Lenny
11-22-2006, 10:27 PM
A week ago, a small West Coast Fishing/Whale watching/Logging town (Port Renfrew) lost phone service. 100% lost. It is served by a digital radio service (SR500) that shoots from the in-town Central Office (5ESS remote) to a Digital radio repeater site about 50 miles away, that resides on top of a 3800' Rock spire, Mt. Demers, with helicopter access only and a 10' x 10' building that barely fits with the heli-pad. It is powered by wind generators and Solar panels, where it then shoots the signal to another Mountaintop site (Saltspring Island, Mt. Bruce) whereas it converts the signal to OC48 Fiber Optics and goes "fiber" Submarine cable" (underwater) to Victoria and connects to the World as we all know it.
Well, the winds were soo high last Wednesday, (yes, two days after I got back from Key West :rolleyes: ) that metal fatigue in the bronze waveguide at the re-generation site, (Mt. Demers) broke it in half) pic below. Well at 3800' above sea level, and chopper access only, we were unable to get there. Weather and all that, massive storms, but not like the Florida version ;) So, on Wednesday, last week, this Service breaks, and we have no idea if it is at the Port Renfrew end, the Mt. Demers middle repeater, or the Saltspring Island end (Mt. Bruce). So on Wednesday, last week we go into Port Renfrew, (truck access) and see that things not in disarray there. (big day trip) Thursday, we take a Ferry and go to Mt. Bruce on Saltspring Island (ferry and truck access) and things are OK there. So, the only place left is the middle, Mt. Demers, helicopter access only. So, Friday, we have clearance and the weather is "OK" to fly in to see if this is the problem. Sure enough, it is. Then the weather comes back in, like NOW, and the chopper is stuck on top of this 3800' rock spire, in the middle of nowhere, a Mountainous region. Tie the chopper down to the ground pins and all hunker into a 10' x 10' building and wait...and
wait...
wait...
an opening in the weather presents itself and off the Mountain we go in the chopper, back to town, to get the required equipment to remedy the situation. Saturday am, (Nov18th) the weather is brutal, no visibility and definately no way to ever fly in to fix this.
Town is now without any phone service since last Wednesday, Nov 15th. No cell coverage, (TOO REMOTE, never has been) and no 911, nothing. No credit cards, no Interact, nothing. No business, no fishing/whaling charters, nothing.
Sunday, no way, can't fly in. Keep in mind, these Chopper pilots are not idiots. They do not work for us, they are professionals, and for a living conduct logging operations and heli-log the steep hillsides of the Westcoast and fly in and fly out, MEDI-VAC loggers. When they say it is unsafe,.. well, it is REALLY, REALLY unsafe. So we stand by.
Monday the same.
Tuesday, PLAN"B" ...
We have two SATCOLT trucks (Satellite Cell Office on a "light truck") in Canada and the Company I work for (in my "other job") owns them and I look after their deployment, logistics, and generally support them when in a disaster situation. So Tuesday, Nov21st I get the one from the West Coast of Canada deployed to come here and try to help the Community. It arrives in late afternoon (Tuesday, Nov 21st) and we proceed to set it up. What it does is provide a portable Cell site for anyone within about 8 miles of it, and we hand out phones and call-forward business lines or provide phones for people with health related issues, so that they can carry on as if nothing happened. This is a disaster relief Vehicle, and now that we have them (2) we are using them for relief during (in this case) brutal Pacific storms.
So here are a few pics of my last few sleepless days setting this thing up and a couple of pics of the truck. Boring maybe, but more fun than the usual stuff. Today, while walking along the river (that ends up in the Ocean a few hundred feet away, I stumbled upon a beautiful, huge, black bear. I had my camera, approached him, he stood up and shook, (and shook off what must have been 20 gallons of water from fishing the Salmon from the river (spawning) ) and he walked away. I missed the shot, 75' in front of me and was reluctant to pursue him as it would have been an easy kill for him, to take me, as I am still hung over from Key West ;) Thanx Bud...
Anyways, here are a few shots, descriptions below.
Pic #1 Predeployment, Tuesday night of the SATCOLT vehicle at the Ambulance/911 site normally where the service would work. Two paramedics reside here.
Pic#2 Deployed SATCOLT antennae in the site after a lot of work with TELESAT (satellite)
Pic#3 Me, standing on the truck roof, Tuesday night, with Satelitte phone trying to get the TELESAT peopel in Toronto (East Coast) to let us "transmit" so that we could be seen on the Globalstar Satelitte and then adjust our Azimuth and go for Cross-polarization. (the software load in essence)
Pic#4 a wharf short in this REMOTE fishing village
Pic#5 the tide line. This is high tide. 14' of movement every day and this shows you how HIGH the waves get. 30' is NOT uncommon. That is what put these logs and debris here last week.
Pic#6 The SATCOLT truck up and running
Pic#7 A view of the end of the Olympic Penninsula (USA) in far background and our "point" in foreground. Those are about 15-20' waves today.
Pic#8 Here is the view of the end of the USA on the westernmost side, northernmost point. The circle indicates the end of your Country. To the right of the circle, if your eyes were REALLY GOOD, would be Hong Kong.
Pic #9 A LARGE un-shrunk view of the area. Rivers, streams, ocean, all combined in about a couple miles. Snow up at 1000' as you can see. Warm tho here, about 60-ish.
