NEWS Engineers Australia Northern Division
April 2009
Survey House 14 Shepherd Street Darwin GPO Box 417 Darwin NT 0801 Telephone (08) 8981 4137 Fax (08) 8941 3449 Email nt@engineersaustralia.org.au Website: www.engineersaustralia.org.au
In this issue ... • A message from the President • Who’s Who— Fellow, Steve • • • •
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Petrofes - Companion, Jean-Luc Revel 2009 Gala Dinner Grant Behrendorff Breakfast International Reach—Jakarta Bridge Building Contest Office Space available, My Organisation information and Science and Engineering Challenge volunteers required Eminent Speaker program 2009 Young Engineers Meet ‘n’ Greet Engineering Excellence Awards Director’s Report Government Stimulus Package Presentation Site Visit Royal Darwin Hospital Oncology Unit Charles Darwin University— Accreditation, report on student numbers, student BBQ Poole’s Pondering’s— Telecommunications in the NT Calendar of events
President’s Report In early March I attended a meeting of Engineers Australia Divisional Presidents. Membership, volunteer and discipline numbers vary enormously. Larger Divisions have structures reflecting the Engineers Australia college structure with separate technical programs. It would be great to gain access to those presentations for our specialist members. It was not surprising that a common concern was communicating with members. Sharing approaches to this issue was useful.
members who put in time and effort to meet with the Engineers Australia accreditors. I understand the engineering courses are accredited until 2013. Congratulations to Friso and his staff. I must say that I enjoyed the presentation of Keith Crews, the Structural College Eminent Speaker. His presentation was not highly technical and addressed philosophical approaches to engineering structures. It is difficult for speakers of his calibre to find time to visit the regions and I thank Keith for coming to Darwin. Support for these events is important and attendance at this event was in excess of thirty.
The Council and Congress have established a number of committees. Very important to us are the Electronic Communication Committee and the Regional Committee. I have won a guernsey for the Remote Committee. Last year many of you completed a survey which gives a good starting point for considering the issues of most concern. Important considerations of this committee will be the delivery of CPD.
Peter Hagan
Engineers Australia has worked closely with Charles Darwin University in the development of the engineering courses and I would like to add my thanks to those SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Sponsorship opportunities are now available for Engineers Australia Northern Division. You may wish to sponsor the Engineering Excellence Awards, Youth Programs or other opportunities which are contained in the prospectus For a copy of the sponsorship prospectus, please contact Karen or Tara on 8981 4137 or email Karen at krelph@engineersaustralia.org.au O r visit the website www.engineersaustralia.org.au
Partners
Engineering Team - welcome to Northern Division newest Fellow and Companion Welcome to our newest Fellow Steve Petrofes, FIEAust CPEng Steve is the newest Fellow for Engineers Australia Northern Division working in Gove and we would like to introduce him to you. He graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso USA in 1989 and began working for ALCOA as a mechanical engineer at the Point Comfort, Texas Alumina Refinery. During his first 5 years at this location, Steve provided engineering and design support for the hydrate, fluoride and paste plant operations as well as supporting a small Georgia based operation. Steve then transferred to ALCOA’s Suriname, South America Alumina Refinery/Alumina Smelter facility. During his 4 year assignment, Steve lead several large capital projects associated with the grinding of bauxite, washing of mud residue and water evaporation. In mid-1999, Steve transferred back to the US with ALCOA and for the next 7 years, held roles in Production Management, Construction Management and Engineering Management, which ultimately lead to his involvement in several large Brownfield and Greenfield Alumina Refinery projects as well as leading the ALCOA Atlantic Business Unit Engineering Alliance . After 18 years with ALCOA, Steve elected to take on a new role with Rio Tinto Alcan, relocating from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Nhulunbuy, NT, at the Gove Refinery as Engineering Manager. Since starting at Gove in Nov 2007, Steve has moved into the role as the General Manager for the Gove Expansion Project and is presently overseeing the final commissioning and completion of the project. Steve and his wife Karrie currently reside in Nhulunbuy with five of their six children. The oldest daughter, Amanda, is attending Pittsburgh University and is finishing her second year. Matthew, Michalea, Cara and Alyssa attend Nhulunbuy High
