RFI Hunting and Wells

Me in front of 1 of 30,
45m antennas.

Our RFI hunting Jeep driver.

RFI is radio frequency interference. RFI hunting is the tricky business of trying to find it. It's like trying to find an invisible needle in a forest. Cell phones cause RFI. There's an alarm that goes off at the GMRT if it detects a cell phone on.

It would probably look really funny if you chanced across us while we were hunting. We are all holding antennas and GPS's and following the crackling sound of a speaker that crackles more when you point it at radio objects and merely sizzles when you point it anywhere else.Everything makes RFI. Every single engine that is running within a kilometer creates radio waves when the spark plugs fire. In this way we can actually sense a car coming before we see it if we want to.

The Mountain as seen RFI hunting.

Anyway, RFI hunting is tedious and dirty. We walk through farmers fields, over hills, and across river beds. We go in whatever direction our antennas tell us to. Sometimes it seems totally absurd when I examine myself from outside. But then again everything seems absurd when examined from inter-moral space.

Traipsing through farmers' fields in
search of RFI.

One thing that our RFI hunting has found are wells. These are rather open concept wells. There are no walls around them, they are 3 meters across, and they are at least 10 meters deep. To fall down one would either maim you on the rocks at the bottoms or you'd drown in a disease filled water. These wells were particularly on our minds the other night.

A Puppy seen as we RFI hunt.

We were all sitting in at the computers in the Terminal room when suddenly Connie and Nidhi bust in and frantically explain that there was a bumping beat coming from the forest. Someone was letting out there inner dance gods somewhere nearby it seemed, in the pitch black night. Everyone but Mark and I rushed off to pursue the strange music into the wild (leopard filled) forest.

Dense foliage that cuts you like a knife.

We were not in a rush and besides we wanted to finish up work. We left in pursuit 10 minutes later. We left wearing what we had on at the time. Me in my Vibram FiveFinger toe shoes; Mark in flip-flops. I was clearly more prepared to be walking around in the dark Indian outback.

We instantly heard the music when we stepped outdoors. It was fun sounding! We doggedly took off after it on the whimsical hope that there might be booze, girls, and food, perhaps not in that precise order. At the same time we hoped it wasn't a gang of ruffians who would kill us and bury us under one of the huge ant hills. It sounded like it was coming from the edge of the field (near where some of the other GMRT guests played cricket). Perhaps it was them having a fire party!

Some gadgets we use.

It wasn't. We walked for minutes and minutes stumbling over this and that, hoping not to step on a huge ant hill, but never did we come across a clearing of dancing people. At one point we caught sight of a green glow stick off in the distance. A rave then? Hooray! But no, it was not. We kept going and eventually caught up to the green light. It was Hans, Nidhi, Connie and Greg and we had caught up to them!

We started running to catch up to them (and scare them in the dark). Mark lead the way. We were about 50 meters away, in a crouched stealth glide, when suddenly Mark dropped away!

A local farmer stores onions for the next growing season.

His scream cut the humid night air which all of a sudden seemed cold to me. What was I going to find when I looked down? In an instant I was at the edge, and I couldn't contain myself. I broke out laughing my ass off! It's wasn't a well as I'd feared but a little hole in the ground (as tall as me but not even close to well depth). Mark lay in the bottom groaning, but I cackled on regardless. He had stubbed his thumb on a rock. Meh it hardly even bled.

Mark's outcry and my laughter had alerted the others (hopefully scaring them, as our ruse was ruined) and they quickly came to offer help. Mark shrugged it off and we continued onward towards the mysterious sound.

For Jacob - A well above which hang
 these weird nests or hives.

It turned out to be very far away indeed. A patrolling GMRT security Jeep found us and informed us that it was a wedding taking place in Narayangaon (a small town north of us but still about 5 or 10 more kilometers away). We got a ride back with the security to our compound and the night's adventure was over. I was utterly sad to miss out on a wedding. I love weddings and Indian wedding are renown for their peaceful environments where social borders are transcended by all classes. I will see one yet before I die!