Category: Administration

These minutes were taken by Floyd Glick with help from Bill Miller.

http://dses.science/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2019-11-11-DSES-Engineering-Meeting.pdf

Minutes by Bill Miller

Attendance: Ed Corn, Gary Agranat, Myron Babcock, Phil Gage, Rich Russel, Bob Haggard, Dave Molter, Lewis Putnam, Jonathan Ares. Online via TeamViewer: Tony Bigbee.

Next work Trip in 21^st of Sept.  Gary and Ed may also use the 28^th for to work on the tower.

• Pointing System 1 HW/SW status and completeness: Phil Gage, Dave Molter,  Johnathan Ares
  • 3 weeks ago. Fixed the bad bit by jumpering to another channel and changed the SW to match.  Tested and Ed verified last weekend.
  • Dish mount stiction and inertia make continuous control too erratic so need to do a step and drift control.
  • The team took data on the command voltage verses speed and found both axes to be pretty linear.  See the graph.
  • Glenn added a computer supported manual control that tells the operator what commands to give the system to track manually. A little labor intensive but works.
  • With elevation axes is now stable and we should do a calibration using astronomical objects.
  • Should also mark the feed horn mountings to reduce the RF pointing error when changing or reinstalling the feed antenna.
  • Make a table of offsets for each feed and do a calibration for each feed.
  • Bill gave system 1 team the control relay circuitry used in System 2.

• Pointing System 2 HW/SW status and completeness:  Bill Miller
  • The PID control system that Ed Johnson implemented in the SW has been tested and can drive the dish mount to within one or two bits on the encoders.
  • The system worked fairly well on the last test in July except that the system would hang up and continue to drive the mount when it should have stopped.  This sometimes caused an overshoot or required manual shut down. 
  • Bill is building a physical simulator to make it easier to trouble shoot the system 2 without the Plishner Dish.  In this way Ed can work on the SW at home and work out these last bugs.
  • It would be nice to have a second spare encoder to work this but the lowest cost one found on eBay was over $500.

• Synchro pointing system status and completeness:  Bill Miller
  • The Azimuth Synchro system worked when installed last year.  Bill installed the Elevation Synchro in the early June Trip but when testing there was a problem in the system with a fault to ground.  This is 120VAC supply current flowing where it shouldn’t and must be fixed to be safe. 
  • Several of the old terminal boxes were used in the hookup.  Bill suspects that one of those is causing the leakage.  We will have to trace down and correct this before the synchro can be used as a backup pointing system. 
  • Members are asked not to plug the synchro panel into AC power until this is resolved.

• Dish Feed system status and changes
  • There was apparently a lightning strike on the dish this summer that took out the feed electronics and the power supply in the trailer.
  • Steve worked on the feed and found a bad amplifier. Steve rebuilt the amplifier pack and still found another bad amplifier.  Skip sent Steve a set of amplifiers that he will install on the next trip.
  • Steve has the noise source to test the RF through the amplifier chain.
  • The power supply was also bad, and Skip shipped a new one that works.

• Preparation for Stratospheric and Moon Bounce (EME) radio operation.
  • Ray and Steve terminated the hardline on the 3^rd deck and will attach to extensions down to the tower base. One hard line is complete.
  • Need to be careful to get the feed mounted exactly as we had it.
  • Hope to be able to do Stratospheric long distance communication and Moon bounce (or EME) in the autumn or near future.

• Status of Hydrogen Detector at Rich’s House
  • Rich has taken 4 declinations in a daily drift scan and is generating a composite color image of the HI emission.
  • Ray added a second LNA in the system that works much better than the first.
  • Drift scan HI is working well and anyone in the core group can get the data from Rich’s computer.  Send him an email.

• Pulsar Detector Status
  • Have the Cavity filter and Low Noise Amplifier for pulsar has just been received and we have the SDR made for this calibrated and ready to go from Steve and Joe Martin in New Mexico.
  • Will try for the strongest Pulsars with the long Yagi in Rich’s back yard.
  • A dish with tracking or a Yagi array would be better.

• SETI observation plans and schedule
  • Steve has a time crunch to fix the feed, power supply and amplifiers and make it work by the end of  September for a 3 day run.

• Plans to do Tropospheric Radio Communication
  • Want to do Texas, Kansas, New Mexico and Wyoming

• Plans for Moon Bounce Radio Communication
  • Tentatively considering upcoming ARRL contest weekends. Two weekends in October 19^th and 20th and November 16^th and 17^th.