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Northern Division welcomes Jean-Luc Revel as Companion Jean Luc-Revel, CompIEAust. Jean-Luc has been recognised for his standing in the Engineering community and has been welcomed to the Division as a Companion. He was born in Madascar as a French National and was educated in Africa and France. He became an Australian citizen in 1973 and lives in Alice springs. He has worked with Power and Water since 1997 and commenced as Engineering Services Manager in Alice Springs. From 1999 to 2007 he worked as Manager Generation South (Power & Water Corporation). He is now Project Manager for the Alice Springs new power station development. In this role Jean-Luc is working in partnership with engineering consultants and major contractors to develop and build the new Owen Springs Power Station at the Brewer Estate South of Alice Springs. Jean-Luc said, “after 40 years association with Power & Water Corporation and its predecessor organisations, he takes pride in having the opportunity to contribute to the development and provision of utility services in the Northern Territory and working with many dedicated individuals to achieve that objective. I enjoy sharing my experience with others and when appropriate provide support and guidance to assist them fulfil their potential.” Jean-Luc is a long serving member of the Rotary organisation in the Northern Territory. In his personal time he enjoys travelling, reading and classical music. If you have any time to volunteer for our youth programs, be it Science & Engineering Week, EngQuest or Sunchase, please contact Rosemary on (08) 8981 4137 or roreilly@engineersaustralia.org.au We’d love to hear from you!
Office Space Available
EAQ - Webcast Portal
!!OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE!! Office space has become available for rent within Engineers Australia Northern Division. If you are looking for office space within the heart of Darwin City please give Karen a call on 8981 4137 or email her at krelph@engineersaustralia.org.au Short or long term lease can be negotiated
Take a look at the Engineers Australia Queensland Webcast Portal - visit http://eaq.mediavisionz.com.au. This webcast allows you to view seminars which have been conducted
New brochures and online CPD now available
My Organisation “My Organisation” is the newest marketing brochure from Engineers Australia. Designed in response to Engineers Australia’s Strategic Marketing Review to provide information to those who are looking to join Engineers Australia, as well as current members, on what is available as a member and where to look for it.
It includes sections on Member Benefits, Grades, Professional Recognition, Volunteering, Technical Societies and Learned Groups as well as a host of other information.
We Need Your Help A call for volunteers
2009 Science & Engineering Challenge Darwin (14th & 15th May), Alice Springs (6th May)
Here’s your chance to have fun and meet new people…..And encourage young people to study Maths and Science Call Rosemary on (08) 8981 4137 Or email roreilly@engineersaustralia.org.au for more information
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If you would like a copy of the brochure they are available from the Division office, Survey House, 14 Shepherd Street, Darwin Or by contacting Tara Keogh, tkeogh@engineersaustralia.org.au or phone 08 8981 4137
2009 Gala Dinner
All the Experts at work!
Engineers Australia Members and Doug Walters reconstruct a piece of Darwin History Over 150 guests enjoyed Legendary Cricketer Doug Walters speak at the Engineers Australia Gala Dinner at SKYCITY Grand Ballroom on Thursday, 19th March to help Engineers Australia celebrate their 90th birthday. Doug entertained guests with anecdotes of his cricketing history and his visit to Camooweal where he reminisced about one of the patrons at the local drinking establishment “Daryl” and his experience with the local water tower in that town.. Each table was given the mission to reconstruct a model of Darwin’s World War Two Water Supply Tower with each table given 30 seconds to explain their expertise behind their Engineering feat. Doug and the Deputy Chief Minister, Delia Lawrie were the judges, with Wallbridge & Gilbert and guests team taking top honours as overall winners. They were presented with mini cricket bats duly signed by Doug. The Judges comments included “bribery will always work” and Daryl hanging from the water tower sealed their fate as winners.
