Hey /out/ There is a remote location that needs power. Helicopter

>>652057
My first thought is what is it you need to power? How many watts is the total of what you'll be using in that location?

What are you fueling the generator with, if anything and what kind of generator is it?

>>652059
Need to power a radio communications system.
It's for a rural firedepartment, school district, first responders. It's gone out at the worst possible time.

5 to 24watts.

Gasoline generator. It has been used at high altitude before.

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>>652060
Ah... been there, done that.
Tracked ATV might be a better choice over a snowmobile, depending on the terrain and amount of snow.

Are you sure it's without power, or did a controller/repeater die? Or some other equipment failure (Combiner, antenna, feedline, power dist.)?
Do you have anything alive on the site? (POTS? IP? Microwave?)

If it's a digital (P25 or DMR) system, I'd set up a 2nd/3rd repeater temporarily and link them over IP or P2P microwave until you can get to the primary and get it back online. Slam in the codeplug the primary's got with a few tweaks (site name and IP, mostly), dial in the combiner, get an antenna up, and let 'er go for a while. FCC's usually pretty good about amending licenses in emergency situations, especially for emcomms. Primary license may even allow for that already.

District I worked with bitched and screamed about all the "extra shit" I was buying (RTCM's and power control relay modules mostly)... until "Hey, ___ equipment isn't working, when can you get up there and check it out?" ... remote in from my house, see what's going on, and had the system back up in less than 15 minutes... they quit bitching about the "extra shit" after that incident.

>>652067
Buying a tracked ATV is out of the budget. Not sure if there is anywhere we can rent one from. But it's a possibility I'll look in to.

There was a camera on site, but it was turned off to save power.

I've been monitoring the battery voltage via a microwave link. It has been a slow drop these few weeks from 13 volts to 11. Without a single day of sun to clear the solar panels. The wind turbines are out of view of the camera, but it assumed they iced up as well.

Today the phone patch glitched out (probably due to being voltage starved).

If it doesn't get power, the batteries might freeze.

The majority of users are on the analog system.


The coverage area is so large that I'm not sure if putting a couple linked standalones will be sufficient (but it's better then nothing).

Have you considered hiring a dog team. i dunno what kind of pulling capacity they have uphill, but i bet it'd be worth it. If funds are a factor, then best of luck. Just remember trappers have been doing that since time began. I guess plan your trip accordingly. You probably can't wait on the weather, but you can keep it in mind and plan accordingly. I

>>652057
>Viking rubber boats

What I wouldn't give to be hiking through the woods with a thick cover of snow on and look up to see the prow of a Viking ship pushing through the trees ahead of me, being pulled along by a man in snowshoes.

I'd pretend to be an English coastalman and let you split my head in two with an axe, just to complete the experience.

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>>652073
Is the site colocated with any other providers (AM/FM/TV, cellular, commercial radio)?
Might look into local ham radio clubs in the area too, see what tools/vehicles/manpower they have to offer.

Also, this is why solar sucks. Good for some applications, but running a radio site is not one of them. An appropriately-sized standby genset with a 200-300gal UST can run a site for a long time, and generally works more reliably than solar.

>>652057
How many days are you expecting it to take you?

>>652082
6-8 hours up. Sled down.

>>652077
Definitely putting in a generator for next year.
This site isn't shared with anyone else. The hams have ATVs (I'm a ham myself). Don't think anyone has anything with tracks.

The solar has run the site OK for the past 4+ years. It's probably the extra drain of the microwave link that's doing it in :(

>>652074
I'll look in to it.

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>>652090
>extra drain of the microwave link
Sure?
Added any talkgroups in the past few years?
Taken a look at the duty cycle on the system(s)?

System might just be getting used more, hence the additional drain on the cells.

Microwave/IP equipment is a small fraction of the power use on the sites I've dealt with. Usually 2-5 watts depending on what all the site needs.

Site in >pic related, evidently nobody that ever set foot in there had ever heard of "cable management".

>>652073
>11 volts
Bring a spare battery. Once you drop under 11, there's a good chance that the battery will be dead for good. Look into getting LiFePo4(3?) batteries. You need a special charging setup, and a way to output 12v, but they're far better for cold climates.

Do you already have the generator?

What state is this?

Why can't a helicopter get in?

Here's a retarded idea: If you want better range from small radios, attach them to some balloons and then attach them to a battery on the ground.

