Today many different projects were worked on by various members of our team. Steve, Brian and Jake finished installing all the sheet metal ducting for delivering cold air to the phasor and transmitter hall. Jim, who had pressure tested the north air conditioning system yesterday, now vacuum pumped the system, then filled it with refrigerant.

Jim and Philip also worked on installing all the copper tubing we had available for the south air conditioning system. There is enough 7/8” tubing to complete the hookup, but more 1-5/8” tubing is needed (none available on Bonaire).

Paul and Bruce worked on wiring the UPS (uninterrupted power supply), dehydrator system for the coax lines, control lines for the switchable antenna system, four multi-conductor cables for the antenna system control and wiring for a 5,000 watt test transmitter. [I forgot to mention yesterday that our team moved the UPS from its old location to the new transmitter hall. By using a long temporary electrical connection, the UPS was out of service for only a few minutes.]

Ralph and I went for lunch and a siesta, then to Kooymans to pick up some two hole 2” conduit straps for some of the control cables. We also picked up some CFLs for the phasor room to replace LED bulbs that were mounted horizontally in a ceiling fixture. The LED bulbs work great in a vertical position, but when installed horizontally, only half of the ceiling fixture is lit up and there is a shadow to the other side of the fixture.

After changing all nine CFLs in the ceiling lights of the phasor room, Jim told me that he was ready to test the one air conditioning system.

Since WEB will not make their connection to the power room until June, we needed to run the standby generator to provide the necessary power for the condensing units. When I checked on the generator, Benny and Lionel had purchased 300 liters of diesel fuel and were just finishing filling the tank. I manually changed the large switch in the ATS to the generator, started the generator and checked voltages to make sure that all three phases were 200vac phase-to-phase and 127vac to neutral before switching on its circuit breaker. We then switched on the 800 amp breaker in the distribution panel and the 150 amp breakers for the condensing units. We then checked the voltages to all three phase at the condensing units. Because these are fed via a step-down transformer the voltages were 190vac phase-to-phase as expected.

We made sure the blower was running for the north evaporator unit (cooling coils) then switched on the condensing unit. Since the automated control wiring is not completed, a jumper was used where a thermostat would normally be connected. After a built-in delay of about 5 minutes two compressors switched on followed by the other two within about 5 seconds. Within a couple minutes the transmitter hall and phasor room began to cool down. Everyone was excited to feel the cool air, especially Jim–after almost two full weeks of very hard work on his part of the project. Most of his work was done outside in the hot sun or inside near the ceiling, which was also hot!

We let the generator and air conditioning run for about an hour at the end of the workday. Working conditions inside was so much more pleasant during that hour!

Mid afternoon, Philip, Jake and Dan, another working visitor from Atlanta, started hanging sheet rock on the ceiling of the new lab room. By quitting time they were close to half done. The work was made easier by a special lift that TWR Bonaire has that can lift the sheets of sheet rock up to the 10 foot high ceiling joists.

Steve and Phil, working visitors from Kansas and Alabama, moved high power switches into the phasor room and connected control wires to them. They then began moving in some of the very large inductors (coils). It is good to see some visible progress after all the preparation work that has been going on in the phasor room.

After work, I drove Steven, Philip, Paul, Bruce and Jake to the salt pier for our cool-down swim. No turtles were seen today.

For supper we had a chicken/macaroni casserole, beets, salad with a large variety of topping, Hawaiian rolls, crackers with jam, and cookies.

This evening, several guys wanted to go again for a swim after sunset at Coco Beach, like they did last night. Last night they had seen lobster and after hearing that lobster season was open and no license required, they wanted to catch one or two. Caribbean lobster do not have claws, which reduces the risks from catching them by hand. They only caught one small one, but are busy cooking it as I write this.

Staff meeting was held at the TWR office this morning. The meeting included a 20 minute ‘Family Focus’ video reviewing what is currently happening at all the TWR locations and presenting prayer requests from these locations. It was almost 9:30am by the time we made it to the site.

I took my laptop with me today to access email and to send the reports from the last three days.

Paul and Philip continued doing the electrical in the phasor room, while Brian and Bruce started the electrical installation for the air handlers in the loft.

Jim completed the connection of the copper lines to the north air handler, while Jake and Steven began installing the cold air ducting.

About the time for Ralph and me to leave for lunch, Harvey, from WEB, arrived to work on details of the wiring required for connecting WEB’s transformers to TWR’s 1,200, 800 and 400 amp panels. We are running into challenges because WEB only stocks metric wire sizes. Their 300 sq mm cable is just enough larger than our 500mcm cable that it will not fit into the connector holes on the breaker. The next smaller metric size that WEB uses is 150 sq mm which is very close to 300 mcm. After much discussion and since Ralph and I felt we could not make a decision without input from TWR’s project manager, we told Harvey we would get back to him with a decision. Since WEB does not expect to receive the HV switchgear for our project until early June, a decision does not to be made quickly.