Peter Poole and Rana Everett demonstrating their water
Explanations included a comprehensive history lesson on the Japanese flying around the tower with our local air traffic controllers leaving in a hurry once they spotted the aircraft and the model having “frangibility” – this meant the tower would collapse if it was hit by an aircraft. A good evening was by enjoyed by all who attended with the grand finale being an auction of a cricket bat signed by Doug and Mr Bryan Stapley being overjoyed that he was the highest bidder. You may recall the water tower featuring in our February issue of the newsletter with an article by our Heritage representative Peter Poole. Peter was delighted that the tower was chosen as the activity at the Gala Dinner.
Deputy Chief Minister and Doug Walters in deep contemplation
Bryan Stapley the winner bidder of the signed Doug Walters Cricket Bat Wallbridge & Gilbert - The winning Team
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Graeme Townes and the TCM team demonstrating their tank
CELM - Grant Behrendorff
International Reach - Jakarta
Bridge Building Contest - Jakarta - 16th April 2009 The Jakarta Local Association of the Institution of Civil Engineers held a Bridge Building contest at the Eastern Promise Restaurant and Public House (often frequented by sons of gentlefolk). A total of six teams participated, three Grant spoke about his career and the “Bushlight Indigenous” teams coming from a local university (BINUS) renewable energy projects. He spoke about an component from with the remaining three teams comprising this housing project being utilised in India, however they reengineers working in Jakarta International quired him to reproduce these at a cost per unit of $50.00 each. Container Terminal, PT. Multibangun Rekatama Patria & AureThe units currently cost $4,000 in Australia. He advised that con.
Grant Behrendorff was visiting Darwin to present at an Electrical Engineering in the Top End seminar. Engineers Australia, not missing an opportunity, invited Grant to speak to members at an breakfast held at East West in the Mantra Pandanas on 11th March.
they have just about achieved this target with a little more research and development being required.
Over 15 members enjoyed breakfast with Grant and enjoyed his experience of his first job as an Electrical Engineer and being asked to go to Hawaii to set up a seminar with technical equipment in tow, a $1M dollar projector. When he arrived he found that the equipment had already been set up and all he had to do was to protect this $1M dollar projector. It was most enlightening breakfast listening to Grant and the projects he has been involved in.
Each team was presented with a “Starter Kit” of drinking straws, satay sticks, rubber bands and paper clips. The object of the exercise was to construct a bridge to span 500mm between two bar tables. The winning bridge being determined as the one which could support the heaviest load (in the form of beer bottles suspended at mid span incrementally filled with water). Additional materials could be “bought” such as sharp knives, cotton, and super glue, the cost of these additional purchases being deducted from the winning team’s prize money. This therefore provided the incentive to construct an efficient (cheap) structure. After an initial 30 minute design period the teams were invited to “purchase” any additional building materials they required followed by the construction period of a further 60 minutes. The Chairman of the Jakarta Local Association (Dave Foster) was appointed as the judge to select the winning bridge based on load bearing capacity, aesthetics and efficiency of design. As the construction period progressed it was evident to the Chairman that an Extension of Time would have to be awarded. However this did not prevent serious Liquidated Damages from being suffered by the panel of civil engineering experts who were assembled to give expert advice to the teams on such matters as geotechnical issues, traffic engineering, hydrology and heavy duty pavement design. After a further 30 minutes the Chairman’s legs were visibly wrestling with some form of involuntary liquefaction and completion certificates were therefore hurriedly issued to the teams for substantial completion. A nail biting load test ensued with the winning team comprising local students from BINUS University.
The winning team - students from BINUS University
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Eminent Speaker Program 2009 Keith Crews—Eminent Speaker
Dr. David Skellern - Eminent Speaker
Keith Crews presented a seminar on “Sustainability of Infrastructure” in Darwin on 16th April. Members comments included “excellent speaker”, “great seminar”, very interesting and educational”. Over 30 members attended.
Dr. David Skellern is one of the Eminent Speakers coming to Darwin and will be presenting the topic “Recasting the Net: The Internet of the Future of the Digital Economy”. Dr Skellern will present this seminar on 9th June at Engineers Australia.
