07/17/10

091126 - Got the pictures from the other night, as well as John and Al were down there today putting in the porch sliding glass door.  They were able to lock up today, for the first time, using the draw bar across the inside of the door.  Security is improving.

The big panel will run most of the shack, with the little panel eventually being a true sine wave inverter.  We have just sourced a bypass switch to switch between shore power (when we eventually get it) and generator power

John putting in the patio door - it is eight feet back from the big steel doors.  This will allow us to use the porch for cutting, and still keep the dust outside.  In addition, Al and John came up with the idea of putting vents in the top - so that we can open them up for fresh air (there is a lot of air leakage at both main doors.  At the other set of doors, I will be building a 2x6 wall with a steel exterior door in it. 

The patio door was donated and it has spent some time in a backyard.  Al and I took a run at cleaning it up a bit, but it is going to need several more buckets of water to get it clean!

My original thought was to tile this area, but I think it is going to be linoleum - there is too much flex in the floor for tiles

091125 - Went over there after work today - and we stayed until almost 8 p.m.  Jeff, Al E., Al M., Ben and myself worked on pulling wire in the North can.  We got it almost all pulled in - so that was a win.  I forgot the camera at the shack again!  Grrrr.  Judy dropped by at dinner time with a hearty beef stew - which was well enjoyed with a glass of Shiraz.

John and Al are planning on being in there tomorrow to install the patio door.  I can't make it after work tomorrow - SARA Exec meeting.  There will be a really big push this weekend to finish the plywood, and get the first coat of primer up.  Jeff is planning on coming back on Saturday to do the South can.  Ben is talking Sunday or Monday to come back and take a run at the pods on the roof.  The draw bar is now available for one of the cans, so we will incorporate that into our plans starting tomorrow. 

091123 - Ben L. was down there late this morning, with Al M. shortly there after.  The two of them did a wack of work today.  There is now a draw bar across the door, on the inside.  The frame, to support the two green 'pods', was also fabricated today.  Next steps will be to lift up the frame to the West roof of the South container.  Thanks Ben and Al - awesome work.

Not sure why this picture is so 'specky' but this is where we got to with the 1/2 inch MDO - and the C cans cleaned up a bit.

Al cutting the cross braces for the frame to size

This is a 21 foot mast that we will use to support one end of the wire antennas going out to one of the telephone poles.  We'll put a vertical on top of it.  Each of these poles are 21 feet long, and we will push them up five feet - so they will have an elevation of 26 feet.  The two pods will, over time, have some additional antennas put on them, possibly for packet, IRLP or Echolink.  Corner to corner, I'm guessing there is going to be about 40 to 50 ish feet between the two support masts kitty-corner to each other

In the picture above you can see the drop bar going across the two doors.  Great work Ben

This frame will be welded to the roof of the C can.  The two green 'pods' will be welded to this support structure.  One will contain the batteries, and the other the self starting generator.

091121 - The team was down there early today.  I had an appointment, so didn't get there until about 10:00 a.m.  Jeff, Al, Al and I met for breakfast.  Then Jeff, Al and I went over to Surrey New and Used, and picked up some electrical boxes.  Paul, Kenny and Christian met at the job site, and got going on the boarding.  They were able to stay for a couple of hours - thanks guys.  They had to leave at 11:00 - so I continued with the boarding, with help from Al M.

Jeff, Al E. and Al M., made some great progress on the wiring.  The electrical wall was sealed in and boarded.  Initial connections were established, and rope was pulled into all core lines.  Al M. finished off pulling in the rope this afternoon.

The place is a real mess.  I didn't have it in me this afternoon to clean up before we left.  David B. dropped off the sliding glass patio door.  This is going to go in the South Can, East end - about 8 feet from the end.  This will give us a covered 'porch', with a workstation  wired out there.

End of the day today, we got up a lot of MDO plywood.  On the schedule for tomorrow is the ceiling and walls in the electrical room.  The ceiling in the coax transfer room might be on our list as well.  I would like to get the sliding glass door in if at all possible.  The ends of each of the cans, I'd like to get them sealed in as well - with expanding foam, rodent protection, and plywood.

Here are some pictures:

Here is where we ended up with the electrical.  The heavy, shielded six gauge wire (black) to the left will be for the 12 volt supply at each station.  The 12 volts will come from one of the pods on the roof, which will contain the liquid ni-cads and other wet cell batteries.  The top box, with all of the core line coming into it, is a distribution box.  The one inch core line on the top right connects the electrical distribution box in the North Can to the electrical panel.  The left distribution panel will be the main power distribution for the environment.  Missing is a transfer switch, from mains hydro, to the Generator, in another pod on the roof.  The small right box will be fed from the pure sign wave inverter (3KW), and will be distributed to specific locations around the shack.

In the short term, I will likely use a 2KW modified sine wave inverter to feed this panel.  The Statpower 24 volt, 3KW inverter is on our to buy intent.  It isn't a cheap piece of gear.  It will also charge the bank of 24 volt AGM batteries, which will be inside the cans (although also vented to the outside).

End of the day - North Can - looking East to the Coax Transfer room - Ignore the mess, it was a long day

South Can - looking East - Al checking out the sliding glass door