Solar Powered VHF Repeater
Bird Island, South Georgia and the South Orkney Islands are all home to research stations run by the British Antarctic Survey. These stations house a small number of staff who carry out scientific experiments on and around the islands. The need for effective communication equipment in such a hostile environment is very important.
The stations currently use Marine VHF radios to keep in contact. Due to the mountainous terrain of the islands, VHF radio waves are quickly absorbed creating many blackspots from which radio contact is non-existent. The requirement was for a VHF repeater to work on one of the International Marine duplex channels (e.g. channel 1 or 18). The repeater system was to be self-contained with its own power source. It needed to be light enough to be carried to its final position and to be rugged enough to withstand Antarctic winters.