Following an ice storm in January 2017 and an assessment trip in Feb. 2017 a major trip was made to make repairs to the West main antenna array reflector so that the west radar was fully functional well prior to the August 2017 solar eclipse.

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).

Hays, KS sustained a major freezing rain and icing event in mid-January 2017. Following reports from FHSU student intern, Brett Chrisler, of significant damage to the West main antenna array a trip was made by engineer Kevin Sterne to assess the damage at the radar site. As well, this trip would be allow for preparations to be made for a future repair trip.

After many, many years, the grounding work along the antenna poles had not been completed. On each antenna pole, a ground rod had been driven into the ground and a copper busbar had been attached under one of the bolts on the base of the pole. So a trip was made to the site by Kevin Sterne, Shibaji Chakraborty and Muhammad Rafiq to complete the grounding work.

Brett Chrisler, the Fort Hays State University student intern, made a trip to the Blacksburg SuperDARN lab in early July. During his trip, Brett would review research areas that he can explore with our group as well as to make a trip to the Blackstone radar to show him another style of SuperDARN radar and gain more hands-on training.

The replacement of the ground coax is a longstanding project that needed to be completed at Goose Bay. In preparation for this project, a work order was placed with Serco to clear all the trees and brush that have taken over the antenna array grounds over the years.