Antarctic Communications

Diamond Dust

2007-12-16T00:14:00.001Z

Today I witnessed a new Antarctic phenomina. Not quite snow and not mist. If you look through the air it sparkles with millions of tiny crystals. They float slowly towards the ground. It is called diamond dust for obvious reasons and happens on days which are very clear but with enough high cloud to give some precipitation. Impossible to get a good photo of I'm afraid.

Boat Trip

2007-11-23T01:13:00.000Z

Today I went on a nice trip in a boat. A few folk plodding along in a small RIB. Sounds pleasant?

Well, that doesn't describe today's adventure very well. After dinner the boat team took us land lovers out to show us around their world. So we went from the base south around the icebergs and growlers that I have watched from the tower window. They are truly beautiful fruits of nature. As with many of the experiences I've been fortunate to have so far, pictures do not do them justice.

The bergs are very different to how you would expect them. They are far more dynamic than I imagined before going south. At this time of the year they exhibit signs of melting away. Holes appear in them and then they split in two with an explosive snap. They also melt on the side that faces the sun and become off-balanced. After some time they turn over causing a mini tsunami. Not surprising when they way over 1000tons a go.

The most notable aspect of them is colour. Not totally white as you might expect but often shades of blue. The really deep blues come from really old ice that is super compressed. When caves form in the bergs it is a beautiful sight to see dramatic shapes and shades that resemble an ancient rock cavern. Only this one will disappear within days.

They move quick too. Not by currents so much but rather the wind. So when the wind blows towards you a clear patch of sea can become a car park for bergs within an hour or so. Like large sail boats adrift with no crew. With a south and north cove here you always have one clear and one choka with bergs.

Some of the bergs have passengers. Seals sitting lazily waiting for the final destination.

Arrived!

2007-11-04T22:59:00.000Z

The date has come when I finally move the place I will call home for the next 1.5 years. I arrived at 4pm on the 2nd November. My head is spinning. I have spent the last year staring the webcam watching the seasons come and go. So now when I look across at the glaciers and icebergs it appears to be like I'm looking at a screen and its not really happening.

Here is a view from the new office which is the orange comms tower you can see from the webcam (looking north):

The view in the opposite direction looks over 20km of sea to a volcano looking island called Jenny Island. From my old office window I could see the car park and Addlestone train station.

There is so much to take in here. Life is so very different to that back in 'the real world'. Some massive differences like the climate, views and constant daylight. Some not so obvious like the fact that none of the doors here have locks on them.

Beer here is 60p a go. Although no good ales of course. The food is great and consists of two large meals a day, fried breakfast, snack such as egg bap or giant muffin for smoko AM and PM and then a large storeroom of snacks available 24/7. It is going to be hard work keeping temptation at bay.

One of the really nice subtle differences here is that everyone smiles and is happy. It is inconceivable that you would pass someone on base and not say hi. Even the penguins walk up to you and say hello, flap their wings and walk off again.

I've been to Antarctica but only stayed an hour

2007-10-11T18:28:00.000Z

Well I finally made it! I have stepped foot on Antarctica. Well to be more precise, I stepped foot in Antarctica.

I have spent a week in New York with my girlfriend Mary. We went to a bar in Manhattan called the Antarctica Bar. The card above is from the place. Note the obligatory penguins :) You can check out the website at http://www.antarcticabar.com/

I couldn't find out why it had such a strange name although the bar was very different in character to the other drinking opportunities in the area so I can't help but suspect it is run by an ex FID. I thoroughly recommend it if your passing.

Cherry Picking

2007-09-28T09:07:00.000Z

One of the more fun courses is the 'elevated platform' course. Two days at Cambridge mostly out in the back yard on a cherry picker. It is a simple course with very little theory so a great one to have towards the end when your all washed out.

There is a mini exam of 20 multiple guess questions regarding safety. Hard not to get full marks if you read the questions correctly. Then out to the yard to have a go on the machine. BAS has an old electric trailer type platform which we train on. It goes up to about the second floor height and swings out over the top of roofs etc. Great fun. I recommend taking rough clothes and a pair of old gloves.

very very very very old ice

2007-09-12T16:37:00.000Z

I had an amazing experience today. It felt like a life defining moment. Certainly a realisation of what I had become a part of. It happened as I was handed a piece of ice.

During the week long BAS conference we had a talk from each of the three main science departments. One of the talks was from a doctor who was part of the team ice core drilling on the Antarctic Peninsula. He talked passionately about what he had done in his career with BAS to date, and what he hopes to do this coming season. He showed un-deniable evidence that the global warming currently taking place is as a result of man, and that it is not the same as past warming/cooling episodes. This is the kind of evidence that may once have a dramatic effect on governments decisions and the future of our planet.

