February in Camp Roberts

I was in Camp Roberts for 8 days, the first of back-to-back-to-back trips. Considering the weather was rainy and uncooperative for the first two days, the rest of the week was surprisingly gorgeous, with 70 degree weather! Obviously, the first couple of days was a bit frustrating as not a whole lot was accomplished due to the weather. Monday through Friday was packed with experiments that weren't completed on the weekend, including was what already scheduled for that day. It was a bit hectic, but amazingly we had a very successful week. I was very happy because the main component I was in charge of went well. It was a new responsibility for me. In summary: There were 4 different contractors plus two different groups within NPS, all who wanted to fly their wireless devices/radios on our manned airplane called the Pelican. The advantage of flying on manned versus unmanned vehicles is that you don't have to worry about the weight of the payload. But, what I had to worry about was deconflicting 6 frequencies and the placements of the antennas. The pilot was not willing to put new wholes in his plane for the antennas, so we had to make do with the existing wholes. It made for quite an logistical problem! But, we flew everyone's payload/radios and almost everyone walked away with losts of data. My boss and I were surprised (and pleased) with how many requests to have the Pelican fly again in the May experiments. It's pretty expensive, so I think it might be awhile before I work on this type of project again. We'll see... After a week of experimentation in Camp Roberts, I'm getting ready for a week in Europe! I'll try to keep posting blogs, but am unsure of my internet availability. After Europe, I'll be in San Francisco for a 4 days. Whew...it's going to be a whirlwind!!