Perth, Western Australia - Octocom

Koolan Island Project

Last year, Mt. Gibson Mining contacted us about building a repeater station for their Koolan Island operation. Koolan Island is one of about 800 islands in the Buccaneer archipelago near Derby, about 3,500 kilometres north of Perth.

The island is only 10km across, but is home to one of Western Australia’s richest iron ore deposits. It also has a large hill in the centre which blocks radio communication from one side of the island to the other.

For efficient communication to occur, a VHF repeater station had to be installed on the highest part of the island, about 180 metres above sea level – and it would have to be fully self-contained.

Octocom custom-built a solar-powered repeater station with a bank of rechargeable batteries, to ensure 24-hour, hassle-free operation. The station is topped by a 32-metre mast, giving complete island coverage. Naturally, the station is air-conditioned to extend equipment life in the oppressive Kimberly heat.

You won't get stung by this aerial

Here’s a WA success story we’re proud to promote.

The stinger is a UHF aerial made right here in Perth for Western Australia’s conditions. It’s one of the radio community’s best-kept secrets, but we’re pleased to make it available to our customers. The UHF Stinger is a mobile whip antenna developed primarily for the mining community over the past few years. It’s been engineered for harsh conditions, giving a durability that’s rare in today’s disposable world.

In fact, there have been cases of mining vehicles – which get put through their paces, to say the least – using the same Stinger for over 300,000 kilometres of heavy-duty work.