Keith Crews is a Professor of Structural Engineering & the Deputy Director, Centre for Built Infrastructure Research at the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney.
Dr Skellern has been the CEO of NICTA (National Information & Communications Technology Australia Ltd, Australia’s ICT research Centre of Excellence) since mid 2005. He was appointed to the NICTA board in 2003.
Following 10 years in the private sector, Keith joined UTS in 1993, where he undertakes teaching, research and specialist consulting activities. He is an internationally recognised expert in design and assessment of timber structures, such as bridges, buildings and utility poles. He has published extensively, having authored over 300 papers and technical reports relating to the use, assessment, safety and reliability of structural timber. Keith represents Australia on the Scientific Committee for Structural Faults and Repairs at the University of Edinburgh and is an active member of a number of SAA code committees, ISO TC165, CIB W18, and RILEM Com.
He is one of Australia’s most successful ICT entrepreneurs, with a strong background in scientific and engineering research, industrial R & D and electronic engineering education.
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In 1997 Dr Skellern co-founded the Radiata companies in Australia and the USA to commercialise the results of the WLAN research project that he led in collaboration with CSIRO. In September 2000 Radiata demonstrated the worlds first chip-set implementation of the 54 Mbit/s IEEE 802.11a High-Speed WLAN standard.
Young Engineers Meet ‘n’ Greet
2009 Engineering Excellence Awards
The Young Engineers held a meet ‘n’ greet at the Beachfront Hotel on Friday 20 March 2009. With some new faces in the crowd and a beautiful balmy afternoon, it was great chance for all our young engineers to mingle, have a few drinks and enjoy good company.
Photography kindly provided by Northern Territory Library from the Percy Brown collection
The Engineering Excellence Awards entries have now closed with submissions due on 8th May 2009. However, it’s not too late to nominate for the “People in Engineering” Awards, so if you have a professional engineer, young engineer, associate, young associate, technologist or young technologist who you believe deserves recognition, please send your registrations. Entry forms can be found on the website at www.engineersaustralia.org.au Or contact Karen on 8981 4137 or email krelph@engineersaustralia.org.au and she will be happy to assist. Entries for the “People in Engineering” Awards are due on 1st June 2009.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Judging will commence in June and July. Information on the People’s Choice Awards will be provided soon.
Sponsorship opportunities are now available for Engineers Australia Northern Division. You may wish to sponsor the Engineering Excellence Awards, Youth Programs or other opportunities which are contained in the prospectus For a copy of the sponsorship prospectus, please contact Karen or Tara on 8981 4137 or email Karen at krelph@engineersaustralia.org.au Or visit the website www.engineersaustralia.org.au
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Director’s Report
Regional Taskforce News
Well done to all of the participants at the recent Gala Dinner. Not only were we well entertained by Doug Walters but we discovered true talent amongst our members and guests who built replicas of the old RAAF water tower with gusto. Our gala dinners have traditionally been experiential and this year was no different! Thanks to everyone who participated and made the night
Arising from the work of the Regional Taskforce in 2008 and its survey of regional and rural members, Engineers Australia’s National Council has established a new Committee to develop strategies for supporting the engineering team in regional and rural areas. The Committee has been tasked with:
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great fun.
You may have noticed that we have not been holding our regular monthly technical presentations this year. This is partly due to the difficulty we have had getting people to attend thus creating very • embarrassing moments for us and the presenters who have committed their time and energy to prepare their talks. We have got a number of eminent speakers on national tours booked for the year however, four in all, so we are hoping that you will support these and bring along others who you think might be interested in the topics. If we are to retain these speakers next year it will be because we have managed to get reasonable numbers to attend. Please make an effort to support this initiative. The information is in your weekly emails and on the website. If you are not receiving your emails then please let us know. Perhaps your email address is not accurate in our data base.
Investigation of professional development and peer support opportunities that regional and rural members can pursue and the capacity of Engineers Australia to deliver these services; and Development of a proposal for a Year of the Regional & Rural Engineer or similar, with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of engineering to sustaining regional economies and the Australian economy overall.
