The camera is now pointing at Chamartín railway station and the Cuatro Torres Business Area. This includes Torre Caja de Madrid, the tallest building in Spain at 250 metres high. Webcam transmits a high definition 1280 x 720 pixel image that is updated every 30 seconds. Weather info is from Madrid-Barajas airport (MAD/LEMD), 4 miles away. First light today was at 5:34 am and sunrise will be at 6:52 am. Sunset will be at 9:45 pm and nightfall will be at 11:03 pm. Webcam clock is synchronized with the Spanish Navy Observatory (Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada) which provides the official time signals in Spain. Accuracy of webcam clock is usually ±1 second. Local time zone is CEST (Central European Summer Time) which is UTC +02:00. There is a child safety net in front of the camera and it sometimes gets into the picture.

For the first five years I used the 3Com Home Connect / Inside Out Networks Watchport V which worked in near total darkness and had a good quality picture but there's no driver update. After two more years using the Apple iSight webcam, I am now trying the Logitech^® Quickcam^® Vision Pro which has a much sharper image than the iSight although the night images are much darker than the 3Com. I'm very grateful to Michael Apitz of Schömberg, Germany, for having suggested the camera.

Key to buildings

1. Puerta de Europa. Designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, built by Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) and commissioned in 1996 by the Kuwait Investment Office (hence their initial name "Torres KIO" or "KIO Towers"). Leslie E. Robertson Associates provided structural engineering services. Each building is 115m (377ft) tall, has 26 floors and an inclination of 15º from the vertical.
2. Chamartín railway station designed by Alonso, Corrales y Molezún, and Olaquiaga.
3. Torre Caja de Madrid, originally known as Torre Repsol. Designed by Lord Foster and built by a joint venture of Dragados and Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC). 250m (820ft) high and 45 floors, it is the tallest building in Spain.
4. Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso. Designed by Carlos Rubio Carvajal and Enrique Álvarez-Sala Walter and built by Sacyr Vallehermoso. 236m (774ft) and 52 floors.
5. Torre de Cristal. Designed by Cesar Pelli and built by Dragados. 249m high (817ft) and 52 floors, it is the second tallest building in Spain, only 89cm (35 inches) shorter than Torre Caja de Madrid.
6. Torre Espacio. Designed by Pei Cobb Freed and built by OHL. 236m (774ft) high and 57 floors.
7. Condado de Treviño 9. 78m (256ft) and 23 storeys.

More information on Madrid can be found at www.madridman.com

The end of Part One

Due to circumstances beyond my control, the webcam had to be moved from its old location on 15th March 2007.

The beginning of Part Two

Webcam operation is now being tested in the new location. This view is not necessarily the final choice.

The widget is being updated to accommodate the new format and will be ready soon