March 28, 2005
The Palomar Observatory Link to HPWREN has been Upgraded to an FCC-Licensed Band
To increase the reliability and predictability of the link to
the Palomar Observatory, the California Institute of Technology
provided equipment funding and staff support to upgrade the 5.8GHz
45Mbps full-duplex HPWREN link to FCC-licensed 6GHz band radios. This
will help address issues of interference in the previously used
license-exempt band. It will also help with weather related impacts,
especially due to inversion layers in summer months, based on the
slightly wider beam and higher radio power.
The eight-foot 5.8GHz antenna is being removed with a fork lift
on a tractor.
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The tractor is moving the eight foot antenna for storage to the first
floor of the 200-inch telescope building.
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The old antenna is stored in the telescope dome building, and
the previously assembled six-foot antenna for the new FCC-licensed
link is brought to the HPWREN access site at the 48-inch telescope
on the Observatory grounds.
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The installation team moves the antenna to the pole,
utilizing the tractor-based forklift.
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The new antenna for the FCC-licensed link is installed, with the radio
near the top of the pole.
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The support equipment inside the 48-inch telescope dome shows
radio components, a network measurement computer, a router, and an
Ethernet switch, with a UPS standing next to the rack.
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At the Cuyamaca Mountains HPWREN relay site the old 8-foot
antenna is being removed, supported by Dan Zieber and Ron Serabia with
the ropes, Jim Hale on the ladder, and Bud Hale operating the winch.
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After the antenna is mounted onto the pole, Jim Hale, supported
by Bud Hale, is providing for the initial antenna alignment.
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The Cuyamaca Mountains end of the Palomar Observatory link is finished
and ready to be used.
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Following a final antenna alignment at the Palomar Observatory, the
FCC-licensed 45Mbps full-duplex link became fully operational, and has
already weathered a storm.
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"The new upgrade to the Palomar Observatory's node in HPWREN is
of vital importance to the Observatory's scientific mission," said
W. Scott Kardel, Public Affairs Coordinator, Palomar Observatory.
"Modern facilities at the observatory include robotic telescopes
that gather their own data and telescopes that need to be controlled
remotely in real time. Data and commands travel back and forth via
the network. The new equipment improves the bandwidth and reliability
of these communications. In the future we expect to add an additional
link into the HPWREN network for additional capacity and to ensure
uninterrupted astronomical observations."
More installation photos can be found at
/Photos/20050321/ and
/Photos/20050322/.
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