Clarence Valley water engineer, Greg Mashiah is Chairman of the Regional Committee which has been formed with engineering team members from every state and a cross-section of disciplines. The regional taskforce comprises of the following membership and provides a good mix of regional and rural representation:
Chair & Northern Rivers Regional Group Chair (NSW) Port Hedland Regional Group (WA) Young Engineers Australia National Chair (QLD) Bronwyn Russell Victoria Division Regional Group Representative (VIC) Illawarra Sutherland Regional Group (NSW) Dubbo Regional Group Chair (NSW) Presentation on Government Stimulus Package to Engineers Council, NVP Engineering Practice & CPD (NSW) Australia members by Mike Chiodo, General Manager Construction Division, Department of Infrastructure and Planning. Congress, Technical Societies Representative (NSW) Congress, Northern Division President (NT) Congress, North Qld Regional Group (QLD) The Department of Infrastructure and Planning’s General ManCorresponding Member, Mt Gambier Regional Group (SA) ager of the Construction Division, Mike Chiodo provided EngiCorresponding Member, South West Regional Group Chair neers Australia members with a snapshot of the Government’s Stimulus Package on Tuesday, 7 April at a lunch time forum. The Regional Committee welcomes input, ideas and feedback
Look forward to seeing you at some events soon.
He presented at outline of the proposed packages which will provide beneficial stimulus to the Northern Territory economy including:
from the greater engineering community on its above tasks. The Regional Committee aims to draft strategies to Council that ensure support for engineers living and working outside of the urban fringe.
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Please email us on: regionalcc@engineersaustralia.org.au
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National Pride – $50 - $200K (for schools for repairs and maintenance) - he advised that schools were responsible for the appointment of contractors for this component. Pride 21 $200K - $3M – eg. Libraries etc $3M plus – languages and science labs – 4 year rolling program
The seminar was well attended by members and Engineers Australia was extremely grateful to the department and Mike for taking time out of his busy schedule to present an outline of the package.
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Royal Darwin Hospital Oncology Unit
Charles Darwin University Accreditation
Engineers Australia conducted an accreditation visit from 23rd— 25th March 2009. The recommendation of the panel to the Accreditation Board will be to award full accreditation for all specialisations offered of the Bachelor of Engineering, the Bachelor of Engineering (Co-op) and combined degrees until the 2013 inThe Conventional formwork and rein- take. forced concrete was replaced with precast concrete formwork and fibre-reinforced concrete infill. The cho- Engineers Australia will come back mid year for the accreditasen design has resulted in a saving of approximately $700 000 to tion of Diploma of Engineering and external delivery. the NT Government and shaved 3 weeks off the construction program. An innovative approach was taken for the design of the Linear Accelerator Bunkers the new Oncology facility under construction at Royal Darwin Hospital.
One of the challenges encountered is keeping the huge volume concrete pour cool enough to prevent thermal cracking and potential leaking of radiation. Several trial mixes and pours have been carried out to determine the optimum concrete mix for this application replacing some of the cement with flyash and replacing some of the water with ice to help keep the temperature down during the curing of the concrete.
Charles Darwin University Report on student numbers
In the Bachelor of Engineering program, the number of students in year 2009 increased by 14% compared to 2008 (from 106 to 124). The external delivery has increased by 60%. The Bachelor of Engineering program has 50 external full time students, which is 43% higher than 2008. Overall student numbers of 255 is anticipated by the end of 2009. Sina Vafi Charles Darwin University Committee Representative
Charles Darwin University Student BBQ
A barbecue was held at Charles Darwin University to welcome all new students on 6 March. Over 60 attended the barbecue which included students, CDU staff and representatives and, of course, the Engineers Australia Northern Division team. 32 students took the opportunity of becoming members of Engineers Australia.
!!CONFERENCE ROOM AVAILABLE FOR RENT!! Hire The conference room be hired out for: • Half days at $110 • Full days at $220 • Evenings at $165
Equipment White board, TV, DVD/Video and OHP are free to use but the following cost money to use: • Data projector is $220 per day • Laptop is $88 If data projector is being used for three days or more it will be charged at half price. All prices are Negotiable Cleaning
It is the responsibility of the hirer to set up and clean the room. We have a vacuum cleaner in the server room.
