The satellite dish atop the Big House now has a radome covering it. Last year we built an enclosure around the dish to protect it from the high winds and extreme temperatures. Unfortunately, the enclosure attenuated the signal enough that a significant boost in transmisson power was required to maintain the communications link. The radome solves both of these problems. It provides protection from the elements and is optimized for the transmission frequency at which the link operates. The result has been a significant reduction in power leading to lower operating costs. The radome also looks far better than the enclosure!

Last year, the radome was protected by a box constructed on top of the Big House	At the start of the summer 2001 field season, we installed a radome over the dish to improve the performance of the link.