Pic#10 is a graphic view from air, of the end of the USA and PT. Renfrew (Canada) in relationship to Victoria (about 2 1/2 hours drive South). This IS the view from Pt. Renfrew in pic #8 looking at the END of the USA, the tip of the Olympic Penninsula, and onward towards Hong Kong. :D
Well, the winds were soo high last Wednesday, (yes, two days after I got back from Key West :rolleyes: ) that metal fatigue in the bronze waveguide at the re-generation site, (Mt. Demers) broke it in half) pic below. Well at 3800' above sea level, and chopper access only, we were unable to get there. Weather and all that, massive storms, but not like the Florida version ;) So, on Wednesday, last week, this Service breaks, and we have no idea if it is at the Port Renfrew end, the Mt. Demers middle repeater, or the Saltspring Island end (Mt. Bruce). So on Wednesday, last week we go into Port Renfrew, (truck access) and see that things not in disarray there. (big day trip) Thursday, we take a Ferry and go to Mt. Bruce on Saltspring Island (ferry and truck access) and things are OK there. So, the only place left is the middle, Mt. Demers, helicopter access only. So, Friday, we have clearance and the weather is "OK" to fly in to see if this is the problem. Sure enough, it is. Then the weather comes back in, like NOW, and the chopper is stuck on top of this 3800' rock spire, in the middle of nowhere, a Mountainous region. Tie the chopper down to the ground pins and all hunker into a 10' x 10' building and wait...and
wait...
wait...
an opening in the weather presents itself and off the Mountain we go in the chopper, back to town, to get the required equipment to remedy the situation. Saturday am, (Nov18th) the weather is brutal, no visibility and definately no way to ever fly in to fix this.
Town is now without any phone service since last Wednesday, Nov 15th. No cell coverage, (TOO REMOTE, never has been) and no 911, nothing. No credit cards, no Interact, nothing. No business, no fishing/whaling charters, nothing.
Sunday, no way, can't fly in. Keep in mind, these Chopper pilots are not idiots. They do not work for us, they are professionals, and for a living conduct logging operations and heli-log the steep hillsides of the Westcoast and fly in and fly out, MEDI-VAC loggers. When they say it is unsafe,.. well, it is REALLY, REALLY unsafe. So we stand by.
Monday the same.
Tuesday, PLAN"B" ...
We have two SATCOLT trucks (Satellite Cell Office on a "light truck") in Canada and the Company I work for (in my "other job") owns them and I look after their deployment, logistics, and generally support them when in a disaster situation. So Tuesday, Nov21st I get the one from the West Coast of Canada deployed to come here and try to help the Community. It arrives in late afternoon (Tuesday, Nov 21st) and we proceed to set it up. What it does is provide a portable Cell site for anyone within about 8 miles of it, and we hand out phones and call-forward business lines or provide phones for people with health related issues, so that they can carry on as if nothing happened. This is a disaster relief Vehicle, and now that we have them (2) we are using them for relief during (in this case) brutal Pacific storms.
So here are a few pics of my last few sleepless days setting this thing up and a couple of pics of the truck. Boring maybe, but more fun than the usual stuff. Today, while walking along the river (that ends up in the Ocean a few hundred feet away, I stumbled upon a beautiful, huge, black bear. I had my camera, approached him, he stood up and shook, (and shook off what must have been 20 gallons of water from fishing the Salmon from the river (spawning) ) and he walked away. I missed the shot, 75' in front of me and was reluctant to pursue him as it would have been an easy kill for him, to take me, as I am still hung over from Key West ;) Thanx Bud...
Anyways, here are a few shots, descriptions below.
Pic #1 Predeployment, Tuesday night of the SATCOLT vehicle at the Ambulance/911 site normally where the service would work. Two paramedics reside here.
Pic#2 Deployed SATCOLT antennae in the site after a lot of work with TELESAT (satellite)
Pic#3 Me, standing on the truck roof, Tuesday night, with Satelitte phone trying to get the TELESAT peopel in Toronto (East Coast) to let us "transmit" so that we could be seen on the Globalstar Satelitte and then adjust our Azimuth and go for Cross-polarization. (the software load in essence)
Pic#4 a wharf short in this REMOTE fishing village
Pic#5 the tide line. This is high tide. 14' of movement every day and this shows you how HIGH the waves get. 30' is NOT uncommon. That is what put these logs and debris here last week.
Pic#6 The SATCOLT truck up and running
Pic#7 A view of the end of the Olympic Penninsula (USA) in far background and our "point" in foreground. Those are about 15-20' waves today.
Pic#8 Here is the view of the end of the USA on the westernmost side, northernmost point. The circle indicates the end of your Country. To the right of the circle, if your eyes were REALLY GOOD, would be Hong Kong.
Pic #9 A LARGE un-shrunk view of the area. Rivers, streams, ocean, all combined in about a couple miles. Snow up at 1000' as you can see. Warm tho here, about 60-ish.
Pic#10 is a graphic view from air, of the end of the USA and PT. Renfrew (Canada) in relationship to Victoria (about 2 1/2 hours drive South). This IS the view from Pt. Renfrew in pic #8 looking at the END of the USA, the tip of the Olympic Penninsula, and onward towards Hong Kong. :D