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Catering The conference room has a kitchen with fridge, oven, stove, microwave and dishwasher. We charge a minimum of $30.00 per day for continuous tea & coffee for any number under 20 people and $1.50 per person for numbers over 20.
Poole’s Ponderings - Telecommunications in the Northern Territory The recent simultaneous failure of two optic fibre communication links highlights society’s dependence on reliable high-speed communications. The Federal government’s announcement of fibre to the home connections as the final outcome of the National Broadband Network may ensure our need for ever increased speed in communication is satisfied. Telephone lines beside old Northern Australian Railway near Stapleton
Tele-communications technology utilised in the Northern Territory has ranged from state of the art to obsolescent as technologies changed over the years.
had two benefits as the railway could be utilised to gain access for maintenance and the telegraph could be utilised by the railway for communication. The Northern Territory of South Australia was transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia in 1911 as part of the 1901 federation agreement. The Overland Telegraph passed from South Australian control to Commonwealth control under the Post Master Generals Department. Voice communication from Darwin to locations south commenced in 1925 however it was not until 1942 that voice communication to Adelaide was established. Teleprinters were used for communication between Darwin and Alice Springs commencing in 1938.
The Overland Telegraph line used state of the art The bombing of Darwin in February 1942 resulted in equipment and contemporary construction techthe military taking over telephone communication niques to transmit a Morse code signal between Darsystems in the Territory and the relocation of the win and Adelaide. It had a service life of almost sevmain exchange to Adelaide River. The military auenty years before it was superseded. The line comthorities were concerned at their messages being prised a single wire earth return system utilising an 8 routed over lines maintained by civilians. Military SWG steel wire supported on wooden poles that were signals corps maintained the telephony system locally sourced where possible; with porcelain insulathroughout the Territory for the duration of the war. tors fitted with surge diverters. 11 Repeater stations were constructed along the 1975-mile length of the The increased need by the military for communicatelegraph to receive and then retransmit the message. tions with the south, and east, resulted in the conEach Repeater Station was a small community of struction of telephone lines following the north Morse code operators and maintenance workers south road and the road from Three Ways to Mt Isa. whose roll was to maintain the line and the batteries Microwave Tower, Alice Technological improvements resulted in increases in Springs, Air Guyed required to provide the power to operate the system. the number of “conversations” that could be carried Tower Solar Powered The operation of the system was labour intensive on each pair of wires; eight pairs connected Darwin however automation had been developed to enable with Katherine and four pairs connected Katherine the signal to be received and then retransmitted automatically with the south via Alice Springs and east via Mt Isa. Multiplexwhere possible. ing allowed 24 channels to be carried on each pair of conductors. Each “line” had a capacity of 64kbytes. Trunk calls needed The Overland Telegraph was upgraded several times to im- to be booked with the “Operator” and delays of several hours prove the reliability and the efficiency of the system. The were the norm. Calls were charged by the minute. These landwooden poles were replaced commencing in 1872. The steel lines remained in use as the north’s communication links with conductor was replaced with copper and a second conductor the south until the early 1970’s when the microwave link from installed in 1898 to provide a dual circuit. Townsville via Mt Isa, Tennant Creek and Katherine connected Darwin with Australia. A competent Morse code operator could send 30 words per minute; this equates to a rate of 10 bytes per second in modern Commissioning of the microwave link enabled Darwin submethods of measurement. The cost of sending a message to Lon- scribers to make calls to the south through the STD network at don was ₤10 per telegram. $1.75 for three minutes, it also lead to the demise of the telephone line depots throughout the territory from which linesmen The Overland Telegraph alignment had been selected with the worked to maintain the telephone lines. Fire; which caused the copper conductors to sag, falling trees and over height loads objective of building a line connecting the south to the north in