C18K (AEC-AON)

Station Notes

ADOPTED BY AEC
Bear damage noted during 2018 service visit
- Consider replacing conduit with a longer piece that can be fully buried and u-bolted to the hut
There is possibly a problem with the upper solar panel; its current output was significantly less than the lower two panels. While we had snow and icing on the site, the panel was clear at time of measurement. Polarity was correct. It will be worth watching to see if there is reduced PV input at this site. UPDATE 03/27/18: after winter #1, there does not appear to be any difference in charging current from similar sites in the vicinity (e.g. C19K).
BGAN is on the Asia-Pacific satellite.

Service Plan

Site Access

Helicopter from Red Dog.
Site is located on exposed ridge. Line of sight is interrupted by surround topography, changing weather conditions can be hard to see.

Site Contact

No site contact

Site Visits

2020_10_12 Service (J. Miner, J. Soderquist)
USArray Station Service Report
Form V1.0

STATION CODE:
AK.C18K

STATION Locale Description:
Utukok River, Alaska

STATION SERVICE LOG DATE:
20201012

STATION/SENSOR DOWN TIME (UTC):
~2044-2252

SERVICE DESCRIPTION:
Q330 swap and BGAN cable swap

UPON ARRIVAL:
The wellcap lid was crushed in and the sensor cable was thoroughly shredded. The remainder of the hut seemed to be in good condition. 11 degrees F ambient with 10-20mph winds.
ACTIONS TAKEN:
Swapped in the Q330.
Unable to issue "remove" command either through Willard or STS5 Field. Sensor would not respond. Swapped the STS5-A.
Swapped the BGAN cable.
Replaced the wellcap lid. Buried the wellcap with site rocks.
EQUIPMENT REMOVED:
Q330 sn - 010000044D97C54C, bc - 5000106 (AEC owned)
STS5-A sn - 130725, bc - 5014963 (AEC owned)
EQUIPMENT INSTALLED:
Q330 sn - 0100000B6A16D164, bc - 5000830 (AEC owned)
STS5-A sn - 130778, bc - 5015456 (IRIS owned)

COMMENTS:

This station was placed on the service trip due to an assumed failed Q330 courtesy of what appeared to be digitizer noise. Upon arrival it was clear the problem might be threefold: the Q330 and the shredded cable and partially displaced sensor. The sensor would not respond to commands from Willard or STS5 Field. Swapped the sensor cable first and attempted to use the original sensor. It still would not respond. Swapped the sensor, but that created additional sand in the base of the borehole. TOC to sand is 85". Sensor only bedded with 1.5 liters of sand. Sensor oriented to 0.01 degrees with OCTANS. Confirmed offsite data flow with AEC. Buried the wellcap with as many rocks as weren't frozen down.
Door locked and taped prior to departure.

VISITOR:
J. Miner
J. Soderquist
T. Bue (Alpine Air)

ON NEXT VISIT:
Add 1 liter of bedding sand.
CHANGES AFFECT INSTRUMENT RESPONSE:
Swapped BB sensor and Q330.
2020_09_22 Removal (Adopted by AEC)
USArray Station Removal Report
Form V1.5

STATION CODE: TA.C18K

STATION LOCALE DESCRIPTION: Utukok River, AK, USA

STATION REMOVAL LOG DATE: 20200922

STATION/SENSOR DOWN TIME (UTC): N/A
REMOVAL DESCRIPTION: Site was adopted by AEC and has not been removed.
ACTIONS TAKEN: Site was not visited during the adoption process.
LAT/LONG OF SENSOR HOLE: N/A

Top of Casing to hole bottom (indicate if sand present or evacuated): N/A
Bottom of wellcap to grade level: N/A
SENSOR ORIENTATION MEASUREMENTS:
Measured with Octans Unit: N/A
Measured with rods on pin: N/A
Casing/wellcap marked with reference orientation: N/A
SENSOR ORIENTATION: N/A
COMMENTS:
BGAN site, remote acquisition changeover to AK network.
REMOVED: N/A
DAMAGE: N/A
LEFT AT SITE: N/A
VISITORS:
Nate Murphy
NEXT VISIT: N/A
SITE STATUS: N/A
HOLE STATUS: N/A
2020_08_11 Service (R. Bierma, J. Miner)
USArray Station Service Report
Form V1.0

STATION CODE:
TA.C18K

STATION Locale Description:
Utukok River, Alaska

STATION SERVICE LOG DATE:
20200811

STATION/SENSOR DOWN TIME (UTC):
Station offline for ~60 minutes, 17:17 for station service

SERVICE DESCRIPTION:
AON battery supplement. Upgrade CC firmware and collect Baler media. Check BGAN antenna cable. Check Vaisala and potential sensor or sensor cable swap.
UPON ARRIVAL:
Station was in fair condition. Sensor cable was pulled from the conduit and mostly destroyed. The door tape had been scraped away. The BGAN signal was on narrow beam, with a signal strength of 66.
ACTIONS TAKEN:

Removed non-functioning wind turbine.
Swap weather station and cable; update QEP firmware to 1.10.
Pulled existing sensor, replaced cable with a new cable, replaced the same sensor. New TOC to sand depth = 94". The sensor was measured with Octans at 359.9 degrees before removal. After being replaced it is now at 0.1 degrees measured with Octans.
Sensor conduit repaired and anchored to the hut with hose clamps.
Add 2 LiFePO4 batteries.
BGAN cable not replaced because a newer style cable with Times connectors was already installed and in good condition.
CC firmware upgraded to 1.20.
Baler media swap.
Two LFP batteries added.
Verified the station configuration.

EQUIPMENT REMOVED:
Vaisala WXT: sn - H1140026, bc - 5013019

EQUIPMENT INSTALLED:
LiFeSO4 batteries: sn - 5249, bc - 5017212; sn - 5256, bc - 5017216
Vaisala WXT: sn - P1320478, bc - 5018840

COMMENTS:
BGAN cable was in good condition.
Door locked and taped prior to departure.

VISITOR:
1. Miner
2. Bierma
3. Bue (Alpine Air)
ON NEXT VISIT:
n/a
CHANGES AFFECT INSTRUMENT RESPONSE:
Sensor should be responding on all three channels with the new sensor cable.
2018_08_18 Service (R. Bierma, D. Bloomquist)
2017_08_29 Install (R. Bierma and M. Sanders)