• Ham Radio Station and Antenna Status
  • Ed and Gary built the 50-foot tower and are ready to mount the tribander beam antenna for 10, 15 and 20 Meters on the rotor.
  • Will also mount a 2 meter antenna on the side of the tower for the talk in radio.
  • Ed reworked the buckled pipe section of the vertical antenna with some clamps and bradding to make a splint to repair.
  • Gary rechecked the vertical antenna SWR with an antenna analyzer. He reports antenna is working as well or better. He posted a table of SWR values for each band behind the station operating desk.
  • Repaired the broken radios.
  • Gary operated three QSO parties: for Hawaii, Ohio, and Kansas, and made CW and SSB contacts on all three.
  • In the open house we had a special event station and had a number of members get on the air.
  • When using the Ham radio Equipment make sure to unplug the Antennas from the radios when you leave.
  • The tower is a tip down design.  The winch will tip down the tower to be able to lower the antenna and work on the antenna.

• Infrastructure items
  • Ed has the Electrical system built out.  A couple of stubs for add ons are all that is left.
  • Construction
    • Need a 32-inch steel clad pre-hung door for the top of the spiral staircase.
    • Need cement board to skirt the trailer.  Dave may have some.
    • Installed the mid hallway door and it needs the blocking panel at the top
    • In the future would like to slit the tool room into two compartments.
  • Plumbing
    • After he amateur tower is finished Ed will install the hot water heater.
    • Will also install a European type shower.
    • Ed wants to have a dump station with a grinder pump and pump out the sewer line.
    • Ed uses a deveining rod method to locate the pipes and wires.
    • He says the sewer line runs to the SE corner of the lot were there is a square vault and then a pipe leaves that and goes across the road.

• Outreach
  • Open House.  Bill owes the group a report.
    • Need the Attendance list from Myron which was let in the Comm. Trailer
    • Need any additional photos that you took. Paul Berge may have more.
    • October Haswell Bazar.  This will be in late October. Bill and Gary plan to support a table.

• Myron’s Treasures Report
  • 2067.75 Checking
  • 5740.11 savings
  • At Monument Mega Fest made $356 selling surplus equipment.
  • United way Philadelphia $30
  • Collected $260 in dues and a $50 donation, $88 in food donations for the open house
  • Expense for electric account is $128 for July and will be between $70 and $125 monthly.
  • Telephone is $38.25/month for only 911 and the local exchange
  • 55 members 35 voting 25 not voting
  • 18 have not renewed
  • $90 charge for Eads newspaper ads for open house

• General Discussion
  • May approach Dalton Eichenberg on spraying or getting a brush hog on the site.
  • CHIMES program in Canada. Canadian Hydrogen Mapping Long term project. They need infrastructure, power and fiber. 150 by 150 ft. footprint.
  • The block wall has made a big difference in the mud flow.
    The bulker hasn’t had a lot of water since the pump was replaced. 
    Batteries in the battery box in the battery room are dead and Ed will hook in the RR batteries for the Inverter power.

DSES Technical and Operations Meeting Minutes, 7-09-2018

Minutes written by: Bill Miller, DSES VP and Acting Secretary

Location:  IHop/IHob, Constitution Street, Colorado Springs

Attendance:  Gary Agranat, Myron Babcock, Ed Corn, Glenn Davis, Floyd Glick, Dave Molter, Steve Plock, Bob Sayers, Bill Miller

Attending Remotely via TeamViewer:  Dayton Jones, Skip Macaulay, Jamie Riggs

Next Trips to site: 

• July 21^st site work trip.
• Site work trip on an additional weekend before open house.
• Open house trip for the group on Friday, August 10^th thru Sunday August 12^th with the public event on Saturday, August 11^th.

 

Accuracy:  As always if I have misstated, omitted or misrepresented anyone please feel free to correct me.

Agenda:

1. If Quorum present board vote on tower section disposition.
2. Completion of outhouse project.
   1. Wiring
   2. Operation Briefing
   3. Toilet
3. Closing of Synchro Cable Conduit trench
4. Installation of RV electrical pedestals.
5. Additional open house preparations.
6. Tentative menu for Saturday in bunker.
7. Questions and Comments

 

Meeting Minutes:

• Steve and Ed only made $40 from the Ham Radio Mega Fest in Monument after Steve spent about $50 in diesel to haul the equipment back from the site. However, this did get most of the junk out of the bunker.  We still have a lot of site junk and surplus material to clean up.
• Dave got a lot of the wood that was taken down last year cleaned up around the ramp.
• We have an additional metal scrap pile in bunker needs to be cleaned out. Bill will help clean out and dispose of material.
• Myron Treasures Report
  • Got $100 dues and donation from Skip at Centennial electronics
  • Got $50 dues from Don Lewis
  • $1383.22 in checking
  • $5731.02 in savings

Agenda Items;

1. If we have a quorum at the meeting, present board to vote on tower section disposition. We have all board members present in this meeting except for Dr. Richard Russel.
   1. There are 9 – 10ft sections of ROHM 45 in Ray Uberecken’s yard that he would like to get removed.
   2. We have a Rohm 25 base above the bunker and we have 2 sections of on site and 2 more sections at Ray’s house, so we can still erect a 40-foot Rohm 25 tower at the bunker.
   3. Michael Lowe would like to have 5 sections of the ROHM 45 for the Pueblo Makers Space. A motion was made and seconded for the Board vote on giving the non-profit the excess ROHM tower sections that we don’t need.
   4. The board voted to give 5 sections of the ROHM 45 to Michael’s makers space project in Pueblo. Bill later let Michael know of this decision and Michael will arrange to pick up the tower sections from Ray’s property.

