Advancements in computer technology and wireless communications in recent decades made possible the collection of mesonet data in real-time. The availability of mesonet data in real-time can be extremely valuable to operational forecasters as they can monitor weather conditions from many points in their forecast area. Early mesonets operated differently from modern mesonets. Each constituent instrument of the weather station was purely mechanical and fairly independent of the other sensors. Data were recorded continuously by an inked stylus that pivoted about a point onto a rotating drum covered by a sheath of graphed paper called a trace chart, much like a traditional seismograph station. Data analysis could occur only after the trace charts from the various instruments were collected. One of the earliest mesonets operated in the summer of 1946 and 1947 and was part of a field campaign called The Thunderstorm Project. As the name implies, the objective of this program was to better understand thunderstorm convection. The following table is an incomplete list of mesonets that have operated in the past and present:  *Not all stations owned by network. **As these are private stations, although QA/QC measures are taken, these may not be scientific grade, and may lack proper siting, calibration, sensitivity, durability, and maintenance. The AWS/Weatherbug network is a collection of multiple mesonets, each typically centered around a host television station's media market. Although not labeled a mesonet, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) also maintains a nationwide surface observation network with the density of a mesonet. JMA operates AMeDAS, consisting of approximately 1,300 stations at a spacing of . The network began operating in 1974. Permanent mesonets are stationary networks consisting primarily of automated stations, however, some research projects utilize mobile mesonets. Prominent examples include the VORTEX projects.