KAIRA site buildings

I took this photograph during a recent trip to KAIRA. The structure on the left if the RF-container. note the large grey panel on the near-side... that is the cowling to protect the airconditioner from snow and ice. The timber structure on the right is the HBA cable mausoleum. This is where additional cable delay line length is placed. Normally on LOFAR systems, this is underground. However at KAIRA both the LBA and HBA arrays have above-ground housing for the extra delay lengths. The other raised building is the site office (known locally as the "barracks").

RF-container and HBA mausoleum, and then the site office. (Photo: D. McKay-Bukowski)

Anti sea sickness measures

With all the people and equipment in the site office (a.k.a. barracks), we felt it would be wise to put some extra shoring timbers under it. While it probably would not have toppled over, it certainly reduced the amount of vibration and movement in the building (which is a converted railway carriage on road wheels).

Fitting shoring timbers (Photo: D. McKay-Bukowski)

A lot more stable now (Photo: D. McKay-Bukowski)

Last snow-free day of 2013?

Just a photo today. This shot was taken on what will probably be the last snow-free day of the year. There are snow falls predicted for every day for the remainder of the week.

Last snow-free day of 2013? (Photo: D. McKay-Bukowski)

To the left is the RF-container and HBA cable mausoleum The building behind the Land Cruiser is the site office (or "barracks" as they are sometimes known).

Calibration life

While the building and construction on the LBA continue outside and the installation and setup goes on within the RF-container, there is another side to the work at KAIRA. Within the Lehtinen Barracks, some of the team are working on calibration and software.Despite what the crew outside might tell you, this is actually pretty intense work as we wrestle with all sorts of problems, software packages, operating systems, configurations and, of course... trying to make sense of the data.

The Lehtinen Barracks is a convert railway carriage, fitted out with desks and chairs and work benches. Scattered about are computers, cables, power supplies and various notes and drawings. The heater is running, but still the cool Arctic air gets in. And, when the wind blows, the entire barracks rocks gently back and forth, as it is suspended above the ground. The place smells of a strange mix between coffee and deet (= insect repellent). There are cups (both paper cups and traditional Finnish timber ones) strewn about and scattered here and there are (usually empty) packets of Angry Birds sweets.

What you don't get from looking at this photograph is the sound... do you remember the soundtrack from the original version of the computer game Die Siedler / The Settlers (1993 Amiga version, in-game music by Haiko Ruttmann and Markus Kludzuweit — LINK). Well, this is set to continuous loop and has been playing for several days now non-stop. With the sound of the wind, as well as digging, hammers, sawing and various other noise from outside, it is somehow vaguely appropriate. And, given that we have barracks, lots of stone and plenty of wood, the catch phrase whenever we need something is to add "... and we also need a granary!"

Past the barracks

The LBA cable duct (see yesterday's post) runs alongside the HBA, under the service road. It then runs down past the storage containers and the barracks. The cables are placed in ducts, which are dug into the ground. Surrounding the ducts is a finer gravel layer to provide better packing and to reduce the possible crush-damage that may be incurred from larger pieces. This photograph shows part of that operation.

Backfilling the cable duct past the Lehtinen Barracks. Photo: Toivo Iinatti.

Summator installation revisited

This panorama was taken from the top of the RF-container during the HBA summator installation week. Note the open tiles with the team busily connecting the new units.

HBA summator installation at KAIRA. (Photo credit: D. McKay-Bukowski)

In the background are Saana (left) and Pikku Malla (right). The Lehtinen Barracks are in the left foreground.

Panorama of the KAIRA site

KAIRA, May 2012. (Click to enlarge)

Today we have a large panorama to share with our readers. This was taken from the top of the RF-container, looking south. In the distance, there is Saana on the left and Pikku Malla on the right. The photograph was taken in mid-May, so there is still heavy snow cover across the site, especially on the leading edges of the array sections, where it has banked up. The building in the left foreground is the so-called "Lehtinen Barracks".

Connecting services to the barracks

Following on from the previous posting, once the barracks were in place, the services needed to be connected to it. An agricultural-drain was used to make a duct between the RF-container and the barracks. This will carry power, network, grounding and probably some other cables as well. The following photograph was taken during the end of last summer.

The cables need to be buried, not just for protection against the snow, but also vehicles and any animals that might otherwise damage it. Although the barracks is movable and remains on its wheels, it is semi-permanently connected (like a long-term holiday caravan!).

Lehtinen Barracks on the move

Because the site is remote from SGO, it is important to have sufficient facilities to run experiments. There will actually be several units on the site. Apart from the RF-container which will house the KAIRA signal processing, there will be a storage container for spare parts and surplus materiel and a mobile cabin... which has been affectionately dubbed the "Lehtinen Barracks".

The "Lehtinen Barracks" is built from an old Finnish railway (VR Suomi) carriage. It has now been refurbished and is on its way to Kilpisjärvi to serve as office quarters at the KAIRA site.



The video shows the old VR Suomi marking, the refurbished cabin leaving the institute and a final shot of it having arrived on site. No doubt, there'll be some more photographs over the next few weeks as the final fitting out has been done and the final placement made.

PS: I wonder if this is the furthest north Finnish railway stock has ever travelled?

Video: Juha Vierinen