Weather: Warm and sunny.
Tasking:
- Finished POD packing
- Closed out storage unit
- Packed base trailer for shipment
That is a wrap folks! The trucker will pick up the base trailer tomorrow afternoon and Chris and I will be departing Santa Barbara. Until next time...
Weather: Warm and partly cloudy all day
Tasking:
- POD packing
- White Chevy oil change
- Silver Chevy tire repair
Plan for tomorrow:
- Packing base trailer
- Closing out storage unit
Weather: Cool and overcast morning, followed by low stratus for the remainder of the day
Tasking:
- S15 (Figueroa Mountain) teardown. Lock securing fire station gate has been changed, had to communicate with the USFS dispatch to gain access. Tire was punctured by a stick while driving into site and had to be swapped with a spare. Issues found at teardown included:
- Mote serial cable chewed through in multiple spots
- TRH fan inop
Plan for tomorrow:
- Down day! All sites have been removed, packing will begin on Monday.
Weather: Cool and foggy morning, followed by scattered clouds and sunshine the remainder of the day
Tasking:
- S3 (El Capitan Canyon) teardown. Big thanks to Mack for the help. All sensors appeared operation during a cursory check. Issues found at teardown included:
- A loose connection at the OTT cable sensor end causing corrosion between power and ground pins
Plan for tomorrow:
- S15 (Figueroa Mountain) teardown. Last site!
Weather: Cool and foggy morning on the south side of the ridge. Stratocumulus and warm once we reached Sedgwick.
Tasking:
- S14 (Sedgwick Reserve) teardown. Their sign in procedure is similar to previous visits, the only difference being the check-in station is now a tent by the main building. All sensors appeared operation during a cursory check. Issues found at teardown include:
- Bulgin cable for the radiometer tripod that Leila replaced was destroyed in a few spots, did not appear to be chew marks. Potentially stomped by an animal? There is sometimes a donkey about.
- Copious amounts of wasps made their way into the battery box. We should try to insect proof the bulkhead holes in the bottom better.
- Helped ISS lower and disassemble their mast at Cachuma Lake on the way back to base.
Plan for tomorrow:
- S3 (El Capitan Canyon) teardown. Mack is planning on coming out with us, the help is much appreciated since this site has a long carry.
Weather: Cool and foggy morning, followed by overcast conditions for the remainder of the day.
Tasking:
S4 (San Marcos Foothills Preserve) teardown. Meeting ranger for access at 8:30 am. Went smoothly save for the following issues:
- After speaking with a local strolling by, it sounds as though a retention basin for a new housing development is slated to be installed at the current site location. This will have to be addressed for SWEX 2021.
- CSAT 3A stiffener brace weld broke, will need to be epoxied. Second sonic found with this issue.
- Battery voltage was measured around 1.5V. Unknown cause but the solar panel > station cable is suspect. Will be high pot testing all cables back in Boulder.
- Flora surrounding station grew much taller than expected, and enveloped rad tripod.
Plan for tomorrow
- S14 (Sedgwick Reserve) teardown
- Assist Bill and Mack in lowering their tower at Lake Cachuma
Weather: Cool and foggy morning, with overcast conditions for the remainder of the day.
Tasking:
- S1 (SBC Fire Station 18) teardown. Went smoothly save for the following issues:
- A crack formed in the lower collar/pivot point of the tripod assembly. Collar will have to be replaced.
- TRH fan inop.
- Unable to connect to DSM. Site was powered. May be a static IP issue, will investigate in Boulder.
- Tripod leg pads had play, ground on this site compacted. Future tripod installations will have to be releveled during maintenance visits due to soft ground.
- CSAT 3A stiffener brace weld broke, will need to be epoxied
Plan for tomorrow
- S4 (San Marcos Foothills Preserve) teardown. Meeting ranger for access at 8:30 am.
Weather: Cool and foggy morning followed by hot, sunny, and calm conditions.
Tasking:
- S17 (Cuyama Peak) teardown. Approx. 3.5 hour drive one way. Upon arrival, found the cables in ports 5 & 7 had been yanked hard enough to remove the pins from the connector. Suspected vandalism. DSM was locked up, potentially from this incident. Teardown went smoothly.
Plan for tomorrow
- S1 (SBC Fire Station 18) teardown.
Weather: Cool and foggy morning followed by hot sunny, and breezy conditions.
Tasking:
- S8 (Santa Ynez Peak) teardown. All sensors were operational upon arrival (including the TRH fan), and site was in excellent condition after seven months of no maintenance. No issues with removal.
Plan for tomorrow
- S17 (Cuyama Peak). Will be a long day due to three hours of travel time one way to get to site.
Weather: Sunny, hot, and breezy.
Tasking:
- Teardown of S10
- Reorganization of POD and Base Trailer