Tuesday 6th August 2013

It was another lovely day today with no wind and it was snowing most of the day. I spent the morning doing the usual emails and making a few calls. After smoko I did a bit of work in the hydroponics hut checking the fertiliser concentrations and refilling the storage tanks. The place is now like a jungle and we regularly prune heaps of vegetation just so we can move around in there. So far this season we have produced 80.4 kilograms of food and we are on track to beat last year’s total of 150. The cherry tomatoes are my favourite and the lettuce is pretty good too.

The rest of the day and night was spent working on the interface to the Quadra amplifier. I must have spent ten hours on it and still had no joy in getting it to work. I am determined not to let it beat me, but I might take some time away from it to regather my thoughts. The problem is this amplifier is a Barrett 2075 which is basically a rebadged Yaesu FL-1000 Quadra. Barrett has changed the band switching from parallel BCD to serial 16-bit I2C-bus. I am attempting to bypass the serial and connect directly to the internal Quadra Band-Data 2 parallel BCD connection but the amplifier is very difficult to work on. Also when you read things like this about the connection diagrams in the Quadra manual “It is known that the Band Data 1 connection information from the Yaesu Quadra manual is incorrect in at least some instances. So proceed with caution until the Band Data 1 connection information is verified” it makes you wonder that any one has succeeded in interfacing this amplifier to anything? As well as this I am using a third party software program that seems to be working OK but I can’t get the band change data out of the PC parallel port. Never mind, I’m sure I will figure it out shortly.

Tomorrow I was planning to go to Auster Emperor Penguin rookery for the day but with the way the weather is today I think I will postpone the trip for finer conditions.                             

These ads have started to appear in our news papers and we are getting nervous about whether they will let us back in to Australia?

Monday 5th August 2013

This morning I worked from my room getting all my emails out of the way then working on my work plan for August. I have been appointed the title of “Antarctic returning Officer” for the Australian Electoral Office so I had to fill out a couple of forms for them so they can do their checks to make sure I haven’t worked in third world countries rigging votes for dictators. Early in the morning there was a mass of ice crystals on the mess windows with an awesome sun rise in the back ground. I tried to get some photos of them, but without having a macro lens it was very difficult. After lunch for Saturday duties, Chris and I did the gash run. (Taking all the rubbish down to Warren to be burnt). After work I went down to the ham shack to try and figure out how to interface to the Yaesu Quadra FL-1000 amplifier to my Flex5k. I'm a little closer now, I have a circuit for the cable connection and I will make it up tomorrow and see if I can get them talking to each other.

Here are some interesting statistics about our wind turbines for the last twelve months.

Period	Wind Energy [kWh]	Wind Penetration %	Fuel Saved [L]	CO2 Saved [Tonnes]
Jul-12	130749	32.0	20797	54
Aug-12	169109	42.0	27134	71
Sep-12	136434	36.3	21896	57
Oct-12	114037	33.8	18978	50
Nov-12	135108	48.6	22101	58
Dec-12	95429	37.8	14564	38
Jan-13	77282	37.6	17665	46
Feb-13	126438	48.7	20769	54
Mar-13	150378	43.3	23668	62
Apr-13	160680	42.9	24682	64
May-13	173764	40.8	26117	68
Jun-13	152754	40.5	24592	64
	Total	Average	Total	Total
	1622162	40.4	262963	686

Mystery solved after 53 years of the Historic Norwegian Sledge and Cache found on the Robinson Islands, Mawson Coast, August 2007

I am a second generation Mawson expeditioner as my step father Bill Kellas wintered at Mawson as a Bureau of Meteorology observer in 1960. Unfortunately Bill died during my sail down so I didn’t get to share my Antarctic experience with him.

To get a feel of what life was like for my step father down here at Mawson station in 1960 I have been reading the diary of George Cresswell who was Bill’s best friend, and fellow expeditioner. I have found Georges diary fascinating to compare life back then to my present time expedition and we regularly communicate as I ask George question about the past.

Being interested in the history of Mawson station around 1960 led me to stumble across a document titled “Report on Retrieval of Historic Norwegian Sledge and Cache from the Robinson Islands, Mawson Coast, August 2007” by Dr Gary Dowse, Station Leader, Mawson 2007.

I thought the report was very interesting and I was surprised that no one knew the history of where the Norwegian Sledge and Cache came from. The Historic Norwegian Sledge is still here at Mawson and I have looked at it many times and recently when I walked past it I recalled a very brief paragraph in George’s 1960 diary mentioning the recovery of a Norwegian Sledge.

8 Nov 1960

Henk, Syd and Bryl had tried to get out to the caravan (17 miles north) in the Jeep. They got stopped by soft snow and the coil on the Jeep packed up too.

Henk wanted to retrieve worthwhile bits off the caravan and also the Norwegian sled that it was mounted on.

Bill D, he and I flew up in the Beaver with GD

We had to walk a mile to the caravan into a biting, cold wind, although only 10-15 knots. We stripped the caravan, loaded everything onto the sled, and towed same ¾ mile to the nearest island – not easy.

We took off most of the stuff and dragged the sled up onto the island.

Then had a walk around and saw seals and pups. Henk fell through a hole in the ice.

GD picked us up at 2. I had to carry a heavy toolbox on my shoulder for ½ mile

I followed my hunch up with George and he also contacted the remaining 1960 expeditioners to see if they recalled the events. While waiting for an answer I read through the 1960 Mawson station log book kept by OIC Henk Geysen and came across the exact event. I also found the same event documented in the field report dated 2^nd to 6^th November 1960.

