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Pictures from Equipment Installation in Barrow and Wainwright

Pictures from Equipment Installation in Barrow and Wainwright

basc_theatre
The first of the two field sites we set up was in Barrow, Alaska, on the beach in front of the BASC Theatre.

barrow_conduit
Prior to our arrival, ASTAC had trenched in our cables so that we could operate without having our cables crossing the road. Here you can see the orange conduit sticking up out of the beach sediment.

installing_bases
Since the sediment on the beach in Barrow does a lot of moving around in big storms, we needed a heavy platform for the antennas that wasn't going to shift around in storms.

barrow_bases
We joked that the platforms would make a good dance floor on the beach! Here is Brad Heaston, BASC, and Rachel Potter, UAF.

fishing_conduit
Hank Statscewich, UAF, fishing a line through our smurf tube so that we can pull the cables through.

rachel_assembles
Rachel is preparing the antennas for deployment in the warm, dry BASC theatre.

finishing_touches
Hank adds the finishing touches to the antennas before we take them out to the beach for set up.

reflective_safety_tape
All of the antennas were marked with reflective tape for safety.

barrow_receive
The receive antenna at Barrow, with a barge and tug steaming by.

barrow_surf
The surf breaking on the beach in Barrow.

barrow_transmit
Peter Winsor, UAF, gives a thumbs up for the transmit antenna.

making_flags
Hank and Peter made flagging to mark the underground cables.

heading_for_water
Rachel and Nok, BASC, head to the beach to calibrate the antennas with Scottie, BASC, following with the boat.

barrow_apm
The waves were calm that day, so we were able to launch from the beach. The antenna mounted to the zodiac tranmits a signal from the water back to the antennas so that we can calibrate our data.

barrow_electronics
Our equipment housed in the BASC theatre.

rachel_and_receive
A successful installation! Rachel with the receive antenna. The only thing missing is the orange fencing we put around the perimeter of the bases.

time_to_go_to_wainwright
With Barrow finished, it was on to Wainwright for our second installation.

wainwright
Wainwright, Alaska, is about 70 miles southwest of Barrow.

downtown_wainwright
Wainwright has a population of about 500 - 600 people.

erosion_control
Coastal erosion is threatening the coastline of Wainwright, like so many other Arctic villages.

wainwright_coastline
Wainwright has a beautiful tundra coastline with a bluff and wide beach.

surveying_field_site
Rachel and Peter checked out some property owned by the Olgoonik Corporation for good antenna sites.

peter_the_hammer
Peter marked the transmit antenna location and prepared to set the guy lines.

hank_and_transmit
Hank attached the guylines and prepared to set up the antenna.

wainwright_tx_installed
Success! Transmit antenna up, and you can see the receive antenna in the background just to the left of Peter's head.

turning_on_seasonde
Rachel gets ready to turn on the equipment.

wainwright_antennas
A view from the land of the antenna on the tundra. The one of the left is the receive antenna, and the transmit antenna is on the right.

wainwright_receive
View of the receive antenna from the beach with Hank for scale.

wainwright_transmit
The transmit antenna from the beach.

installing_hughesnet
For internet in Wainwright, we set up a HughesNet satellite internet system.

hughesnet_dish
A close up of the HughesNet installation.

wianwright_electronics
Field electronics in Wainwright.

captain_willie
Willie Nayakik, Wainwright, who took us out on his boat for the antenna calibration.

olgoonik_camp
View of northern Wainwright from the Willie's boat. Can you see the antennas?

wainwright_coast
When the hard work ended, Hank took some time to check out the beach, happy to have another installation finished.