Tape Splicer wrote: As I said above,I didn't listen to the whole stream so I didn't hear the megabytes referenced in your text...But my guess is that "MB" is used as an abbreviation in the text for "millibar" and the software translates the "MB" as "Megabytes" ....
The audio quality is poor at best - with the hum in the background and the audio level not much above the hum; Important information could be lost in transmission - and lives could be put in danger.
Was there any estimate of the how much would be saved by shutting these three stations down? And how much did it cost to set up the new system? Are GPS systems on ships more accurate than those used by Joe average on the highways?
Was there not also a reduction to the "shipping traffic control" system along the coast not long ago? Not to mention the closure of the False Creek Coast Guard station.
When I think of the local shipping lanes I remember the BC ferry collision with a freighter just off the gulf islands a number of years ago.....and there was ship-to-ship and radar systems on both vesels....not sure about a "ship traffic control" system in place at the time...... But i'm thinking be ready for more of this happening up the coast and at the entrance to our very busy ports.
In typical fashion over the years, they're being secretive about the amount spent vs amount saved. Nobody in gov't has suggested a cost saving or cut back. Likewise no information available covering costs over the long term.
21 minutes is too long to suffer this audio, so I don't blame anyone for not listening to it entirely. The latter half is just plain horrible. Even in a quiet setting, most of it is inaudible.
Automated CMB's have been around for thirty plus years and most of them work reasonably well, but in this case the government opted to buy new, untested software and equipment worth millions of dollars. Most of the glitches have been software issues, not just in the audio portion, but how the repeaters communicate with each other as well. It's a mishmash of old analogue equipment on the remote peripherals combined with digital upgrades and ramshackled interfaces. The Allen circuit (which worked near perfectly for decades), a link between lighthouse reports and the radio station is now largely unserviceable. A procedure which took two or three minutes in the past, takes much longer or not at all because either it's down, inaudible or screeching with feedback. The entire coast line is a patchwork quilt of a network at best, where even minor failures cause the entire chain to go down, forcing technicians to use helicopters more than ever just to reboot systems or perform minor fixes etc.
On a daily basis, there are dark spots on the coast for both emergency or traffic operations. We have one technician left, for the entire west coast of the island, over worked and not always available. It's not a maybe, lives ARE endangered when the system goes down. Marine incidents happen, day or night, calm or stormy.
GPS and intership communication have indeed improved over the years, but leaving ships to their own devices in the absence of traffic management is irresponsible, especially considering the feds want to increase tanker traffic so China can stuff their pockets. The erosion of vessel traffic services at the Port of Valdez, was a contributing factor in the wreck of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Since then, they've applied new rules and escort vessels, yet Canada has done neither to reduce the likelihood of accidents. There are two people on a train or a cockpit for a reason. Oversight and objective operations. They expect a foreign captain operating a ship with a flag of convenience to singlehandedly protect our lives or environment without proper tracking and clearance procedures in the absence of accurate weather data and notices to shipping. A brand new ship... fully operational, certified sea worthy, in calm weather, at anchor spilled bunker oil in English Bay last month because of a single act of negligence by a crew member.
If anyone thinks for one second that the principle of "polluter pays" will be taken serious by China after a spill, they've got another thing coming.