 

 

 

 

 

Grayham Dyke who was one of the pilots at Mawson station in 1960 emailed to confirm the following; “I checked my logbook and can confirm that on the 8th November I flew to pick up a man haul party”
Then Robert Merrick emailed with a very comical account of the event which was written in the Mawson station news paper “Katabatic” at the time of the event.

“Adding to George's diary report, Katabatic reported in its honest and forthright way about the salvage operations:

"Following an abortive effort to reach the site of the rapidly sinking caravan and Norwegian sled by WM, Jungle and Bril in the Jeep, experts were called in. They were Dick and Cresswell. Feeling that a Sherpa was warranted for the operation they chose the amiable Geysen.

Tuesday at 1015hrs saw the trio landed by Beaver by the fearless aviator Dyke on thin ice merely an ICBM distance downwind from the caravan.

The trio set off toward, reached, stripped and chopped holes in the caravan.

Everything of value was salvaged. All that remained was to pull the Norwegian sled minus the caravan over to the nearby island. So that it would not go too fast and overhaul the haulers, such items as the Trewella jack, chain blocks, crowbars and toolboxes were thoughtfully placed on the sled by star man hauler Dick. The island was reached some 40000 calories later and all loot deposited. The inevitable cairn was built and then the salvagers amused themselves watching Adelies mating. Sherpa Geysen later fell thru the sea ice but (to quote the newsletter) was fortunately unhurt.

GD came back later and the party returned to Mawson."

So finally after 53 years, the mystery of the Historic Norwegian Sledge and Cache discovered at the Robinson Islands has been solved.

I would like to thank the following people;

George Cresswell

Dave McCormack

Robert Merrick

Grayham Dyke

Syd Kirby

Terry Elkins

Sunday 4th August 2013

Today was once again perfect weather at -28c and no wind and it was killing me sitting around and not being out somewhere enjoying it. I just wish I could head out on my own for a while but the fun police won’t have a part of that. So after a very relaxing morning I wandered down to the ham shack and decided to have another look at my sick radio. After messing about for a few hours I found a way to use SSB voice by using software to kill the PTT. It’s a bit rough and clunky, but it works and allows me to use phone once again so I am back in business.

The next thing I did was down load WSJT – HF and after I painstakingly set it up I made a few contacts and found it to be so much better and easier to use than the moon bounce version I had been using. Wow, so far so good, two down and one to go. I want to try and interface my Flex5K with the Yaesu Quadra FL-1000 amplifier. I down loaded a utility program called DDUtil that will output my Flex5k band data in BCD code on the PC parallel port to hopefully control the amplifier. It’s got potential, but I won’t know for sure till I make up a cable tomorrow and do a lot more playing around.

While I was messing about doing this I heard my close neighbour from Perth on the radio so I gave him a call and we had a chat for a while. After talking to Ken I had a chat with a bloke in Victoria but I had to cut it short as I was needing a drink and a feed as I had hardly eaten or drank anything all day.

I spent the rest of the evening working on my blog and answering more emails. Keldyn called and said there was a movie just about to start in the cinema so I wandered up to take a look. I was a Japanese horror movie and I lasted about ten minutes before walking out. I worked on my blog till very late into the evening. There was a lot of auroral activity going on outside when I crawled into bed but I was too tied to gear up and go outside to photograph them.
 

 

The new climbing wall taking shape in the green store

 

 

The JCB

 

 

A couple of cranes used for construction and resupply

Saturday 3rd August 2013

Again the weather was perfect today, -28c and no wind. Pete L, Pete C and Cliff headed off to Auster rookery for the weekend. I tried to organise a trip out to Bechevaise Island for the night just to get away and do some exploring around the Islands while the weather was so good but unfortunately no one was interested. There is an inter station 48 hour film festable going on and quite a few blokes are messing around with that.

Reluctantly I stayed in my room and forced myself to get through a back log of emails that have accumulated and got out of hand over the past week or two. With that out of the way I went down to the ham shack in the afternoon and made a dozen or so contacts using the very sensitive terrestrial digital mode JT65A. After dinner I took a bottle of Champaign and my book down to the red shed and had a lovely relaxing spa for an hour and a half and then read my book till late in the night.

Smoke from the main power house going straight up

Magnificent sun rises happening regularly

Friday 2nd August 2013

Again the weather was perfect today, -28c and no wind. I could quite easy get used to this weather. I spent the morning processing emails about my monthly report. After smoko, Peter L, Cliff and I went for a recce out to Bechevaise Island to check things out for some upcoming work out there. Peter has to remove the white googlie which is to be RTA’d while I have to replace the junction box and all the electronics that contains the battery charger and radio transmitter for all the communications back to the station. Bechevaise Island camp is used by biologists to study Adélie penguins during the summer and is quite a large camp containing four huts. After we had sussed it out and taken many photos it was time to head back to the station. Later I processed some of the tide gauge photos ready to be laminated and after work I had a spa and read my book for a while.

With the weather so good I tried to organise a trip to climb Rumdoodle with John for the weekend but last minute he called it off till next week so Keldyn can go. I just hope the weather holds out. After dinner we watched “The hangover” and “The hangover 2” which was a good laugh.

Thursday 1st August 2013

Today was once again perfect weather at -28c and with zero wind. While conditions were so clear I went down onto the sea ice and took a new set of tide gauge photos. These will be real handy to the next bloke who has to find it. After this with the help of the electricians we changed out the UPS in the ANARESAT building to a newer model. In the afternoon I spent the rest of the day writing my monthly report.

It was a very busy month and I got a lot achieved. After diner was the foreign movie night.