First thing on the agenda this morning was to have a puncture repaired on the right front tyre of the Highlander.  It has had a slow leak for some time and the cause was finally traced to a screw that appears to have been there for quite some time.  About 15 minutes and $15 later, we were on the road again.

We decided to try to hike to the crash site of Korean Airlines flight 801 which occurred 6 August 1997 on Nimitz Hill not far from TWR’s AM station.  Although not allowed help with the rescue, TWR personnel did help with supplying food, drink and other ‘encouragement’ to the rescuers.

The easy way to the crash site is by car on this road — note the pipe line on the right side of the road.  Since the site is on federal property, this gate is opened only on the anniversary date (6 August) each year for relatives to visit the crash site.

We were told that we were allowed to hike to the site. There is narrow vehicle path about 1/4 mile NW of the locked gate that allows access to a power line right-of-way.

We followed this power line that has concrete poles.

After traveling north-west for a little over 1/10 mile we took the track to the right that follows another power line with wooden poles.

Immediately after the right turn, we encountered this mud hole and decided to walk from here. Obviously, some other vehicle, probably 4-wheel drive, had gone through. We did not want to get stuck, nor have to wash a very muddy car! Also, we did not want to find out the consequences of being found in a restricted area with a vehicle. We knew that hiking  in was allowed.

In about 1/4 mile, the power line turns to the left going along the side of the pipeline road. If instead, you followed the pipeline road to the right, you would come to the locked gate.

We followed the pipeline east-north-east for about one mile.

The turnoff to the crash memorial and site is unmarked, but obvious. The crash resulted in this pipeline being damaged and it looks like this section might have been repaired at this location.

The 100 yard long road to the memorial is starting become overgrown, but the black obelisk can be seen to the right,

The Korean Airlines 801 memorial — hopefully, it will be tidied up before August 6 for the anniversary visitors.

How many of these names can you identify?

Before leaving the memorial, we noticed that we could see the entrance to the Japanese command center, from which we had seen the top of the memorial last week.

This focuses in on the Japanese command center in the previous photo.

From the crash site, we walked about 100 yards to the top of the hill and about 100 feet higher in elevation. From there, we could see the airport (far right) and Agana Bay (left with rain showers) and the cities of Hagatna (nearest — formerly Agana) and Tamuning (to the left of the airport and onto the peninsula).

Also, on this same hill, is the VOR (VHF Omni-directional radio Range) site for the airport. This and the pipeline are probably the reasons that this is a restricted access area.

On the way back to our vehicle, the rain caught up with us! Fortunately, there was no lightning, otherwise we would not have sheltered under a tree or hold an umbrella! The light rain quickly changed to drizzle and we completed our first hike of the day. Virginia is holding our water supply for the hike.  We found that plastic soda bottles are much stronger than the thin plastic used in the water bottles sold at the store.

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 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.

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.

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.

When we woke up this morning, we were ‘freezing’!  The temperature in our bedroom was 72F, although the thermostat was set to 79F.  Must have something to do with running the air conditioner in ‘dehumidifier’ mode.  The musty smell from yesterday was gone, so we returned the mode back to ‘normal’.

We had a heavy rain last night and everything was wet first thing this morning.  Things dried off fairly quickly, but the humidity remained higher than normal all day.

We were able to work on the antenna switch connections the whole day today.

Jim silver-solders all the small parts that we assembled the previous days in the shop. Here he is working on the lower of the two cross-over pipe that make up the 300 ohm transmission line.

Jim solders the upper pipe now that it is aligned properly in its final position. Three aluminum poles with insulators on top and insulator spacers between the pipes make the transmission line rigid.  These cross-over lines take a lot longer to fabricate and assemble than the straight runs

Now that the cross-over line is finished, the lower straight transmission line is done. If it would have been done first, it would have only been an obstruction while building the cross-over line. [Does it look like the beginning of some kind of roller coaster ride? — just wait til all the connections are done!]    Paul, Joel, Jim and Mike are in this photo.

Virginia and Joanna
Joanna and her husband live in the middle apartment on the first floor below us. They have been married about 7months.

Virginia and Joanne did some sightseeing on their own today and went to Two Lover’s Point.

Two Lovers Point

The Legend — from http://twoloverspoint.com  (if this link does not work, try this one — http://puntandosamantes.com/)

Long ago, in the time when Spain ruled Guam, there was a proud family living in Hagåtña, the capital city. The father was a wealthy Spanish aristocrat and the mother was the daughter of a great Chamorro chief. The family owned land and were held in high esteem by all, Chamorro and Spanish alike.

Their daughter was a beautiful girl, admired by all for her honesty, modesty, and perfectly natural charm. Her beauty bestowed the greatest pride and dignity unto her family.

One day, the girl’s father arranged for her to take a powerful Spanish captain as her husband. When the girl discovered this, she was so distraught that she ran from Hagåtña all the way to the north of Guam until she found a secluded and peaceful shore.

There, on the moonlit shore, she met and fell in love with a young warrior from a very modest Chamorro family. He was gentle, with a strong build, and had eyes that searched for meaning in the stars.

When the girl’s father learned of the two lovers, he grew angry and demanded that she marry the Spanish captain at once. That day at sundown, she stole away to the same high point along the shore and once again met her Chamorro lover.

Her father, along with the captain, and all the Spanish soldiers pursued the lovers up to the high cliff above Tumon Bay. The lovers found themselves trapped between the edge of the cliff and the approaching soldiers. All the young warrior could do was warn them to stay back, and the father ordered the soldiers to halt.

The lovers tied their long black hair into a single knot. Acting as if they were entirely alone, they looked deeply into each other’s eyes and kissed for the final time. Then, they leaped over the long, deep cliff into the roaring waters below.

The girl’s father and all who remained rushed to the edge to stare in great anguish.

Since that day, Chamorros have looked to the jutting peak above Tumon Bay with reverence. The two lovers remain a symbol of true love–a love in which two souls are entwined forever in life and in death. Thereafter, the high point on the cliff was known as Puntan Dos Amantes, or Two Lovers Point.

A list of a few of the wedding that have taken place at Two Lovers Point. It looks like most were from Japan.

Thousands of heart and padlocks symbolically locked to the fence and other places. Two Lovers Point is supposedly visited by more people than any other attraction in Guam and is quite commercialized.

Elkhart has its painted fiberglass elk, but Guam has painted carabao (pronounced care-a-bow [like bow tie])

Our bedroom has started to smell a little musty.  Since our Chinese air conditioner has a dehumidifier mode, we decided to try that mode to see what will happen.  There is no instruction manual in the apartment, and one could not be found on-line.

This morning I rode to work with Paul, instead of Joel. Joel, Jim and Mike went to town to purchase copper pipe and other supplies to allow continued work on the antenna switches

I received an email from Steve in TWR Benin (temporarily there for a year from TWR Swaziland) requesting information for automatic (remote controlled) gate openers. He would like to have one included in a container going to Benin from the U.S.  I spent some time this morning sorting through various options to meet their need in Benin, then answering his request.

When I cut my apple for lunch today, I found that some of the seeds were beginning to sprout! Would I be right in assuming this apple had been in storage for a while? It tasted good — the apple, not the seeds.

The copper pipe and other supplies arrived about noon, so we continued where we left off yesterday afternoon.

Virginia went with Joanna on a tour of the north end of Guam.  They also did some shopping on their way through downtown.  We’ll try to do a separate blog entry for their adventure.