25 Sep 03

25 September 2003 Status at The Aquatic Hillcrest

Headline: Making Progress - TRR Monday is Not Likely

Summary:

RES SW is being loaded, but we're getting chaff generator BITE messages
A glitch in completing dry run of procedure 4.2.4.6 of 23a because the light that is to be observed blinking does not exist (?)
Ron Meyers is getting the remaining parts shipped out today (Thanks Ron)
Need the noise detector board from the GAF, UPS did not deliver today
The radar is running and tracking
We will decide tomorrow if the TRR can be held Monday

At 0830 a discrepancy was discovered in the test procedures provided and hand carried by Brad. We received 1D-P2 instead of 1D-P1, and I have written e-mail to Syracuse to have it pulled, copied and shipped overnight. This is HOT! 1355 Update, Sharon has found the correct documents and is copying them. Paula is checking to see if they can be shipped overnight via UPS which is the only firm to guarantee Saturday delivery. The documents can not leave before this evening.

Melanie from Eagle Logistics called at 0900 to let me know our COTS box left on the truck for The Aquatic Hillcrest an hour ago. At 0915 the box of requested boards from the GAF arrived. At 1032 the long lost COTS package arrived from Eagle.

At 1058 Eagle called with this data on the A6 board being returned: Lufthansa flight 8160 26 Sep to JFK air bill # 02051838953.

The RES works with the SPU disk drive board (A2) from the other radar site. In addition, the radar is displaying simulated targets, so the repaired SIMPAC board on the radar side seems to have restored communications that were not present in February between the RES and the radar. AT 1837 we have confirmed that all tests in the RES pass with the Doberberg disk drive (A2) SPU board, and do NOT work with the Aquatic Hillcrest A2 board. This is one of the boards sent back from repair since February 2003, and is another DOA. The RES is being configured now with current data and prepared for operational checkout and dry run, with the Doberberg A2 SPU board. Bill and Sgt. Pohl worked very hard all afternoon to repair this cabinet and succeeded! Without the tremendous support of the GAF we would make no progress!

By 1136 the STS (Stable Time Source) unit had the replacement batteries (from the COTS box) installed and put back together and was running. There is a carrier lock from the antenna, but we are still debugging correct Time of Day download.

Ron and Brad are working the SSR K-factor. This has taken most of the afternoon. Sgt. Pohl and Bill are rebuilding the pieces that we found the RES in when we changed drawers. They are working in the basement with flashlights, soldering iron and tweezers, rebuilding cable connectors that we have no chance of obtaining prior to the test.

Link to Dry Run Status

Daily oil leak analysis: Brad and I checked the oil leak when Bill shut the radar off to make some adjustments. There are two drops of oil, after the antenna turning all night. One comes from the oil level sensor, the other comes from the drain/check plug on the side of the motor that is farther from the door. These point were previously photographed. Based on these findings, this concludes my study and analysis of oil leaks.

Photos from today:

Brad and Ron install batteries from the COTS shipment into the STS drawer. Ron performs a dry run.

Brad and Ron dry run an SSR test.

Evening at The Aquatic Hillcrest