Ralph and I arrived home about 45 minutes late for lunch, so our siesta time was short today!

After lunch, Ralph and I met with Daryl and Jonas to review the challenges of the WEB connections and discuss options. [It is WEB’s responsibility to supply the hook up cables] Two possibilities that we concluded might work:

1. Reduce the diameter of the 300mcm cable by using a plumbers tool for copper tubing (this was Ralph’s idea and one that came from his many years of experience.

2. Sell (at a discounted rate) the leftover 500mcm cable that TWR has to make the 1,200 amp connection. [There is not enough 500mcm cable to make the 800 and 400 amp connections]

After our discussion, I discovered a third option. The 150 sq mm cable that WEB has is capable of carrying just over 300 amp. Using four cables per phase should be adequate. This will work because the are lugs on the 1,200 amp breaker will allow connecting up to four 500mcm (or smaller) cables per phase.

Tomorrow, I plan to write up this finding and suggest possible solutions using metric size cables for both the 800 and 400 amp breakers.

This evening we left the site about 30 minutes later than normal. All 9 of us men wanted to go for a cool-down swim, so we took two vehicles to Pink Beach which is about a mile south of the salt pier. This used to be a nice sandy beach with pink sand from coral that was in the area. The pink sand was all washed away in a rare hurricane several years ago. The wave action this evening was a little higher than the other beaches where we have swum, so Ralph ended up sitting on a rock just off the shoreline. He frequently got hit by the waves coming in, but managed to maintain his balance. I stayed close by to watch him, while the rest of the men snorkeled. Our swim this evening was shorter, because of getting home so late.

Supper this evening was shredded beef with Baby Ray’s sauce on a bun, mashed potatoes, noodles, green beans, lettuce with craisins and sunflower seeds, jello with fruit and pudding (vanilla and chocolate) cups.

After supper, Ralph and Mary Jane took the six young men to the TWR office so they could communicate back to their families over the internet

Our breakfast this morning consisted of an English muffin with egg and cheese, plus cinnamon rolls.  Someone called them Egg McMuffins, but I think they should have be called Egg VanderMuffins!

Since the internet is not working at the duplex, we left early for church to allow time to connect to the internet outside the TWR office. This was to make sure everything was in order to make a report using Skype to Calvary Baptist Church in Elkhart at 10:35am during their morning service. Bruce also sent a short video that would be included as part to that report.

We attended the 9am worship service at the International Bible Church of Bonaire. The sermon was on Ephesians 4:25-32. The pastor reminded us that the fruit of the Spirit need to be a product of our new nature. If we strive for these ‘fruits’ in our own effort, it is like trying to keep the Law.

We had to leave the service a little early to make the 10:35 am contact. The contact seemed to go really well. We trust that it was a blessing to those listening at Calvary Baptist. Also the video mentioned earlier was sent to the home church of the three young men from California.

After this contact, several of our team made contacts with their families, since they cannot do it from the duplex.

At home, Mary Jane and Virginia prepared meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, green beans and cornbread for Sunday dinner. We also had a fruit jello for dessert.

After dinner, all the young men (including me!) went to the Lagun (lagoon) on the west side of the island, then we visited the Blow Hole, about a quarter mile south of the Lagoon. Brian is the only one that got wet from the Blow Hole. It is obvious that this part of the island originated from volcanic action. The rock is very sharp and steps need to be chosen carefully. Definitely not a place to walk with bare feet.

We headed back to town to see the kite flying contest. Lionel, a TWR worker, was to fly his kite after 4 pm. After leaving everyone there, I drove back to the duplex to pick up Ralph, so he could see Lionel fly his 77 foot tall kite. We saw all kinds of unusual kites being flown with varying degrees of success. When Lionel’s turn came, they drove a dump truck onto the end to the field to anchor the kite’s rope once it was air borne. A crew of about a dozen carried the kite onto the field. When it was ready, Lionel called for about twenty people to help pull it into the air. There was a good breeze, but when the kite got about 50 feet above the ground, the breeze slowed and the kite returned slowly to the ground. On the second attempt his kite only got a few feet of the ground. On the third and final attempt Lionel requested that the judges allow him to wait for a little stronger breeze, but this must have been against the contest rules. On the third attempt, a piece of wood snapped just as the kite became air borne. Obviously, Lionel was disappointed in this outcome as he had won trophies in the past for the largest kite and he was hoping that this would exceed his previous successes.

When us men got home from the kite contest, the ladies had a light meal waiting. But the young men convinced Ralph, Mary Jane, Virginia and I to take an evening off in town. Philip jumped in to grill the cheese sandwiches that Mary Jane was getting ready to prepare.

So we four headed into town to a small restaurant on the waterfront for a light relaxing meal. Afterward, we each had a small ice cream, then walked the length of downtown. This took about 10 minutes and then we headed back to the duplex, arriving ‘home’ just before 8pm. We need to get our rest for work tomorrow.