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Still Trying

It's 9 PM and I've been outside in the backyard working with the GATR-Com system again. After the success of last night, I woke up this morning to some issues that I've not yet resolved. I'm not sure why, but I'm not able to get the system back on the network again. I worked on it off and on today as I could. I needed to work around the schedule of the Network Operations Center for the satellite service provider, as well as sneak a couple naps in because I had only slept two hours last night.

I was hoping to do some more work tonight, but I found out at 5 PM that I'd been invited to the MAF Program Manager's house for dinner. After a great meal and a game of Settlers of Cattan, I was home again doing some more troubleshooting. After doing some things on my own I called the NOC to work with them for a bit, but by 10 PM I was still nowhere. So I'm calling it a night and I'll start again tomorrow from the ground up to see if I can't duplicate the success we had Tuesday night.

Being in Africa is a new experience, and I'm enjoying this small corner of the continent. I was out for a run after work on Monday, and I realized there were so many things that reminded me of Papua New Guinea, the place where Ellyn and I grew up. Driving on the left side of the road, the red earth, grass, small ant hills, thistle plants, learner's permit plaques with large red 'L's on them (kind of like a student driver sign like you would see in the States), rain on the tin roof, seeing the Southern Cross, and some of the flowers.

Today I wrote in an e-mail to a friend that Lesotho is the 'highest elevation country' in the world, with the low spot being at 3000'. No other country can claim that distinction. The highest mountains are almost 10,000 feet. It's very windy in the mountains, all the time, and this country has the hardest flying that MAF pilots experience. I've been told it's not uncommon to have wind going in opposite directions at each end of the runway. So, combine short sloping strips of 600-700 meters, high wind, and altitude, and you've got some difficult flying.

Posted by David at 09:25 PM

Success

I spent the day working at the MAF hangar, attempting to get the GATR commissioned and on the network. I kept having to stop. First to help load a truck with VSAT equipment that is going to a mountain village. The VSAT will provide Internet connection for a Partners In Health clinic. Then I was stopped at least two more times because of rain, then again to build a shelter so I could cover the electronic equipment, then again to get inside when a lightning storm rolled through, and then in the end ran into technical difficulties.

I went to dinner with the students and instructor of the VSAT installer class, and that was at an MAF pilot's house. After dinner I went back to work in the back yard of the house I'm staying out, and set up the GATR. That's not snow in the photo, it's rain. By 12:30 AM I was online with the GATR. I was excited, because this is the first time the GATR has been used on C-band, and important next-step in MAF's desire to use this cool technology for disaster response and humanitarian relief work.

Posted by David at 02:47 AM

Slow Start

It's very late tonight, so I'll write for just a few minutes here. Things went well today at the MAF hangar, but I didn't make as much progress as I had hoped for. But I needed to work around the flying, and the VSAT class, so I had to do what I could. I got to the point where I had the GATR set up, and was ready to lock it on the satellite signal and call the service provider to finish the set up, when it started pouring. I had to quickly cover up the computer and satellite modem I had outside. By the time the rain passed, it was time to pack it up for the day. I'll try again on Tuesday, and hopefully get farther this time.

Posted by David at 10:03 PM

Movie Night In Maseru

I arrived in Lesotho about 5 PM this afternoon. I'm happy to report that all my bags made it with me. I'm going to crash in a few minutes, but I'm trying to drag it out as long as I can so I sleep all night. I'm at one of the MAF pilot's house, where there are quite a few people from the NGO community gathered for popcorn and a movie. More later.

Posted by David at 08:56 PM

On My Way To Africa

I left Boise a couple hours ago, heading to Lesotho for two weeks. If you're like a lot of folks, you probably haven't heard of The Kingdom of Lesotho, a small, mountainous country completely surrounded by South Africa. I've been planning this trip for a couple months, but now that I'm on my way, I'll start posting to this blog.

I'm toting along quite a bit of baggage, but when you consider what I've got, it's amazing. A C-band VSAT system with a 20-watt transmitter that can be used for broadband Internet connectivity just about anywhere in the world.

There are several goals for this trip, all of them revolving around VSAT communications. You might remember that in late November I was planning a trip to Bangladesh with the GATR deployable satcom system, and that in the end I didn't go. This trip to Lesotho is to do some real-world testing with the GATR on C-band, a frequency that is not commonly used in North America for VSAT, but is the ticket for using VSAT in the tropics. The C-band frequency is not affected by heavy rainfall, so is very suitable for many of the locations MAF would use this technology for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response. I'm proud to be working with GATR Technologies and their unique deployable satellite communications system.

Second, I'm going to assist with a VSAT installer course that is being put on by DRASTIC, and will be held at the MAF hanger in the capitol city, Maseru. The MAF Lesotho program will be installing ten VSAT systems for Internet communications at Partners In Health clinics in the mountains. PIH provides much needed health care for the needy people of Lesotho, a country with a very high rate of HIV infection and drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Next, I'm going to assist Traig, the MAF IT guy in Lesotho, as he installs the first VSAT system at a clinic in Nohana. That will be the second week, as the installer class will take place the first week. I'm really looking forward to working with Traig, and am excited to be able to help with the install.

Last, I'm looking forward to getting to know the MAF staff who work in Lesotho. Having worked in Ecuador, and now the HQ in Nampa, I've never met most of them. As the Field Communication Services guy at HQ, I'm the person who the field IT staff contact when they need support from HQ.

Posted by David at 04:02 PM