Ideal weather conditions at the Plishner site near Haswell, CO with mild temps in the high 50’s low 60’s with
no wind and lots of sunshine made for ideal winter work days at the dish site during the weekend of January
22 & 23, 2016.

Ed Corn and Steve Plock traveled down to the site on Friday arriving at 9:30AM to work on the installation of
the remote generator start/stop control boxes. The first box was installed in the bunker. The remote switch
will allow the start and shutoff to be done within the bunker once the generator is prepared for running at the
generator shed for the initial on site start of the day. A 20+ foot length of #1aught wire was installed between
the bunker battery room and main bunker meeting room. Two 6 foot #12 red/black wire terminated with
Anderson power poles will be connected to this DC bus for equipment use. This 12VDC power will be primarily
used for amateur radio use as well as for any device requiring 12VDC to operate. Four T8 LED 4 foot tubes
were installed in the bunker, 2 in the tool room and 2 above the work bench in the main room. Each LED tube
uses 18 watts (36 watts total per light fixture) versus the 110 watts per light fixture now being used. The new
LED lights are directly wired to 110 VAC, bypassing the ballast. The 160 meter and 80 meter half-wave dipole
antennas were reinstalled above the bunker area.

On Saturday morning, Ray Uberecken, Michael Lowe, Bill Miller, Arron Reid and Myron Babcock arrived on site
at 9:30Am.

Ed & Steve continued their installation of the remote generator start/stop control boxes in the
communications trailer and the dish pedestal. The 30 foot (3 section) Rohn 25 tower was relocated from the
south side of the communications trailer to the north side of the trailer next to the antenna feed through
panel. A 4th section of Rohn 25 will be installed atop the existing tower at a later date. The plan is to install a
UHF, 440MHz, beam antenna pointing to Colorado Springs. This 85 mile UHF link will provide a back-up
remote control option for controlling equipment within the trailer. Bill Miller and Aaron Reid rewired the solar
panels a top the trailer providing additional charging capacity power for the experiments within the trailer.

CAT 5 and low voltage power cable was prepared for entry into the communications trailer. This cable was
initially installed outside of the trailer last April when the power cable trenching operations were started. Ray
checked out the helix coax between the trailer and antenna feed. With his equipment he was able to
determine the length and effectiveness of the helix. This information is required for future experiments and
moon bounce operations out of the trailer. Michael spent most of his time within the bunker organizing and
cleaning up the main room area. Gail Lowe cooked a large crock pot of cowboy stew for all to enjoy.
Supplementing the meal with bread, chips, and cookies made for a great break for all to enjoy. Thanks again
to Gail for her efforts in preparing another great feast for all to enjoy. Thanks for Michael for volunteering Gail
for her cooking. At the end of the day, Michael Lowe secured all structures to include the newly installed
chain across the front gate. Keys for the entry road chain locks are available from Myron Babcock.

Thanks to all who were able to make it down to Plishner this past weekend.

Myron Babcock

DSES Treasurer