The main telecommunications facility is contained in the Operations Building which is linked to the other station buildings by multipair telephone cables for the telephone system, and fi
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KRONE Australia
2 Hereford Street Berkeley Vale NSW 2261
PO Box 335 Wyong NSW 2259
Phone: 02 4388 4422
Fax: 02 4388 4499
Help Desk: 1800 801 298
Email: kronehlp@krone.com.au
Web: www.krone.com.au
Telecommunications connectivity crucial in the Antarctic wilderness
Antarctica has no peer as a wilderness This vast land,
nearly twice the size of Australia, and its surrounding
seas are dominated by nature, by cold and wind, ice
and snow It is the driest, coldest, windiest and
highest continent on Earth The nearest point of
Antarctica to Australia is nearly 2,700 km away
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is part of the
Commonwealth Department of the Environment
and Heritage It maintains three, year-round ANARE
(Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions)
research stations at Casey, Davis and Mawson on the
Antarctic continent and one at Macquarie Island in
the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean
Each station is comprised of buildings including
accommodation, scientific laboratories, workshops,
stores and power houses
The main telecommunications facility is contained
in the Operations Building which is linked to the
other station buildings by multipair telephone
cables for the telephone system, and fibre optic
cables for the Local Area Network (LAN) A satellite
link provides communication back to Australia
The telecommunications network allows Australian
scientists to conduct research programs at the
ANARE stations They need to transfer data
between themselves and Australian and overseas
research institutions It also allows them to easily
discuss theories and ideas with their colleagues
who are not in Antarctica
The scientists study Antarctic biology, glaciology,
climatology, human impact, marine science and
atmospheric and space physics and need to transfer
information to their home institutions
The network is also used by support staff, such as the communications technical officers, diesel mechanics, electricians, plumbers, carpenters or chefs to send and receive e-mail, connect to the Internet or to phone home
Ian Bruce is Senior Technical Officer (Telecommunications), based at the AAD's headquarters at Kingston, Tasmania He is part of the team that provides a telecommunications system which supports Australia's research activities in Antarctica
"We are currently upgrading our cabling infrastructure by replacing a Thinwire LAN and Cat
3 internal telephone cables with a structured unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling system The reliability of the connectivity components of our telecommunications network is crucial
"The move to a structured UTP cabling environment provides more flexibility, greater reliability and easier fault finding This ensures that the cabling network
is always available in support of ANARE scientific and operational programs."
In January each year, the AAD recruits eight technical officers (two per station) annually and they spend one year at an ANARE station
These technical officers maintain the entire telecommunications network (satellite systems, computer networks, HF and VHF radios, telephone systems and other equipment) They also install and maintain the cabling infrastructure For larger installation projects the AAD may, at times, send a technical officer who is dedicated to that particular project
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KRONE Australia
2 Hereford Street Berkeley Vale NSW 2261
PO Box 335 Wyong NSW 2259
Phone: 02 4388 4422
Fax: 02 4388 4499
Help Desk: 1800 801 298
Email: kronehlp@krone.com.au
Web: www.krone.com.au
The biggest hurdle AAD has to overcome is the
inaccessibility of the ANARE stations during the
planning stages Whereas for a project in Australia,
the designer or project manager would conduct a
site survey, this is impossible in Antarctica AAD
relies on the information which comes back from
the technical officers in Antarctica and the drawings
of the installations as they currently exist
AAD then explains to the technical officers who are
about to go to Antarctica what the job entails and
how they should approach it, keeping in mind that,
in many cases, they haven't been to Antarctica or
seen the ANARE stations before
The principal lessons learned with an installation of
this magnitude are that planning is very important,
as is correct installation technique
"Careful planning is essential If something is
forgotten or lost we can't just go down the street
and buy a replacement," said Mr Bruce
"The technical officers at the ANARE stations have
done an excellent job of installing the cabling
infrastructure in what can, at times, be very difficult
conditions When working in Antarctica, you must
be flexible and adaptable We are extremely happy
with the way the project has been going."
"KRONE products have been an integral part of the
Australian Antarctic Division's telecommunications
network since the late 1980s We use the HIGHWAY
range of patch panels and associated accessories and
LSA+ modules at our headquarters in Tasmania, and
at our bases in the Antarctic," said Ian Bruce, AAD's
Senior Technical Officer (Telecommunications)
"They have proven to be reliable which is a crucial factor because the ANARE stations are isolated for approximately six months of the year when the sea surrounding the continent has frozen and it is not possible to send replacement items to the area."
"We have recently been upgrading our data and internal telephone networks and these cables terminate on KRONE HIGHWAY modular patch panels," added Mr Bruce "We use standard RJ45
to RJ45 patch cords to patch the outlets into the data switches and hubs, and we use LSA to RJ45 patch cords to interface the outlets into the inter-building telephone network."
Cable and patch cord management is achieved by using KRONE HIGHWAY patch cord minders with jumper rings attached front and rear
"HIGHWAY modules, patch panels and associated UTP cabling replaced our existing Thinwire network, providing more flexibility, greater reliability and easier fault finding," said Mr Bruce "This ensures that the cabling network is always available in support of ANARE scientific and operational programs."
A satellite link, known as ANARESAT, provides communication via a public switched telephone network and Wide Area Network (WAN) back to AAD Head Office at Kingston in Tasmania
The KRONE installations form part of the LAN and telephone network at each ANARE station which then connect to the ANARESAT system