The ice handed around was a splinter from the last core taken. It fizzed as it warmed in my hand. The tiny air bubbles were liberated as the ice melted. It is these gas bubbles, formed as the ice was created that tell us what the environment was like back then. This piece of ice was 40,000 years old. It was an honour that he had gone to the trouble to bring the ice to the talk.

I realised afterwards that it was this kind of expert that I studied at university almost a decade ago. The sort of person you looked up to whilst researching an overdue essay was going to be working along side us. More to the point, these people will depend on me to make their work happen. Makes you think...........

Novell Netware Course

2007-09-07T16:21:00.000Z

You might be thinking that this is the kind of title that doesn't fill you with anticipation of the treats and excitement that might follow. You would be right. By far the most IT nerdy course on the list, this is a week in rural Bristol learning about the aged operating system that many public sector organisations use to run their networks.

Novell is the betamax of the networking world. Microsoft joined the networking market much later in the day and as such didn't for many years have a superior product. However, after being on the course it is clear that Novell is a slowly dying beast. Little things like the fact that the course was very hard to find and that the guy giving the course is preparing for growing his prize winning marrows during retirement make you wonder. That said, what there is of Novell is a good simple system for controlling a network. It does what it says on the tin.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the course is it's location. It is the only week spent in a stately home! The house has been transformed into one of those wedding/conference/IT training establishments. Amazing views of the reservoir in the valley below and a very British way of having afternoon tea, in the west garden. Watch out for the beer at £3.50 a bottle of Butcombe Gold.

It was also another occasion to get to know one of the team a bit better. One of the quieter IT bods came along. For a lot of people you have to delve deep to find the real person. This guy is very much like that. After a few nights of beer I was treated to learning about a different point of view, a different background, a different future. One thing is for sure is that each person I've met at BAS so far is a very different character. I guess I add to this list.

INMARSAT + Skanti HF Course

2007-08-26T20:38:00.000Z

This last week I've been 'getting my hands dirty'. There are a couple of older technologies we use down south, the old satellitecomms system and the HF radio. They are still in place and need maintaining and so this course is all about maintaining, operating and troubleshooting.

It was a game of two halves. The first two days spent operating and engineering the old satellite system. The dish rotates in 3 dimensions to track the satellite within a big dome (see right). This means that as a ship moves over waves the dish always points directly at the satellite. Fantastic bit of kit.

You have to know how to locate all the different parts and fix faults. Loads of circuit boards everywhere. I made a call from the office in Redhill via the satellite over the Indian Ocean down to Perth, Australia and across the world back to Redhill. Tens of thousands of miles, so many different technologies and all to agree it was time for lunch.

This is old technology now but a good backup to the other forms of comms that we have down there. We are obliged to have multiple emergency comms methods. Recent glitches in the modern kit has bought this old beast back into use.

Second half of the course was dedicated to really old technology. The HF radio system. This is used for long distance radio communications to ships, planes and field parties. The radio system is massive comprising of four units cabled together. I can only lift two of them. Inside there are loads of circuit boards transmitting hundreds of watts of power out of the antenna. Since it is old tech you can roughly understand how it all works. No black boxes and very few chips. I got to use an oscilloscope to observe the signals and learnt loads about fundamentals of electronics.

I wonder if I'll ever use the stuff I learnt this week?..........

VSAT Course - Aberdeen

2007-08-23T16:55:00.000Z

The second of the satellite themed courses takes place in sunny Aberdeen. This is where all the comms from Antarctica land in the UK after travelling around 80,000 miles via a geo-stationary satellite. This is a shorter course aimed at learning how to use the modern equipment. It is a world apart from the INMARSAT kit. With this kit we can have internet connections not too different to what you would expect at home. Although, all phone, science data, email and browsing activities go over this same pipe.

The hardest part of using modern satellite comms, and therefore the main focus of this course, is pointing the dish in the right direction. While working out the rough azimuth and elevation is easy, exact positioning is much harder. If the dish points 10mm or so out of the correction position you get nothing. Even worse, you are likely to be transmitting to another satellite and will receive irate communications eventually. To make it harder, Antarctic conditions mean that you have tighten all bolts up really well and so as you tighten the directional adjustments, you naturally change the position slightly.

To help you get it right you have a spectrum analyser which shows on a screen what frequencies are being received. Get the exact one your looking for on the screen and move the dish around until you get the best signal. That's the short version. In practise it can take hours of searching to find the target. All whilst in the dark at -20. I guess if it was easy anyone could do my job.

