After a night at the Crystal Place Hotel

I didn't want to get up at 7 AM which is midnight in Kansas, that 7 hours difference is my jet lag.

The Crystal Hotel is one of the better ones I have stayed in. There was a window air conditioner that worked with some rhythmic noises that do not sound like it was going bad. The bed was firm and clean plus there was water pressure for a shower. And there is a fairly high speed free wireless internet here. That's how this blog is going out tonight!

We headed to Dr. Obaka’s new office in down town Abuja and his NGO called GIEVA, “Global Integrated Education Volunteered Association” After Dirk and I finish working here, they will have high speed internet to provide testing for students wanting to take tests such as SAT.

We are installing a 2.4 meter dish antenna and all the electronics to allow connection via satellite to the internet. Working on the roof of a 6 story building with a nice view but in hot 90 degree sun. All the equipment was shipped from the states via air freight and was on site ready to haul to the roof! Dr. Obaka had arranged for some strong men to be there and get the dish parts to the roof. Emma, short for Emanuel, used his head and carried some parts up the tower to reach the roof as the picture shows.

By late afternoon, 5:30 our time to be exact, we had pointed the dish to the correct satellite and had a good and stable signal. Next item is for the satellite providing company that manages the data through it to look at several parameters and if OK turn on the connection to the Internet. Our plans are to this around 9 AM Wednesday here which is 3 AM at the satellite control center. (They operate 24/7)

If all goes well we will head to Zaria a day early tomorrow afternoon.

Here is some pictorial steps to getting the dish installed.....click for a larger view.

Dish is shipped in 2 pieces and bolted together on site. To get to the very top of the building we had to climb the tower and step to the side.

Dirk is starting the installation by putting on the mount. This will hold the dish in critical aliment to the satellite.Half of the dish is temporarily bolted in place while we put the other half on.

Emma is installing the cabling for the feed electronics. This handles both the receive and transmit of satellite signals.

And the finish assembly next to several other installations, one of which was not in operation. Total time to get to this point was about 6 hours.





All for now........