There has been some questions about why the webcams shake. Its due to several factors. Because Wittman Field is owned by the county we were limited to mounting the cameras on EAA buildings.
The EAA Radio building was an obvious choice. On runway 9-27 there was only one building close enough to the runway that would have positioned the camera to view both ends of the runway.
These locations also had to have some sort of data connection. We cannot just stick a camera on a pole in the middle of a field. There has to be a cost effective way connect these cameras to the internet. Buildings with phone lines were selected for this reason.
The 9-27 cam is located on a sturdy 4x4 on the roof of the Flight Line Operations building. The volunteers are a very active bunch and every time they walk on the roof (used for plane spotting and parking coordination) there is the possibility for camera shake.
Runway 18-36 cam is located at EAA Radio, a building that used to be many things and in many configurations in the 40 years of a convention in Oshkosh. EAA Radio's primary on-air studios are located on the 2nd floor which is all windows and no insulation. To keep this part of the building cool a very large and very old air conditioner hums away day and night. The A/C sometimes provides a vibration which shakes the soffit and that vibration translates to the camera. This is most pronounced when the camera is at full zoom.
The shaking is undesirable for EAA volunteers and staff as well and we have worked hard to provide these feeds, solving a myriad of technical issues too numerous to go into detail. I ask people to focus on the fact that from last year to this we have increased the number of cameras and that they are working very well. In addition to that we are also providing live video of theater in the woods.
More stable and effective camera locations are desired but that also takes further investment in infrastructure which is only possible through the support of our EAA members.