19 and 20 January
by Amanda Rodrigues Alves Yesterday we all woke up early and started to prepare for our big test with the Microhard modems. Adam and Thomas went to Grunehogna, First Born went to Lorenzo Piggen and I stayed at the base. We all had one modem with us, an antenna and we were going to try to establish communication between the base and Grune with a repeater at Lorenzo.
Although we had already tried a direct connections between Grune and SANAE we decided to tried it again because Thomas made some calculations based on the locations GPS and the altitudes. To our surprise the base is actually lower than Grunehogna, although on the ground it feels is the opposite.
We got all the gear ready, did a rehearsal organizing all the tasks that each of us had to perform and establish four tests we had to do in order to make sure we would cover all the possibilities. Out of all the tests we already did this one was where we were the most prepared.
The first test was to try to get a direct connection between Grune and SANAE, but that again was not successful. The second test was to try to get connection between Lorenzo and Grune. We got a flickering one bar signal in our modems which wasn't enough or was really slow to get any information between the two sites. The third test was to try to get a connection between Grune and SANAE with a repeater at Lorenzo. We all got one flickering bar signal which again wasn't enough to get information through.The final test was to change the omni antenna at Lorenzo for a yagi antenna and try to get a stronger connection with Grune. That gave us a strong signal and the information between the computers was exchanged fast.
That result showed us that our antennas are not strong enough and we wont be able to place our unit at Grunehgna and get live data from it. This made us all frustrated but at the same time we know we tried our best with the equipment we have and that gave us knowledge to know what kind of equipment we need here. This is actually what this first expedition is all about, to get to know this place and how we can work in it the most we can.
Our option after the tests yesterday was to place our unit near the base and just test the solar panels and wind turbine to see how they would work and supply power to the unit during the year. The weather data is pointless to gather near the base because we could get it straight from it.
But Thomas doesn't give up easily! Today we had a meeting to see how we could proceed and after much discussion Adam suggested we built a stronger antenna and try to get a connection again. They have all elements needed to built a antenna here, we just need to get a design for it. So we decided to give it a try. But this new option presented us with another challenge; to finish mounting and testing all the equipment and power system in the unit until Tuesday, when the trucks are going to Grunehogna to fetch the Caboose and this will be the last opportunity for us to take the unit there.
The weather today was pretty stormy again with low visibility and a lot of wind so we all worked inside. Thomas is working on mounting the solar panels to the unit, First and I helped him a little, I took pictures and Adam was training Zama to work on the microhard and campbell logger software. Zama will be staying here over the year and will be the one looking after our unit.