Month: September 2022

This week we climbed into the tween deck for the last times.Initially it was to run 2 cables from both engines up to the bridge and the other was to close up the RoxBox. Closing up the RoxBox was a difficult task because there were two pipes in our line of site when we were in the most comfortable sitting position that was possible. To be able to look around the pipes bending over was needed but at that point the neck was in pain from discomfort. It was a tedious process because of having the peel the layers of the cubes as we tried to fit it to the different cables. It was like peeling the layers off an onion. Each cube, inside and out, along with the stay plates and framing had to be lubricated in the process of holding the previous rows up so they don’t collapse. At one point the stay plates fell through the opening to the other side of the tween deck and our arms were too short to reach them though the hole. Kyle ended up going onto the other side to retrieve them and work from that side. It was almost easier because it was less cramped having a person on each side to the same work, less congestion in the area. The most relieving part of the process was inserting the wedge and tightening up on the screws because at that point we knew it was finally over and no block should be falling anymore.

The next job we had dealt with the flowthrough system, and it was to remove the C3 sensors and debubbler, clean the organic buildup and growth out of it, and reinstall them. This was alongside swapping out the current Micro TSG and temperature probe for the newly calibrated ones. We also had to update the software with the new coefficients SeaBird gave us. After plugging in the temperature ones, something was majorly wrong as we were receiving temperatures of 811 degrees Celsius. The coefficients were triple checked to insure they were put in correctly to the right exponent. Denis came to check on us as we are trying to troubleshoot the problem and we explained the problem to him. :Oh yeah, that happened sometimes. They used a different method than we do.” After figuring that out, Denis ran us through the way one how to fix the string error we were getting. Instead of the software reading the frequency the sensor was giving off, it was reading the actual temperature and thinking that was the frequency, so it was then converting that to the “temperature” like it would normally do if set to how we use it.

Following up on learning about R232 cable last week and how to make a DB-9 connection, Kyle and I set off to make our own cable to talk to each other over our computers. Some trouble shooting had to be done in the process. Upon the first try of communicating, nothing happened. Something was wrong. We then had the idea of faking out the signals they send and receive by creating the jumper from the request to send pin to the clear to send pin. After that fix and try, it still didn’t work. After thinking back to what Denis had said the prior week, we realized that we need a null modem and not just a gender changer to be able to connect t our computers. After searching for one and not having any luck finding it, we decided we’ll just take account for not having one with the cable and terminations we created. On one end the transmit data wire and receive data wire were crossed that way when we used the gender changer it would link the connection like we needed if we had a null modem. After that attempt it was a success! We were able to chat back and forth, and Kyle typed up a nice short explanation of what we did.

One afternoon Denis showed us how he removes an old termination off the 322 cable and explained how he creates a new termination. This was an interesting process because he had to remelt the metal (Cerrobend Alloy), with a blow torch, used to attach the wire to the termination to be reused for the next. After all the Cerrobend alloy was removed, the wire was able to be pulled out and Denis was able to explain how he would fold back the layers of wire nest until he could get to the cable inside to place that properly in the termination. This procedure was very helpful to see, and I hope I am able to help when he has the time to make the new termination.

The last thing that was done in the week was running the POS-MV cable, that was coiled up in the engine room, from the engine room and up the stacks to the cable gland at the base of the POS-MV antennas.

This is my last week as an intern working with the F.G. Walton Smith. I have learned a lot and gained a lot of invaluable experience from my work here. The crew has been great to work with and I really appreciate them taking it upon themselves to mentor Alesha and I through working on scientific equipment and research vessels. It has been quite a unique experience being a part of the midlife refit of the F.G. Walton Smith, repowering it with brand new 2022 built Cummins engines. It has been especially wonderful working closely with Jonathan, Alesha, and Denis.

I was set to leave on Wednesday, August 31, so Denis had us working on R232 serial connections and calibrating/rotating out some of the sensors in the flow through system. I felt that Alesha and I have come full circle the last couple of weeks, taking what Denis was teaching us at the beginning of the internship about the 7 OSI layers, networking, and data communications and applying it in the physical layer to get a larger idea of how to be a Marine Tech.

On Monday, we finished closing up the Rox Box after running the 12 strand shielded wires for the engine displays (start/stop), and a 2 stranded shielded wire to serve as the data link for the engine controls. It was difficult to get the wires in, hold all of the rubber pieces in place, greasing up each piece and putting the next layers on but after the wedge was put in it all fit nice and snug. Alesha and I realized that it is very important to make sure that the seam of the rubber pieces lies parellel to the wedge in order for the pieces to compress together the correct way (and avoid it being so difficult to take apart). Here is a picture of the finished Rox Box in the Tween Deck:

We then began work cleaning the debubbler, C3 sensors, and to switch out the MicroTSG (Thermosalinograph). The Turner Designs C3 Submersible Fluorometer sensors read Chlorophyll and CDOM with 3 optical sensors. We took them apart and cleaned them up. Here are some pictures of the flow through system and the sensors:

We went through troubleshooting some of the programmed language that it was pulling off the sensors, when we went to run them. We also took on a project to make R232 serial connections and ran a terminal emulation program to see if we could communicate to each other from laptop to laptop. We went through some troubleshooting figuring this out as it wasn’t as straight forward as the RJ45 ethernet connections. We realized that Alesha had made a female jack and I had made a male jack on the same wire, which then connected to our computers through a male adapter to USB. At first it registered that DTR (Data Terminal Ready) was lit up, which meant that power was recieved and it that our communications were ready to receive, however the data wasn’t being transmitted or received properly. We thought it might be the RTS (Request to Send) and CTS (Clear to Send) IP protocols that weren’t allowing the data to be transmitted without permission. So, we jumpered those connections in order to fake it out allowing data to be transmitted and received. This still didn’t work and so we thought it might have had to do with the crossedover female and male connectors. So instead of using a null modem (because we didn’t have one that we could use) we switched the receive and transmit pins. It worked and here is a picture of Alesha and I able to send data from one laptop to another real-time:

On Wednesday, Denis showed us how he makes the .322 Cable termination. This was incredibly awesome as he uses an older method of ensuring a strong termination by melting a metal alloy into the birdnested wire, inside of a custom stainless connector. He uses a Cerro Alloy which can be reused through every connection by making his own molds. The metal has a very low melting point, is very strong, and cures very quickly. It only took a few minutes for the metal to start melting and a few more for it to harden again. Here are some pictures from the process:

This has been a great experience and I have learned so much. I got an offer recently to start applying some of my newly learned skills onboard the R/V Atlantis with WHOI, which I am excited to embark upon in the next few weeks. This internship has been very motivating for me to continue working in the research fleet. I have enjoyed the passion and attitude that everyone shares working on the F.G Walton Smith. I am excited to keep blending my experiences as a sailor with scientific pursuits. I have grown confident in my abilities to learn quickly and figure things out methodicallly, which I think will carry me where I want to go. There is always so much more to learn and I am excited for the challenges that await. Thank you so much to the crew of the F.G. Walton Smith, Alesha, and Maria for the opportunities and time shared!