Aberdeen itself is a nice looking place. The course takes place out of town and a short walk from the hotel and pub. So the only chance to see the area is from the 20min taxi ride to the airport. Good pub with real ales is a welcome site in Scotland.

Birds Eye View

2007-08-14T21:56:00.000Z

I found a really amazing view of the base I will be on. A high resolution image is available within Google earth/maps. It can be seen at: http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=1458&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=-67.564709,-68.133885&z=16

You can even see two people walking in the snow, the new building being built and a single skido track up the ski run. The Rothera image is from a winter photo as seen by the ice that surrounds the runway. If you move a little away you see the adjacent image is from a summer shot with open water. An interesting contrast showing how different the landscape looks between summer and winter.

Mast Climbing & Rescue

2007-08-08T19:17:00.000Z

Last week was probably the most exciting training course I've been on. For years I've established mechanisms for staying awake (or appearing to) during IT training sessions. Climbing around the arms of a Pylon does not require such techniques.

The week is run in Taunton by the local electricity network company. The week is spent mostly 'on the job' learning how to climb masts and structures safely. You get to know all the equipment inside out (because if you don't you fall off). Later on in the week you learn how to rescue someone who has got into bother up a mast. In our case, a local lady called dolly was happy to be rescued by as all. I did wish she didn't weigh 16 stone though. In this pic you can see her quietly waiting for one of us to attach safety equipment and lower her to safety.

It was sooo hot. Sunshine all week which didn't go so well with my black boiler suit, hard hat, climbing hardness, large boots and gloves. First time I've had to hand clothes out to dry before they are washed.

The week on location was all done on pylons but in the second part to the course, run at BAS HQ, we erected a radio mast similar to ones I'll be working on down south. This was a great chance to learn how important the tensions in the 'stays' or guy ropes are. Its a great day in the office when you can spend it dangling on top of a 20cm triangular mast at 20m from the ground.

As a treat to the hard work over the first week we were given the opportunity to climb the giant comms mast down in Taunton. The one that anyone can see from the M5 J25 or from the Quontoxs etc. It is 62m high with a single ladder all the way up the middle. The second photo shows the path down if you miss a rung.

We stayed in a really nice hotel near the training site and made good use of the facilities (bar). It was a brilliant week and I'd recommend to anyone who gets the chance.

House Sitter Wanted

2007-07-22T16:01:00.002Z

One little obstacle I need to get over before I go south is to find someone to move into my house. Not an easy task. Early on, before I started looking for someone my next door neighbours daughter took an interest. It looked like the perfect arrangement until she decided last week she wasn't interest. Bugger!

So I now need to Search for someone who wants a bargain place to live for a year and a half. If anyone knows someone who would like a small house near Farnham for half the normal cost, send me a comment.

Long Range Radio

2007-07-19T13:32:00.000Z

<-- Pirate Radio

I've just finished my first course. The Long Range Radio course. This involves five days at the UK Sailing Association training office in Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was a lot of hard work but great fun at the same time.

The course is all about using radios whilst at sea, particularly for when your sinking (mayday, mayday....). v strange being back in the classroom again. There were 10 on the course, all but myself were there for 22 weeks doing a yacht master course. Usually, they go out on the beer at any excuse but it seems they chose this week to be the detox week. Mainly due to the fact that learning involved 2-3 hours after class.

The course itself taught about different types of radio propagation, equipment, rules of usage, how to talk correctly (never use the word 'repeat' on the radio) and an additional module about marine satellite systems (INMARSAT-C for those in the know). Knowing the phonetic alphabet before hand really helps.

Day five was all exam. An external examiner gave us our paper at 0900 consisting of three pages of written questions & ten multiple choice. Second part was the 'R/T exercise'. A role play where a mayday was received and relayed by the coast guard and each person had to call in on the radio to offer assistance. every word spoken had to be correct and the ships radio log had to filled out perfectly. Every hand in the place was trembling during this half hour. Finally, there was the practical. Half an hour one-on-one with the examiner (known as the witch) where you are asked to control and test each of the pieces of equipment. From VHF transceiver, NAVTEX, HF transceiver, EPIRM, SART and SAT-C simulator. The exam was very scary going into it because everything was riding on the pass. Failure wasn't really an option as this would mean no license to use radio equipment. I studied hard and so knew my stuff. I got through without issue and got my ticket. Sooooo relieved and big smiles. I really wanted a beer but had to drive home over two ferries and up the M3.

