Yearly highlights from the field.
An archive of what stood out each year — the installs, the relocations, and the occasional swimming medal.
Eight antennas for GSI in Indonesia
Installed 8 antennas for GSI in Indonesia — four 9M and four 4.8M, the latter REPO-based with some interesting changes in foundation fixing. Also completed the first-ever installation of an Alpha Satcom antenna, for Paradise Communications in Indonesia.
7.3M antennas without manufacturer support, and a year of relocations
Completed C/Ku/X combined 7.3M NWIEE antennas for the first time without manufacturer help, after RF testing in Seoul — then repeated the build in the Philippines and Ghana. Relocated stations for JAL (30km across Delhi), KPTCL (city centre to the outskirts of Bengaluru), and CWG. Reoriented a 9M Viasat antenna in Kuala Lumpur, requiring fresh civil works, and repointed a 4.9M Andrew antenna in Haiti.
First Ka-band mechanical install, and eleven antennas across India
Completed our first mechanical installation of an 8.1M ASC Signal Ka-band antenna. Eleven 6.3M Vertex antennas were installed and accepted across India — a project that tested logistics, endurance, and technical competence in equal measure. Set up a 7200 control system on an 11.3M antenna in Ghana, and completed a 7.3M bolt-together Vertex antenna in Namibia in just 21 days.
First job on the other side of the world
Travelled to Haiti for the first time, to reorient an existing antenna and survey another in Port-au-Prince. Completed a 5.6M Andrew installation with de-icing in Herat under a difficult political situation. The year's toughest project was eleven 6.3M Vertex antennas across India — earth pits dug with borewell diggers, wall entries cut through 18-inch reinforced walls.
New techniques on Videocon DTH, and a first in Libya
Applied lessons from the SUN DTH project to Videocon DTH — high-power rigid Ku-band waveguides in IFL, aligning rotary joints, equalising group delays. Completed a DBS-band antenna in Tripoli, Libya — NTA's first time handling one entirely in-house. In total, 21 antennas larger than 7M were completed across India and overseas this year.
A wide-region VSAT rollout across Egypt
Handled a large VSAT installation project for GSI spanning a wide region of Egypt — cable laying and testing included, coordinated across several agencies. Mid-project, some engineers came down with an infection requiring two weeks to heal; the project was still completed successfully with no additional burden to the client.