Thermostat? What's a thermostat?

This is just one bank of the stuff needed for each experiment in our labs. Each module here (about the size of a book) requires at least two BNC connectors (BNC is like a TV co-axial cable), some three, some four, at their rear.

These banks of electronics stand about 1-1.5 meters away from the wall behind to allow for cooling and access for people like myself.

This is why it takes 3 days and 3 nights to set up each experiment, as each has to be wired up correctly (and differently) for each experiment.

This is just one bank, and a short one. Many experiments require 3-4 banks like this.

And all these modules have to wired up and tested individually. If one fails during mid-experiment, all hell breaks loose, as the failed module has to be tracked down, tested and repaired, or replaced. As beam time is of a premium, It often involves very long shifts from those whose responsibility it is to set the whole thing up.

Sometime back, Incheon had to move to a larger electronics room, simply because more space was needed for more modules.

Soo, all the equipment had to be moved to the larger room. This was an enormous undertaking, as each indivdual module had to tested before and after the move, and the results needed to be identical. Not close, but identical. All this was done over a period encompassing the end of the (very hot Korean) sumnmer, and the beginning of the (extremely cold Korean) winter.

So, we moved from an ambient environment controlled by a (very old) thermostat and (even older) air-conditioning, to a new, untested environment with a new thermostat and a new and different air-conditioning system.

As with all these things, you cannot actually test the system until it is all in place.

The upshot:

At the conclusion, during the winter, I was travelling from my hotel in Seoul on the subway dressed in Jeans, Sweater, Jacket, Gloves, Scarf and Woolly Hat. However, once inside the lab, I had to dress down to T-shirt and Shorts as it was too hot.

At the beginning, during the summer, I actually needed the warm clothes in the lab (Jeans, Vest, T-shirt, Shirt, sweater, Jacket and Woolly Hat), ans I was given very funny looks from the subway commuters as they noticed I was dressed as if I was going to the Arctic.

By the time December came, the thermostat had calmed down and the funny glances had ceased.