DEPARTM ENT OF METEOROLOGY 
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
MADISON 6 
February 5, 1963 
Dr. Waldo L. Schmitt 
U.S. National Museum 
Washington 25* D.C. 
Dear Dr. Schmitt: 
Your letter finally caught up with me here in Wisconsin 
where it was -27°F the day I arrived — a little hard to 
take after balmy McMurdo. 
With regard to the Biolab I have only one suggestion. 
It would be useful if there was a bench set-up for the 
repair and servicing of electronic equipment. This 
would of course mean electric outlets for soldering 
irons * a heat resistant* nonmetallic surface and the 
modest set of tools useful for circuit repair and minor 
construction. Equipment needed for this facility would 
be a Simpson volt ohmmeter* a vacuum tube volt ohmmeter, 
possibly an oscilloscope for diagnosis* and a modest sup- 
ply of hookup wire, connectors* and other miscellaneous 
electronic components. A word of warning here: Such a 
facility is very likely to become a center of "do it 
yourself* home repair hi-fi enthusiasts," an activity 
which would be forbidden during the summer season at 
least . 
I shall pass your letter on to Gene Likens for his comments. 
He* being a "pure" biologist, may have some other suggestions. 
By now you are back from the Antarctic (Palmer) Peninsula 
trip. I hope you were successful in finding a site and 
will be anxious to hear the results from Tom Berg when he 
gets back here. All good wishes. 
Sincerely yours. 
R. A. Ragotzkie 
Associate Professor 
RAR: co 
