The Best San Francisco Fireworks Views - thanks to RadioMobile terrain software

So I had the thought this morning that RadioMobile (the software we use for planning long-distance WiFi networks) could probably be pretty good for choosing sites to watch the fireworks in San Francisco - other than the tourist chaos right down by the piers. The terrain and satellite imagery data for the US is way higher than anything we ever get to use in the places we work, so this was kind of fun.

I asked RadioMobile for all the places a 2 meter tall person could stand to be able to see an object 15m above both Municipal Pier and Pier 39 (the two sites they launch from). I know fireworks are much higher than 15m, but to have a good view, you don't want to be staring at the side of a hill and just barely seeing the fireworks over the top.

Here's what it came up with (click on the image for a closer look):

The image shows the areas in red that Radio Mobile thinks would make good fireworks sites, and this Fireworks Viewing KML has Google Earth waypoints at three of those places that open in Google Earth to check out buildings and trees in the surrounding area.

This gives you a few interesting possibilities up in the Presidio, and some spots on the side of Russian Hill.

Happy July 4th!

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Andris Bjornson

Since graduating from Northwestern University with a Physics degree, I have helped build long-distance nonprofit WiFi networks as a volunteer in Nepal, managed communications-hardware deployments for the U.S. Department of State, created a high-volume image archive system for an A-list advertising photographer, and helped tell the story of landmine survivors through documentary multimedia. This multi-disciplinary career path has been my attempt to blend passions for technology, creativity, and global involvement. Outside of work, I am an avid photographer and I try to spend as much time as possible getting to the top of tall things by boot, bike, climbing harness, or ice axe.

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Followup: success!

Submitted by andris on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 09:38

...radio Mobile makes an excellent fireworks viewing location selector.

My fiancee and I chose the spot near the edge of the Presidio (marked testsite3 in the original kml) to watch last night's fireworks. As soon as we got there we could tell we'd chosen well. The spot, easily accessible by road, offered sweeping views out over the San Francisco bay toward Alcatraz and toward the Municipal Pier where fireworks are launched from.

Now if we could just find a solution to that fog problem: Some of the higher exploding shells were completely obscured by San Francisco fog. Still, the effect of seeing half a firework exploding out the bottom of a dense layer of fog is pretty impressive in and of itself.

Happy 4th of July!

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