******************************************************* COMMUNICATIONS & COMPUTERS ******************************************************* ************************************* COMMUNICATIONS ************************************* ********************* EFFECT OF WEATHER ********************* __________ QUESTION: Can a blizzard stop communications? ANSWER from Terry Trimingham on January 16, 1995 No, a blizzard will not stop communication. Here in McMurdo we talk to the outside world via telephones, satellites, and high frequency radio. High frequency radio can be affected by severe weather, but generally not for long. **************************** COMMUNICATION FAILURES **************************** __________ QUESTION: What happens if you lose radio contact with headquarters? What kind of systems do you have to deal with communication failure emergencies? ANSWER from Terry Trimingham, Antarctica, on December 18, 1994 When science groups go out "in the field" to do research, they typically carry radios, extra batteries, and solar panels for recharging the batteries. Radios are their only link to McMurdo (which I am equating to "headquarters.") My job here in the Field Operation Communications Center (FOCC) is to take daily check-ins from science groups who are out working in field locations. If they don't check in once in 24 hours, I notify the Antarctic Duty Officer in the Navy here and ask other stations (i.e., South Pole) to help us listen. After 72 hours if we don't hear from the science group we assume that there is trouble and the ADO will decide whether or not to call out a search and rescue team for them. Scientists who go to very remote areas are also given SARSAT beacons in addition to their radios. These beacons are small enough to be worn on a belt, and transmit data to satellites. There are two different kinds of beacons; each one uses a different frequency. Satellites picking up data on one frequency send it to New Zealand, where it is in turn piped to Australia for analysis, then back to New Zealand. New Zealand has a base (Scott Base) very close to McMurdo, and information relative to the beacon is telephoned to Scott Base and then passed to McMurdo via telephone. Satellites picking up data on the other frequency transmit the information to NOAA, which is in turn sent to McMurdo via fax and telex. Thus, if you are a scientist doing research at a remote field camp and your radio failed, you could rely on the FOCC (where I work) to notice something is wrong and set the wheels in motion to help you. McMurdo itself does not rely just on radios for communication with the rest of the world. As mentioned above, we are capable of sending and receiving faxes and telexes. We also have two different satellites providing telephone links, and use Internet connectivity for being in touch with other parts of the world via e-mail. In addition, the U.S. Navy supports McMurdo with a regular postal service (Navy planes carry mail between McMurdo and Christchurch) and provides staff for the MARS program here (Military Affiliated Radio Service). MARS is used mostly for morale, messages are sent home and received via ham radio equipment, but it exists to provide back-up communications in the case of an emergency. The building I work in has its own emergency back-up generator that will supply power independently from the power plant in case the power plant ever fails. Aside from keeping in contact with field parties, can you think of a reason why McMurdo should continue to have radio operations if we have satellites, Internet, telephones, faxes and telexes? ******************************** COMMUNICATIONS IN THE FIELD ******************************** __________ QUESTION: What kinds of communication equipment do scientists take with them when going into isolated areas? ANSWER from Terry Trimingham on December 17, 1994 When scientists go out to remote areas it is very important that they have a way of communicating with the support back here in McMurdo. They are required to call in once a day and report that everything is going well. If they don't call in every 24 hours, it is assumed that something is wrong, and we start to worry. If a group goes as long as 48 hours without reporting in, we will send out a search and rescue team to check and make sure they are okay. Each group that goes out will take radios. There are two kinds of radios we use here, and most groups take out both kinds: High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF). We use Transworld PRC-1099 radios for HF, and Motorola MX-300R for the VHF. HF radios send out signals that bounce off of the ionosphere and are able to reach pretty much around the world, certainly across the continent of Antarctica. VHF radios will only communicate via "line of sight," in other words, if you were to take a VHF radio and go behind a big hill, you wouldn't be able to talk to someone standing on the other side of the hill. There can't be anything between you and the person you are trying to talk with. Can you think of a reason why the scientists would use VHF radios out in the remote areas they go to? Staff in the Field Operation Communications Center stand by the radios and make sure everyone checks in once a day and is okay. Of the two kinds of radios used, which one do you think the Communications Center uses to speak with the scientists? ****************** LIVE TELEVISION ****************** __________ QUESTION: How long have you had live TV transmission at McMurdo (e.g., for the Superbowl)? ANSWER from Terry Trimingham on February 5, 1995: Live TV transmission came to McMurdo only recently. Last summer (Oct. '93-Feb. '94) it was experimented with, and this summer it became a full-time TV station at McMurdo. We get live programming that is channeled to us by the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) in Los Angeles, CA. Before the live TV channel was an option, the AFRTS detachment here in McMurdo programmed 2 channels with taped programs and movies. To watch the Superbowl we had to wait for someone back home to tape it and send it down. ****************************************** COMPUTERS ****************************************** ******************** COMPUTER REPAIRS ******************** __________ QUESTION: How do you fix computers and equipment when it breaks? ANSWER from Chris Hanson on December 28, 1994: It's really not much different from fixing computers in the Real World, except the nearest Radio Shack is 5000 miles away. Every piece of computer gear that comes down here is supposed to be accompanied by sufficient spare parts to keep it running. We have enough spare parts for our 486 computers to build a few new computers from scratch! Depending on the age or unimportance of some equipment, we may not have any spare parts, or we may be permanently out of spares. Our older Compaq desktop computers and ALPS printers no longer have certain spare parts available, so when one breaks down we steal parts from other broken ones to fix it. Sometimes the beekers (scientists) bring down computers and peripherals of their own, which we are not alerted to. We rarely have parts to fix these, though we give it out best shot if it comes down to it. The beekers ARE the reason we're all down here working. ****************************** NUMBER OF COMPUTERS USED ****************************** __________ QUESTION: How many computers does it take to run this operation? ANSWER from Chris Hanson on February 12, 1995 That's kind of a tricky question. I'm not sure how many computers are in operation at the Pole, but I'd guess it's between 12 and 25. (I've never been there myself, yet.) Palmer probably has the same number. McMurdo has a bunch. We have around 100 486 computers, and another 250-300 386 and other computers. Some of these are '85- vintage 'laptop' computers that scientists take to the field to use as instrument monitoring gear. We also have half a dozen Sun Microsystems Sparc workstations, a Silicon Graphics Indigo R3000, 20 or so Macs, and seven Compaq 486 Novell file servers. Almost all of the machines are networked via ethernet hubs, which in turn are connected to a 100-Mb/s FDDI fiber-optic ring. To round out our diverse complement of computer systems, there are two Amiga 3000s in the computer tech office. They're not owned by the USAP, but were brought here by the PC Techs because we like 'em so much.