Blackstone Trip, March 2017
By: ksterne on: Mon., Apr. 10, 2017 02:00 PM EDT (6728 Reads)
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Following the November 2016 trip, the correct size (5/8” rod) of CADweld mold was ordered in order to complete the grounding work that had been long overdue. However, winter cold and wet set in and so the work could not be completed until better temperatures arrived. In the month prior to this trip the internet connection to the site had been out for several days if not weeks at a time going on 3 to 4 weeks. So with these issues, a trip was planned to take care of these issues and make sure the radar was running fairly well (with known issues on the antennas).
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Issues continue with the wireless hop connection even though the grid antenna on the SPAREC side of the connection was pointed more towards the site. It is suspected that equipment and cables may be going bad as this installation has been in place for a number of years and is exposed to the elements fairly well.
On the upside, the grounding work was finally completely at the site, thus "completing" the build of the antenna array dating back to 2008. In reality, the antenna array has been operational for many years, but this was a long overdue tasks to complete on our checklist.
