary drivers and does not show up as a standard COM port in Windows. Therefore, it cannot be used with the Mobile Threat Net system. Another issue is that you cannot share a GPS unit between multiple applications running concurrently. There is a third party software product called GPS Gate that is supposed to allow sharing but I found that there was no way I could get the Delorme GPS unit to talk to the weather receiver. Delorme does have special drivers that are supposed to work but I gave up after repeatedly trying. Instead I purchased a US Global Sat GPS receiver. This unit is very fast and accurate and is seen by Windows as a standard COM port. The only drawback to this is that I have to plug in two GPS modules to the laptop. You could still run a single cable to it though if you used a USB hub and mounted it in the front cap behind the TV.
Display Screens
When you first fire up Mobile Threat Net, the XmLink window pops up. The receiver will access the XM radio network and verify your service availability. There is a monthly fee for this but I don't know how much it is because my demo unit was set up with an account beforehand. I do know that you do not get satellite radio with this account. It is a limited account that strictly gives weather information (service level = "Responder"). If you wanted to incorporate XM radio as well you could upgrade to a full subscription but Mobile Threat Net has no hardware capability for XM Radio feeds so you'll need an XM radio receiver if you want to listen to music.
After the XmLink screen has locked in and verified service availability the main screen will be displayed. Typically this includes a 3D map of the United States as well as a number of icon buttons to utilize the various features. Features that are unavailable are in red while features that can be accessed are in blue. If any given feature is turned on, that button will then change from blue to green. If you deselect the "Map" button you'll get an ugly plain map with no 3D image overlay.
You don't have to view the entire US. Both "In" and "Out" buttons are provided to zoom in or out on a given area. The cross arrows are used to center your map on a new area and the magnifying glass lets you choose a given area and zoom size. Pressing "Reset" returns to the full overview screen of the United States. If you select the GPS icon (assuming that you have a GPS antenna connected) then the map will center on your current position. It will re-center itself as you travel and the zoom controls can be used to set the radius that you want displayed.
By far the most popular screen is the Radar screen. Digital radar images are shown and are color coded to show storm intensity. In addition, the "Loop" button can be selected which shows you that last hours or so of activity in a loop motion. However, the loop feature isn't available when you first turn on the unit. It needs time to build that information so you'll need to run it for an hour or so before this feature is available.
Selecting the "Strikes" button shows you lightning strikes as little white flashes on the screen. Clicking on any one of these will give you the intensity (in decibels) of that strike. If you select "Sensors" you will be given a list of off-shore buoys (if you have your screen zoomed to include them) as well as any local ground sensors, which are displayed as red dots. Clicking on a red dot displays the local weather information in a blue data box, as evidenced by the San Antonio Airport example above.
If you turn on "City" anytime you click on a city you'll be given the weather information. I haven't been able to get anything on the "County Warnings" yet so either I don't know how to access it or else the weather wasn't sever enough to have any. The "Shear" icon displays and bad weather or storms with wind shear present. This can be a bad storm or the beginning of a tornado. The above screen, taken from their demo software, shows a severe storm moving through the area. The arrow shows the direction and width of the affected area. A pop-up window displays the time that it passed over each town as well as the speed and width of the storm. If hail is present the size will be displayed. Rainfall in inches per hour will also be given.
The "Clouds" button brings up satellite imagery showing any cloud cover. By clicking the arrows on either side of this button you can view clouds at various altitudes. This is more valuable to a pilot who can then decide to fly over or around them but in an RV it only serves to show how tall they are. Many other features, such as "Tops" and "Winds" are better suited to pilots or other professionals who can read the graphics details displayed. This software is more powerful than the average RVer requires.
The "City" icon activates the city names on the map. Selecting any given city will bring up the weather forecast for that city in a blue pop-up box. This is a handy feature for RVers.
Selecting the GPS icon will center the screen on your current position. If you zoom it really tight you will see the direction of travel of your vehicle relative to the weather. If a major storm is nearby you will have a pretty good idea whether you need to hunker down and wait it out, bypass it with an alternate route, or if it will miss you altogether.
The "Front" icon displays the weather fronts currently in existence. You have the ability to progress ahead through predicted fronts as well by using the arrows on that icon. The time and date of that front are supposed to change as you scroll through the arrows but sometimes that did not happen and sometimes it did. The fronts themselves did scroll through and display though.
Summary
The Mobile Threat Net system is an impressive unit. It gives you real-time weather information, tracks both your vehicle's motion and the weather's motion, and is a well designed unit. A device like this is invaluable in a marine environment or aviation where you can get caught in some bad storms without a safe place to be. It's also a great tool for storm chasers, news crews, or emergency response teams who need to find where bad storms will appear and need to monitor and track them. It's a quality unit and is well built.
The basic unit, without a GPS antenna runs $929.99 as of this writing. The unit is sold through the WeatherWorx store at This Link if you are interested. Note that you will also need to buy a third party GPS module but this is a minor expense, between $50 and $100 depending upon which one you buy. You'll also need to subscribe to XM Radio's weather-only feed which will be a recurring monthly fee.
The real question for RVers would be "Is it cost effective?". That's a tough call. If you really feel the need to know what's going on weather-wise, this system is pretty hard to beat. Whether or not it's worth $1,000 when you probably have weather radio in your coach as well as the Weather Channel via satellite TV is something only you can determine. It's going to depend upon how much value you place on that information.
The software is very powerful. There's times when I think it's a bit over the top. Granted, it's perfect for professionals who know how to use the data and are familiar with it's use but the average RVer may have difficulty understanding some of it. It would be nice if a more "dumbed down" version were also available at a reduced price. A simplified version could eliminate cloud tops, tropical buoys and marine data as well as upper level satellite imagery. That would make it more user friendly and cost affective for a less computer literate crowd, many of whom are active RVers.
If you have further interest in this product feel free to visit the Baron Services website. There is an interactive demo there that will show you how the software operates as well as further specs and details.