a relatively “straight” line basically following explorer Stuart’s which broke the conductors were all in a days work for the path with repeater stations on water holes. The South Austra- linesmen. Four wheel drive vehicles were utilised for access lian government commenced building a railway that would also where the lines followed the highway, section cars / quads were link the south with the north. The railway alignment was se- used where the line followed the railway line. The Wonarah lected with engineering and cost considerations dictating the Line Depot on the Barkly Highway between Frewena and Barry position, an alignment away from the telegraph line resulted. Caves which closed in April 1974 was an iconic posting for a PMG linesman. The telegraph line was relocated to run beside the railway, this
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Poole’s Ponderings - Telecommunications in the Northern Territory cont…. The microwave system comprised a carrier and Groote Eylandt. This link has also been replaced by a combi bearer and a stand by bearer. The carrier bearer nation of optic fibre and digital radio. was utilised for communications between the Territory and Australia; the standby bearer to The microwave system had a very short operating life as by the carry a television signal from the south to Dar- mid 1980’s optic fibre cable was being installed to connect Darwin, when the carrier worked Darwin win with Katherine and locations further south. The microhad some southern television. The miwave towers remain in place as supports for antennas that crowave system used line of sight beams provide a digital radio link from the optic fibre network to between towers to transmit and receive communities, mines, pastoral properties etc within range of the signals problems were experienced network of repeaters that feed out from the microwave towwith atmospheric variations / changes at ers. dawn and dusk where the beam would be deflected and then Communications by optic fibre are now an essential part of Microwave Tower Blake St not arrive at the receivour modern world, the recent failures which occurred had an Darwin supporting antennae, antenna effect on almost every facet of our society. Could digital radio, mobile telephone ing resulting in a Microwave Repeater, Ferguson society function River - Free Standing Tower loss of signal. The microwave repeaters were with out modern powered by diesel generators which were uncommunications? reliable; the diesel supplied from Asian refineries was hard on the engines. The fuel tanks at the remote repeaters were fre- Finally the cost and speed of quently emptied by thieves. Colouring was introduced to the communications have changed fuel to assist in identifying it when it disappeared. When the dramatically, the OT line cost microwave was extended from Tennant Creek south to Alice over ₤400,000 and a telegram Springs guyed towers with solar power were utilised in stead of cost ₤10 using the same ratio a Tennant Creek Overland Telethe free standing towers with diesel generators. single use of the proposed graph Repeater Station . $43billion NBN would cost Oppenhiemer pole in foreground. A troposcatter microwave link was constructed to provide a $1million. The elapsed time to communication link between Darwin, Millingimbi. Nhulunbuy send a telegram from Adelaide to London was over seven hours today it is instantaneous.
Engineers Australia Professional Standards Scheme
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Calender of Events 2009 Date
Event
Speaker/Venue
6th May
Science and Engineering Challenge
Alice Springs
7th & 8th May
Project Management Workshop - Engineering Education Australia
TBA
8th May
Engineering Excellence Awards Submissions due
N/A
14th & 15th May
Science and Engineering Challenge
Charles Darwin University
28th May
Peter Thomas, RSL – Seminar on Engineer, John Monash
Engineers Australia
1st June
Lodge submissions for People in Engineering Award entries
N/A
9th June
Eminent Speaker, David Skellern
Engineers Australia
26th June
ITEC Eminent Speaker, Ron Cox
(TBA)
23rd July
Young Engineers Golf Day
Palmerston Golf Club
3rd August
Inaugural Race Day - Engineering week
Darwin Turf Club, Fannie Bay
4th August
Launch of Engineering Week by Deputy Chief Minister
Parliament House
13th August
Women in Engineering Breakthrough Strategies Workshop
TBA
18th September
Engineering Excellence Awards 2009
Darwin Convention Centre
12th—16th October
National Assessor’s Visit—Ewan Hazeldine
Engineers Australia
Sept/October
Sunchase
Alice Springs and Darwin
3rd December
Annual General Meeting
14 Shepherd Street, Darwin
Young Engineers Northern Division monthly meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month at Lizards Bar, 5:30pm. All Young Engineers are welcome to come along and get involved.
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