It seems like each day has its own ‘surprises’ that result in new challenges. Today was no exception!
There were two surprises right at the start. Although not related directly to the electrical installation, I became involved because of my involvement in keeping the overall building drawings up to date. Daryl was wanting to install the MAD switch (a high power switch that routes the output of either the 400,000 watt AM transmitter or a smaller 5,000 watt transmitter to either the antenna or a dummy load). Because it is located between two windows, it cannot be moved. The output to the antenna goes through the wall into the phasor room which contains all the coils, capacitors and switches to properly divide the power between the four towers. The phasor room has panels to screen the sides and panels to screen the top. These 4X8 foot panels consist of a screen with frames around the edge that bolt together in a configuration precisely laid out by the manufacturer. It was discovered that the switch output to the phasor happens to pass through the wall exactly where two frames bolt together. Normally a hole would be cut just in the screen, but now two frames will need to be cut that are part of the structure that holds up the ‘ceiling’ screen frames. This will necessitate an on-site modification to maintain structural strength.
The second surprise came when we discovered the input from the transmitter to the MAD switch was closer to the wall than the drawings of the switch indicated. This resulted in this rigid line needing to pass through a steel support beam, which is not possible. As a result we had to shift the location of the transmitter on the drawings, which also required rotating the big supply transformer next to the transmitter. I will need to do an extensive revision to the drawings.
In comparison to the above, the next surprise was relatively minor. We began unpacking the power panels and found that the top of the 800 amp breaker panel box had caved in about 1″ shearing off about 6 bolts in the process. We think this happened before we packed it into the container in Niles, MI. There was no obvious damage to the cardboard box in which it was packed and there was no shifting in the container that could have caused the damage. We removed all the bolts holding the top and were able to use an hydraulic press to straighten the top. We found some bolts on site to replace the ones that had been sheared off.
We went home for lunch and a short nap. It is easy to understand why many Latin countries have their siesta time! A short nap in the heat of the day revives one’s energy.
After lunch, Daryl took us to the site so the ladies could have a vehicle to do some shopping in the afternoon. I was wondering which lady would be brave enough to drive the pickup which has a manual transmission. Both have driven them in the past, but not recently. Maryjane was the brave one. Virginia’s turn is next!!
This afternoon, the cable for the generator was pulled through a 4″ underground pipe from the power room to the generator pad. The cables required to carry the 530 amps pretty well filled the pipe and required the front loader bucket of the tractor to provide the pulling power. Actually, there had been a ‘surprise’ on this as well. In our drawings we specified two 4″ pipes to pull two separate 4 conductor 350mcm cables. Unfortunately, the generator supplier told the construction crew that only one 4″ pipe would be needed and only one was installed without consulting us. It is impossible to get two 2-1/2 inch diameter cables through one 4″ pipe! The solution was to strip the jacket off each 4 conductor cable to provide 8 single conductors. It was now possible to get them all through, but barely–with the help of lots of cable pulling lubricant! The current capacity will be downgraded slightly, but fortunately we had overrated the cable some to start with.
Just as this cable pull was finished, a large truck arrived with the standby generator and the ATS (automatic transfer switch), which will automatically switch the power source to the generator when there is a power failure, arrived. The crane on the truck was not long enough to place the generator on its pad, so it was set on the ground. Tomorrow a larger crane is scheduled to come out with the air conditioning units to set all of them into place. The ATS was transferred to the TWR truck which was able to back up to the power room for easy transfer to its proper location.
Fortunately, we opened the ATS and discovered another ‘surprise’. There were no compression lugs for attaching our 24 large power cables. Ralph and I began searching on the internet to find a source of suitable lugs. It was then that we decided that it would be good to check the generator. Sure enough, another ‘surprise’, we will need 12 more lugs for there, too!
Now it was 4 pm and Ralph contacted his supplier in Niles, MI via email. Within minutes it was verified that the supplier had them in stock, and would have them on his counter waiting for Ralph’s grandson, Brian, to pick up. Brian is one of the team arriving on Saturday. These lugs will likely be here before we are ready to use them! God is good!!
This evening, Jim decided to swim partway home from work. It was just over a 1 mile swim and he anticipated arriving at Bachelor Beach at 5:30pm. Ralph and I decided to drive to Bachelor Beach to meet him. I did some ‘swimming’ to cool off while Ralph watched. At 5:30 there was no sign of Jim, so we decided to go home to see if he had come ashore earlier and walked home. Jim was not there, so I washed the salt water off and showered, then headed back to the beach with Ralph. Partway there we saw Jim walking home. He said that the swim started off fast enough but he then encountered currents that slowed him down considerably. He said he saw a large variety of beautiful fish and coral at close range and that it was well worth the swim.
For supper we had hamburgers with all the fixin’s, mixed vegetables, oven roasted fresh cut potato ‘fries’ and apple sauce. The ladies are getting in practice for the six grandsons that will be arriving on Saturday and staying for two weeks.
Thank you for praying!! It is obvious that God is at work in spite of the ‘surprises’. Keep praying!!