Intern mess up

2009-03-09 16:08:09.000 – Jordan Scampoli,  Summit Intern

Raven Tracks

This afternoon held some maintenance work for me on the summit. Due to the abuse our instruments receive, they occasionally need something tightened or replaced. This is part of the reason why we need to keep the Observatory staffed year round.

We are currently testing a small wind vane for a weather instrumentation company. While it is an extremely sturdy little devil, some of the screws come loose after being out in heavy winds and icing for a while. I brought it in, took it apart and made the necessary repairs. I put it back up today as our winds were near calm.

Unfortunately some of the work was self induced. Our three cup was in need of a bit of work yesterday, so after Steve and I made the repairs I put it back up. Each time we put it back up you have to run the wiring down the parapet ring tubing to a bridge located inside the building. When I screwed the piece of tubing that the three cup is attached to onto the parapet, I pinched the wire on the threading and cut through the insulation into the copper wire. Steve and I replaced the wiring and I put it up, this time making sure not to catch anything. I guess those darn interns are better if they just keep their hands off the expensive stuff.

As to the picture above: Since the winds were basically calm today, snow fell vertically instead of horizontally! This also meant that the ravens didn’t have any fun up here. The shot is the tracks from a raven taking off from a bit of powder.

Jordan Scampoli,  Summit Intern