It has been a busy, busy time for the New Ag Business. This summer I drove back to Illinois and Iowa to install beta hardware to "prove out" the AyrMesh(TM) concept. It was an amazing trip, full of discovery and accomplishment, both professionally and personally.
Professionally, it was a huge relief to finally put this system into the hands of some growers so they could see the value it provides and give us feedback on it.
In each location, we installed a gateway node (on top of a house, attached to a router with broadband access) and a field node (solar powered) with a weather station and a field camera. At our Illinois location, the field station is 3/4 of a mile from the gateway; in Iowa, it is 2.4 miles from the gateway.
The systems have performed, albeit not flawlessly. There have been some small glitches, especially in the power systems. In early October, I flew back out there to update the systems and add more solar panels. We're still facing a few problems, but the radio systems have worked flawlessly since I returned.
Personally, it was a great trip - I saw my parents, drove across the Sierras and the Rockies, saw wildlife from Antelope to Pheasants, crossed the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, saw old friends and made new ones.
Now we are just putting our noses to the grindstone to get the first products ready for sale.
