2014/06/27 — Friday — Priorities Change

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Joel and Jim are scheduled to work night shift over the weekend.  Since Jim is the welding expert, that kind work on the antenna switches has been put on hold until he returns on Tuesday.

Since my usual transportation to work is with Joel, I waited by the road and hitched a ride with Paul.

This morning, I had planned to fabricate parts for the antenna switch lines so they would be ready to ‘weld’ when Jim gets back on day shift. But, when Mike discovered that the standby power plant would start but would not generate voltage, our priorities were altered for the day. It was eventually determined that the electronic voltage regulator had failed and no spare could be found anywhere in stock.The faulty regulator is potted in hard silicone rubber, making it virtually impossible to repair.

This is the 750,000-watt standby power plant that is used to power the transmitters in the event of a power failure. The regulator is located in the box on the end just behind the word, "Spectrum".

This is the 750,000-watt standby power plant that is used to power the transmitters in the event of a power failure. The regulator is located on the side of the box on the end just behind the letter ‘S’ in the word, “Spectrum”.

The failed regulator on the workbench in the lab.

The failed regulator on the workbench in the lab.

We did extensive searching on the internet and found that this regulator is now obsolete and

This digital regulator is much smaller than the original regulator.

This digital regulator is much smaller than the original regulator.

there are none available on Ebay nor on the surplus market.  Fortunately, a digital voltage regulator has been found that can electrically replace the old one. Of course, it is at a higher cost and will need to be programmed, in addition to the mechanical modifications needed for its installation.

In the meantime, we are without standby power and praying that it will not be needed as the rainy season seems to have begun.