 

2. Completion of outhouse project.
   1. Wiring: Ed has material to hookup power to the outhouse.
   2. Operation Briefing: Will have a rail road exhaust fan and a red light for occupancy indicator. Will brief the group on maintenance and operation of the facility.
   3. The second narrow door of the small building will have a pin on the inside to allow emergency exit should the main door become jammed or blocked.
   4. Toilet: Ed and Steve now have the chemical toilet and the service pipe installed.

 

3. Closing of the synchro cable conduit trench: We need volunteers next trip of Saturday, 7/21 to cover the trench in before the open house. Most who will be at the work day said they would help.

 

4. Installation of RV pedestals.
   1. Will setup best locations from last year’s open house RV parking.
   2. The RV hookups are for 20 Amp, 120V, and no ground fault. The connection will run from the outhouse electrical connection. They are not suitable for RV air conditioning loads.  The DSES will ask for a $10/night donation for RV plug in usage.
   3. Wiring: Will need to purchase additional materials for the RV electrical hookups. Ed, Steve and Myron will go to Colorado Electrical Supply this week to purchase the remaining material to install the RV Electrical pedestals.
   4. We will need to trench in the additional wires for the RV electrical permanently before winter.

 

5. Additional open house preparations.
   1. Clean up garbage and scrap.
   2. Clean up under the comm. trailer.
   3. General cleanup and marking of hazards.

 

6. Tentative menu for Saturday the 11^th. Lunch and Dinner menu.
   1. Dave will bring the grill.
   2. Bill will bring the coffee mess with camp stove and another 10X10 canopy.
   3. Myron has been buying all the food in the past and he has had a donation pot but paying for the remainder out-of-pocket. The Board voted to cover food expense not covered by donations out of our bank account, so Myron is not stuck with the bill.
   4. Will have hotdogs on the grill for Saturday lunch for public.
   5. Steve will bring “Modified Brunswick Stew” for the dinner on Saturday night.

 

7. Presentation for Saturday in bunker:
   1. Rich will provide the presentation agenda for the weekend.
   2. Gary will have a ham radio presentation and demo.
   3. Others may also present solar, and optical astronomy and other radio astronomy topics such as eddy bitty telescope.

 

8. The pointing controls:
   1. System 1:
      1. Dave, Glenn and Bill are working to add analog power supply, motor control electronics and modified software program with tracking for system 1.
      2. Dave is reworking System 1 box at home and will reinstall on July 21^st.
   2. System 2:
      1. Bill is working to complete software port and details for system 2 and will reinstall.
      2. Will add the Lenovo laptop for this.
   3. Dave and Bill will add 3 switch boxes to the DB 25 connections to the encoders and tracking output to make the systems selectable.
   4. Synchros: We have the azimuth synchro indicators working for azimuth position but still need to hook up the elevation synchros. Need a new access plate and Liquid-tight flexible conduit to route the wires from the Elevation encoder/synchro enclosure.

 

9. Questions and Comments
   1. The GPS time base used in Skip Crilly’s SETI observations is a TN4 model from Spectrum Instruments. It has been sent back to Skip for repair or replacement before the next observation session in August.
   2. Need an announcement for the open house on August 11^th in Eads, Sugar City, and Haswell businesses and in the Kiowa county newspaper. Need a one or two paragraph announcement for the open house.
   3. Ed had installed the telephone intercom and the talk in radio at the site on 146.46MHz simplex. Bill and Dave tested this on the last trip and had good audio and range as Bill drove out, almost out to Arlington on a hand held with rubber duck and good audio and copy. Great job on this to Ed!  We may increase the height of the antenna when the tower is erected for even more range.
   4. Gary placed the announcement for the Open House on our DSES website. And he placed an announcement in the August QST and on the ARRL website about the ham radio special event station to be operated during the Open House.

 

• The meeting was adjourned, and Dave, Glenn and Bill spent an additional half hour after discussing the system 1. controller motor drive electronics design.

 

Submitted 7/16/2018:  Bill Miller, DSES VP and Acting Secretary