Photos of the System Installation
(newer photos at the bottom, including from the Tea Fire)

Posing with equipment cabinet. Left to right: Matt, W6KGB, Calli, KD6OVS, Dave K9KBX and Ken, N6KTH. Photo by Bill, K6TZP. The four of them lean on the empty box, which is under a tree in the shade, with smiles on their faces. The box is about 3 feet tall

April 2008.  Posing with equipment cabinet.  Left to right: Matt, W6KGB, Calli, KD6OVS, Dave K9KBX and Ken, N6KTH.  Photo by Bill, K6TZP

 

Matt, W6KGB and Dave K9KBX place equipment on racks inside the equipment box.

Matt, W6KGB (left) and Dave K9KBX plan the placement of the equipment.  Photo by Bill, K6TZP

 

This photo shows a platform and a partially completed wooded box, which is the beginnings of the cabinet enclosure box. A trench can be seen, which will contain the conduit for the electrical lines and antenna cables. The platform is located in the shade under a tree.

Construction in progress!  The (mostly) completed platform and the beginnings of the cabinet enclosure box.  The electrical lines and antenna cables will run through conduit that will be places between the white lines on the ground.  Construction by Dave, K9KBX.

 

Another view of the platform and a partially completed cabinet enclosure box.

Another view of the side of the cabinet enclosure box.

 

Another view of the platform and a partially completed cabinet enclosure box. The left side of the box is higher than the right side, because the roof will slope to facility water runoff.

The front end of the box.

 

Another view of the partially completed trench that will hold electrical and antenna cables. The trench terminates at a privately owned telephone poll that has a electrical meter and breaker box on it. The poll will contain the system antennas.

A view of the trench for the electoral/feedline conduit.  We will mount the antennas to the poll in the background, which also contains the AC connections.  Trench dug by Bill, K6TZP.

 

Dave, K9KBX uses a battery operated hand-drill to drill screws into lumber. He’s installing 2 X 4 pieces of wood that will form the roof of the cabinet shelter.

Dave, K9KBX working on the box!

 

Dave poses with a power circular saw in his hand. He’s about to cut a piece of lumber that rests on a big sheet of plywood. The plywood is sitting on some plastic saw horses.

Dave's temporary work bench set up at the site.

 

Dave holds up a piece of plywood that will form a wall of the shelter. The other wall has already be installed.

 Dave screws in the piece of plywood he was holding up in the previous picture.

The walls go up!

 

A smiling Dave poses by the box that now has a roof and walls. This is a close-up view that shows the open equipment cabinet.

Dave poses by his handiwork! 

 

This photo shows a mostly complted box. The box has a roof and the sides have been enclosed with covers that can be easily removed to gain access to the equipment

We have front and back covers and a roof!
The covers can be easily removed to access the box.

 

We have roofing tiles!

 

This photo shows the trench that contains the AC connections and antenna feedlines. The trench is deeper than in the earlier image. Two pieces of conduit are laying in the trench. A smaller white one (1 inch) and a larger (3 inch) black one.

May 2008.  The completed trench, with the conduit in place. 
The one the left (1 inch) contains the AC line. 
The one on the right (3 inch) contains the antenna feedlines.

 

Dave is seen on a ladder that’s leaning against a wooden poll that’s on the site, Calli is at the base of the ladder, and Dave has a vertical antenna in his hand. The antenna is about 12 feet long, and has three radials at the base.

Dave installs a mounting bracket that’s holding the antenna.

May 2008.  Dave and Calli place the Comet GP3 tri-band antenna (6 meters, 2 meters and 70 cm) at the site.

 

A close-up of Dave installing the mounting brackets.

A close-up of the antenna.

 

Dave lifts the antenna to it’s final height above the top of the poll.

Raising the antenna to it's final height.

 

Dave and Calli work on the box installing temporary radio equipment. Dave is using a drill and Calli is preparing coax cable.

 Calli uses his HT to try out the cross-band radio being used in the site coverage test.

Dave and Calli install temporary cross-band equipment to test the coverage of the site.

 

Calli talking on the remote radio, with the cabinet on the "bench."

 

Equipment as of October 2008:
Click HERE to visit the equipment page to view detailed photos of the equipment.

 

Tea Fire November 13, 2008

Sadly, the property where we plan to locate the remote base was completely destroyed in the Tea Fire of 11/13/08.  Our friend Duke McPherson lost just about everything. 

Fortunately for us, we did not complete the preparation of the equipment, so it was not located at the site during the fire.  Unfortunately, the enclosure was burned to the ground, and our hardline cable was destroyed.  The antenna was toppled, but apparently not damaged.

We hope to approach Duke in the future about continuing to locate the system on his property.

 

The remains of the McPherson house on East Mountain Drive a few days after the Tea Fire.

 

Equipment enclosure before and after the fire.

 

 

The Comet GP3 antenna and mast hanging (upside down) in a tree following the collapse of the power pole that was holding it up!

 

 

Close up of the antenna.

 

 

The hardline attachment shows that the lower portion of the antenna got a bit cooked, but not too bad considering.

 

The lower portion of the power pole.

 

The only other section of the power pole still visible.

 

Preparation for New Location:

A new box to replace the once lost in the fire!  Tim (KG6TAT) and I picked up this large wooden cabinet at UCSB Central Stores.  It will contain the equipment cabinet at the remote's new location, Painted Cave above Santa Barbara.

 

The new cabinet after Tim and Ken removed it from the pick-up truck.

 

The new cabinet near where it will ultimately be placed--it needs a paint job!

 

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