My advice for anyone doing this course is to read about INMARSAT and radio fundementals before starting. There was so much to learn and those that struggled were those with no prior knowledge.

Course info at: http://www.marineradio.co.uk/lrc.html

Driving Sucks

2007-06-26T19:21:00.000Z

Its about 100 miles door to door from Farnham to BAS. Most of which is the M25. I've done it a few times now and I'm really starting to hate it. Having got the list of courses and schedule I'm starting to wish I'd sorted out some accommodation in Cambridge for the summer. That said, it would have been sooooo hard to rent out my house and move to Cambridge before the job started. I guess its the burden of owning a house. From the start of September I'm booked out on courses etc. So I reckon I can move out by then.

I'm in 'discussions' with a lady I know who might want to move in. This would be just about the right time. The interest rate for my mortgage is about to rise again, with more on the way. So I reckon I'll have to rent the house if I don't want to go into savings.

You don't think about these things when you sign up...... :)

List of Courses

2007-06-20T13:09:00.000Z

I've sorted out the list of courses I am going to attend in prep for the job down south:

Long Range Radio - Cowes, IoW - This is a course about the official use of marine radio
CAA Radio Course - BAS - The Civil Aviation radio course. Correct operator usage
Mast Climbing - Taunton - Climbing, building and rescuing from antenna masts. With a 3 day practice at Cambridge.
Presentation Skills - BAS - I don't think its normal to go on this but it was available so I'm booked on it.
HF/IMNARSAT - Redhill - 2 days maintaining HF rigs and 2 days on the IMNARSAT
VSAT - Aberdeen - A 1 day course on the main satalite based comms used at Rothera
Novell Netware - Bristol - A week long course learning all about the main network system at BAS.
Field Course - Derbyshire - A BAS run field course learning basic skills for use out on the ice.
Conference - A week long residential near to BAS where all information about life south is explained. Every person going south will be there so it will be where I meet the other BB contestants. This also includes a short first aid course.

First Day (really)

2007-06-19T15:27:00.000Z

Today was my first day in the office. I travelled up to Cambridge last night and stayed at the B&B. The least said about the B&B the better. I would describe it as 'functional'.

First impressions:

a really nice bunch of people
very different way of working to the corporate world I know
a huge amount of intelligence/expertise
SO much to learn!

It was great to finally shake hands with the new boss (Chris Hill) which re-enforced my impression of him whilst talking over the fun. He is extremely supportive and knowledgeable. He set me at ease of my first day such that there were no first day nerves at all.

One of the first things we did (after an hours induction from HR) was to run over the schedule. Between no and the travel date there are about 16 weeks. They are all full with courses or other activities apart from two. I found out that I have up to 11 days leave which must be taken before the Antarctic section of the job. In other words, a full schedule.

From the 8th of October until the fly date, embarkation leave takes place. This is where I am officially on leave in order to sort all the final issues out such as selling my car and packing. This is outside of the 11 days leave. In reality I have so much to read and learn that I think a lot of the days will be spent with my head in a book.

I've also learnt that I can send a large box of personal effects down to Rothera if I get it to Cambridge by August (when the ship cargo gets sent). I didn't think this would be possible and that I would be restricted to air luggage only. It opens up all sorts of possibilities of activities to do over the winter period. My initial thoughts are that I don't have that much stuff to send.

What would you send to Antarctica to use over the winter? comment me!

Accomodation

2007-06-16T12:56:00.000Z

Being extremely organised I now have the pleasure of booking the accommodation I will need next week whilst staying in Cambridge. Since I own a house near Guildford, I don't have the option to stop renting in the old area and start renting in Cambridge. To start with I'll stay the few nights needed close to BAS in B&B or similar.

This is where the problem starts. Cambridge is a popular place it seems. Especially so at the end of the university term. As a result there is very little accommodation available and what there is costs in the region of £40-60. A week at this kind of money would start to hurt. I have found one B&B close to BAS which does rooms for £25 a night. I found this using www.hostelbooker.com.

It is called Bharat Timor Rumah and the address is 20 Thornton Close, Girton, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 ONQ

Its about 3 minute drive or a 4 mile walk door to door.

The only other alternative is camping which I have found can be about £8 a night. The long term solution will depend on the number of nights I end up staying up in Cambridge.

First Day (almost)

2007-06-15T12:47:00.000Z

As a result of the shortage of trade labour in the south east, my new bathroom was booked and paid for at the start of the year. Half way through the wait, I was offered the role at BAS. So my first communication with my new line manager was to request a day's leave.

Luckily the new boss, Chris Hill, appears to be a really nice guy and was very accommodating. He had no problem with me starting the next day so that I could sort of the impending chaos. So I am now going to start on Tuesday 19th July.

