BEACHON-RoMBAS Logistics

This page is a repository for all logistical information for the BEACHON-RoMBAS campaign site. A shortcut to this page is http://tinyurl.com/rombas-log.

Dates

The dates for the BEACHON-RoMBAS campaign are:

• Setup and start of measurements: July 5-14
• Official measurement period: July 15 0:00 to August 16 0:00 (local times)
• Tear Down: August 16-21

Location

The site is planned at the USFS Manitou Forest Observatory. The location of the site can be seen in this Google Maps Link (easy-to-remember shortcut is http://tinyurl.com/rombas-site. The coordinates are 39.10065 N, 105.10250 W (+39° 6' 2.34", -105° 6' 8.94"). Please do not contact the USFS with logistical questions, rather send those to Jose, Alex, Jim, Doug, or Andrew.

See also UCAR wiki map of site

Some pictures of the site location can be viewed here.

Planned Instrumentation and Site Layout

• As list of planned instrumentation and other planning logistics such as scheduling is here
• A slide show containing the site and trailer layout and other useful planning information is here

Travel and Lodging

• Transportation to Manitou Forest Observatory and Measurement Site
  • Airport information: (more on this later)
  • Some information on local transportation: (more on this later)
  • Rental cars, etc. (more on this later)
  • Parking at the site: TBD.
• Maps
  • Google Map of the Site (same as above).
  • UCAR wiki map of site (same as above)
  • May be useful to include map of the local area around MFO (restaurants, grocery stores, hardware stores, etc) here.

• Lodging:
  • More on this later. Possible lodging options may include the bunkhouse at MFO, camping, and renting motels/hotels or apartments in the area (probably Woodland Park, CO)

Other Setup Information

• Seatainers: Four 8 ft x 20 ft NCAR Seatainers are onsite (and were used for BEACHON-ROCAS 2010). See slide 38 for dimensions here
• Trailers: Additionally, we plan to rent 8 ft x 40 ft and 8 ft x 20 ft trailers from Mobile Mini, exactly as the ones in these links: 8'x40', 8'x20'
• Shipping location:

For Packages and Equipment (UPS, Fedex) TBD

For US Mail: TBD

• Supplier for gas cylinders: (More on this later)

• Restrooms at the site: TBD
• Power converters: for investigators coming from Europe, remember that electricity in the US is 110 V and 60 Hz, while in Europe it is typically 220 V and 50 Hz. Please verify that your equipment can work with US power, or get the appropriate adapters or transformers. Note that some components may not work under 60 Hz. E.g. we have had this problem in the past with some sampling pumps.
• Special resources:
  • space in freezers: TBD
  • space in refrigerators: TBD
  • access to drains for IC water (non toxic): TBD
• Setup costs: TBD

Internet Connection at the Site

• The current plans is to have Ethernet cables running to all Seatainers and Trailers and wireless accessible outside the trailers (more details will be provided later)

Phone Communication at the Site

• Cell phone coverage is spotty at the site (any additional information on which carriers work best would be useful here).
• Emergency Phone: We now have an phone installed at the BEACHON field site. It is a cell phone through Verizon with $10 on it at this time (25 center per minute = 40 minutes). It is located within Seatainer #2 and on its charger (next to the RAL computers). The phone # is: (303) 827-5092. We've found that this service works pretty well at the site for both calling and receiving calls. We anticipate this to be used infrequently, but if you do use it for any significant amount of time, please let John Ortega (ortega_at_ucar.edu) or Andrew Turnipseed (turnip_at_ucar.edu) know so that we can add more minutes to the plan. At some point between now and this summer's intensive study, we may house the phone outside the trailer (in a weather-proof enclosure) and possibly add a loud ringer and strobe light so that it can be heard/seen from longer distances.

Email List

• We have created the BEACHON-RoMBAS Google group to serve as email list and email archive for the project.
  • If you are subscribed to the group and want to send an email to everyone, please email <beachon-RoMBAS@googlegroups.com>. (Pls do this in moderation as the usefulness of the list is inversely proportional to the email traffic in the list -- people stop paying attention if there are too many messages).
  • Two immediate advantages of this system are that people can add and remove themselves, or add others in their groups etc. at http://groups.google.com/group/beachon-RoMBAS, and that there is an automatic archive on the web for all messages sent to the list.

Science Meetings and Data Sharing

• Science Meetings while in the field: we may plan to have ~weekly meetings. Time and Location TBD
  • We will try to broadcast the meetings for off-site participants.
• Data need to be submitted in ICARRT Format (html; pdf, headers pg. 8) to facilitate sharing. We would like to encourage people with continuous instruments to upload preliminary data often (daily, or every few days), and we will produce merged plots for discussion at the meetings.
• NCAR or CU will be hosting an FTP site for sharing data. Each instrument has a folder for its data, named by the instrument identification numbers can be found [Link will be here].
  • Instructions for Mac (use Cyberduck)
    1. Download Cyberduck and install. You may need to let it upgrade to the 10.6.x version before you use it.
    2. Type the following for the server address: "ftp://ftp.al.noaa.gov". If possible, set "passive mode" on and use FTP (not SFTP).
    3. Log in. (Username and password sent by email.)
  • Instructions for Windows (using Explorer)
    1. Start Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) by right-clicking Start and choosing Explore.
    2. Type the ftp address into the folder path: calnexla@ftp.al.noaa.gov
    3. Log in, or if you're not prompted to log in, right-click and select Login As...
    4. Now you can drag and drop files to the folder for your instrument.
    5. When you reconnect in the future, this connection will be remembered and can be found under My Network Places/ftp.al.noaa.gov
  • Instructions for Windows (using WinSCP)
    1. Set up a new connection for calnexla with server address ftp.al.noaa.gov. Change the file protocol to FTP.
    2. Under the list of options on the left, click the box to show "Advanced options".
    3. Click on the Connection option on the left and check the box for "Passive mode".
    4. If you wish to connect again later, Click on "Save..." at the bottom of the window.
    5. Connect and login with username and password sent by email
    6. If you need to make changes on future visits, click on your session, then click "Edit" on the right side of the window, and remember to Save after making your changes.
  • Instructions for Windows (using WS-FTP)
    1. Launch WS-FTP for your connection, for example, "calnexla".
    2. Look at the "Session Properties" window. Click on the "Advanced" tab.
    3. At the bottom of the Advanced window, click on the little box for "Passive transfers" and click "Apply."
    4. Connect and login with username and password sent by email
  • A note about connecting with FTP software: The FTP server is set to use "Passive Mode," a modern standard, so you'll need to verify that the FTP software you have has the proper adjustment. If you would like to share instructions for other software about where to control this setting, please share them here.

Conference calls in Preparation for the Campaign

• 1st ALL Participants: Tues Feb 1: Slides 25-32 in this Google Presentation contain some of the information discussed
• 2nd ALL Participants: TBD

FAQs

• What is the weather like at MFO during July-August

Description Here (Temperatures - day/night?; Rain? Wind?)