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>>652060
Unisolar 128.,
,, on the shortest, worst angle day of the year>pic
,weighs 20 pounds with lead wire,, loves water,, nail the edges up on a tree?
,, if you angled it to the Sun, it would Zang!

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gridtied,,installed by UmpaLumpas!

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>>652121
>>652122
bacon plz

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>>652123
install,, and forget.
,,reliability, is the issue., can a gaser compete with the Sun?

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>>652073
>solar panels
my no read,, carry on!

>>652057
#1. Why is there a school district/fire department in an area that doesn't have access to roads or reliable power, let alone access by a fucking snowmobile even?

#2. Why are you posting about this on 4chan instead of doing said job if it is as important as you describe? I call bullshit.

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>>652159
>I call bullshit.
Me too, but for a different reason:

>>652057
>It's 19km from the nearest public road.
>Probably weighs 80 or so lbs.
>14+litres of water.
...
>km
>lbs
>litres
One of these things just doesn't belong here, one of these things just isn't the same.
>pic tangentially related

>>652166
Fug. Forgot to erase name field.

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>>652159
>>652166
At first I thought it was one of those threads where they say "You enter a wildlife reserve with 500 starving kangaroos, you can only bring one knife... blah blah."

To bad because I snowshoe a lot.

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>>652169
I put my sucky camera on "snow" setting and it turned everything blue.

>>652057
Too much clothes man. You're gonna sweat like fuck.

>>652166
>km
>lbs
>litres
Naw, lots of Canadians think like this.

>>652067
May I ask where this is? I initially thought Cranbrook, BC but that looks like the eastern slope of the Rockies.

>>652057
I'm sorry but if you really need this thread, and posted it for any reason other than "HEY LOOK AT ME", you are going to die so don't go.

If you are qualified to go you would not have posted this, you would be getting your shit together and 2x checking it.

>>652057

You sound super inexperienced.

Even in sub zero temperatures as soon as you start exercising you don't need tons of insulation. Ever been skiing or boarding? You certainly won't need thermals plus two jackets and sweaters whilst hiking up a steep trail.

Similar with the water. 14l? WTF? Carry fuel, you have water all around you in the form of snow dude!

I'd also suggest you take some rope and a hand-crank. If the trail is THAT gnarly that a snow mobile can't get up it and you expect to pull 40kg+ you might find on the steepest inclines you'll have to winch it up.

Alternative is don't do it by yourself? Dogs, ATV etc seem excessive (its not THAT heavy), but I'd feel way better with a buddy if I were doing it myself.

>>652090
>6-8 hours

OK. You are clearly retarded

>>652090
Unless you are a marathon athlete I would be amazed if you could do it in 8 hours. Doing 20km on snowshoes, I'd probably expect to take twice as long, even without gear.

>>652272
Isn't snowshoeing easier when its uphill and you are carrying 100 pounds?

OP here. I bought some snow shoes, I'm going to attempt 8km on a local mountain to get a feel for it. Light snowfall. Will report back with how it goes. I'll probably be at the mountain in a couple hours.

Our pump stations always have backup generators as do many other municipal facilities especially the 911 system. Why doesn't yours?

Also, some places in the mountains hunters switch from ATVs to horses when the snow gets too high. Not the best solution but it hasn't been mentioned yet. Personally I'd rent a snowmobile.

>>652349
>>652349
Never reported back.
Assume OP is dead

;_;7

>>654796
It was obviously a bait thread you mong

>>652060

Noble cause, godspeed anon

Be sure to document your journey for us

>>652057
>80 pounds
have fun with that.

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>>652308
you need to carry 110 lbs to get the full added benefit of the snowshoes.

>>652349
Op reporting in. Just because I hate when other OPs dont update.

To get a feel for it I carried 10 liters of water, a can of beer. Food and equipment in a backpack. Strapped on my snow shows and did some hiking. I hiked uphill 6 km in exactly 3 hours. I was really trying :(. I sledded down most of the way.

>>655010
A bait thread? No. Relax. :)

>>657011
Oh, and equipment status update. Battery is at 10.9! Equipment is still running!

>>657014
Battery bank** Polite sage.

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>>657014
being so far north,, why didnt you mount your solar verticaly ,so nosnow?

>>657016

Wet snow can blow horizontally and stick to whatever it hits. Then it freezes. Shit can be tenacious as fuck.