Leaving doo

2007-06-14T18:18:00.000Z

What a day! Most leaving doo's last for a couple of hours down the local near the office. My last day was action packed from 9AM through to closing time. A credit to the team I worked with.

It was a game of two halves. First was the day of adventure. Adrian my boss organised a corporate event style day based around the new forest. In the morning I was taken around the Solent on an an extremely fast Rib. We visited the Isle of White and had some fun wake bording. It was the first time I'd visited the island and I learnt a lot about navigating around busy marine ports. It is a beatiful part of the world.

After a massive pub lunch, we headed into the New Forrest for an afternoon of high rope action. At an outdoor education centre we were given challenges which mostly involved climbing and balancing and falling. Three things I had mastered over the years as a climber. It was great spending time with my team outside of the work environment.

The final part of the day took place at night in the picturesque town of Fleet, Hampshire. Here we all drank beer, eat a hearty meal and dressed as penguins. A normal night out?

This is me enjoying a local brew. The costume was a leaving present which I shall treasure. Very funny and appropriate. Much amusement from the locals too.

I shall miss my colleagues and look forward to meeting new good people.

All Good Things Come To An End

2007-06-12T19:21:00.000Z

This is the part of the process where it all starts to become very real. Previous to this week, my move to the ice has consisted of paperwork, interviews and organisation. A lot of talk but outside of this life has continued as normal. I've 'enjoyed' rush hour tube rides, wild flower spotting on the M25 and large periods of time wondering 'why'. This is the week I finish my job.

Not just a simple process at the end of a Friday in the office, this week has been a milestone every day.

Monday - Final commute to London, final customer meeting
Tuesday - Final work day in the office, permanent out-of-office set
Wednesday - Leaving do
Thursday - Official final day
Friday - First day of being unemployed

It will be very strange having a day where I have no employment. I get to watch Trisha and eat any flavor pot noodle I like.

What would you do with a single day of unemployment?

I thought this week would be the scary part. Leaving a well paid job where I am comfortable in my skills and abilities. The unknown ahead of me where I have no idea what the next week will include, let alone the next year. A 71% pay cut! But in reality it feels good. Liberating. I guess I would not be doing this project if I didn't have some sort of spirit of adventure and I've realised this spirit can help in many aspects of life in general. So now, as the final days tick by, I'm looking forward rather than behind. And with a smile on my face.

I've passed!

2007-06-10T19:28:00.000Z

I've just got back from my visit to the Natural History Museum. It was a fun day out although not quite what I expected.

The exhibition (costing £7) was very much aimed at children. Not so much exhibits but fun things to do. To the left is me wearing an standard issue BAS jacket.

Each section involved a game of some sort such as a video game where you collect meteors on a Skidoo. Below you can see Mary riding a real Skidoo in front of the game version. All great fun and very well put together. The bar code on the ticket was used to engage the exhibits and track your progress.

If you did well you 'graduated' and were allowed to select your role in Antarctica. I'm proud to say that I passed although the job they chose for me was mountaineer. I hope there isn't a live feed back to HR in Cambridge.

One interesting part of the exhibit was a series of short videos made by people working south. Clips of people working in heavy weather and experiencing parts of their job for the first time. It made me realise that everyone down there is experiencing it all for the first time. There isn't really a concept of the new boy.

They have re-enforced those things that everyone seems to say that they miss. Fresh produce and home. At the same time, I still think it is very hard to know what will go on inside my head. All part of the adventure.

Ice Station Antarctica

2007-06-04T12:00:00.000Z

There is a new exhibition on at the Natural History museum in London. Take a look at the website

It's subject is the poeple working on the ice rather than the science of Antarctica itself which is an interesting twist. There is a -10C room and a stinking Penguin Collony. I've booked tickets for this Sunday. It will be strange for me as I'll be going to view my new office environment. Hopefully I won't see anything that will cause panic. I'll post my opinion next week.

Welcome to my Antarctic blog!

2007-06-03T21:48:00.000Z

This blog is inteneded to be a glimpse into the life and adventure of a British Antarctic Survey Communication Manager. Otherwise known as the IT guy on the ice.

I spent a huge amount of time and effort deciding whether to apply and then accept the role. Part of the difficulty was trying to work out if life south would work for me. There was a lot of general information about the practical aspects of life on the ice but little about what it was like from a personal perspective.

I start the job on the 19th June 2007 in Cambridge and if all goes well I'll keep a regular update on what I'm up to. If I don't, please nudge me with a comment