140 ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATIONS 



Commercial telephone lines were used, in addition, for special calls made between Jacques 

 Cousteau's submerged Conshelf HI oceanauts and the submerged Sealab II aquanauts, and be- 

 tween President Johnson in Texas and CDR Scott Carpenter during decompression aboard the 

 support vessel. Special radio and land lines were provided by NASA for providing a communi- 

 cation link between CDR Scott Carpenter in Sealab and astronaut Gordon Cooper passing over- 

 head in Gemini V. 



HABITAT - SUPPORT VESSEL 



The primary communication link between the habitat and the support vessel was the umbili- 

 cal cord. Certain engineering, environmental, and physiological information was also trans- 

 mitted through the umbilical cord. The following modes of communication were provided: 



1. Helium speech unscrambler 



2. Electrowriter 



3. Television 



a. Closed circuit monitors 



b. Entertainment 



4. Audio 



In addition to the above, wedge spirometer output and Oj partial pressure were transmitted 

 via the communication cable in the umbilical. All equipment was installed at Long Beach Naval 

 Shipyard by the Naval Ordnance Test Station according to Mine Defense Laboratory Specifications. 



Exterior Umbilical Cord Connection 



A waterproof receptacle withstanding a minimum hydrostatic pressure of 175 psi without 

 leakage was installed on the umbilical conduit provided for the power connections. The con- 

 nectors were installed by welding or with bolts and O-ring seals. A waterproof cap with chain 

 was provided and installed. The inboard side of the insert of the receptacle was potted to seal 

 out moisture after all conductors had been connected. Pressure-proof stuffing tubes were used 

 where the cable passed through the bottom cover of the conduit. 



Cable 



The cable from the exterior (umbilical) receptacle to the communication center in Sealab 

 was the same as the cable used in the umbilical cord. Table 3 (same as Table 2, repeated in 

 this chapter for convenience) lists the conductor and connector usage for each item of com- 

 munications gear. The cable used for other interior communication circuits was the Navy or 

 commercial type best suited for the application. 



Sealab Communications Center 



A section of the laboratory bench adjacent to the fan cabinet was used for the Sealab com- 

 munication center. A patch panel was designed and installed at this location to facilitate con- 

 necting the various pieces of equipment at the test site. The panel had multipin receptacles for 

 all the TV circuits, and switches for the audio link from Sealab to the support vessel. Table 3 

 lists the particular receptacles required to mate with an existing plug on the equipment. A 

 panel was also built and furnished to NOTS and was installed in the communications van on the 

 support vessel. The panel was identical to the panel in Sealab, except that (a) switches for the 

 audio link were not required, and (b) an Amphenol receptacle replaced the two separate recep- 

 tacles for the audio link to Sealab and shore. 



