Mammoth Wullenweber government antennas - in YOUR backyard?

Started by WA4STO, July 09, 2013, 05:16:04 PM

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WA4STO

As at least a few of you know, I have a rather checkered past, having been a Morse intercept spook at NSA as a teenager.

Here's one of the (many) antenna installations we used.  I want it in MY back yard.  Now!



Now, to give you an idea of the size of these 'elephant cages' :

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Hayden led the design and development of a large Wullenweber array at the university's Bondville Road Field Station, a few miles southwest of Bondville, IL. The array consisted of a ring 120 vertical monopoles covering 2-20 MHz. Tall wood poles supported a 1,000-foot-diameter (300 m)Template:Convert/track/adj/mid circular screen of vertical wires located within the ring of monopoles. Due to their immense size, the location of the Bondville array (40.0494?N 88.3807?W) and the other post-war Wullenweber arrays are clearly visible in high resolution aerial photography available on the internet.
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In 1966, we put one up in Karamursel Turkey.  It took the Turks a while, granted, but they eventually figured out what we were doing and, in 1977 they successfully forced us to dismantle the whole thing and send us packing.

Ah, but this blurb is about YOUR backyard.

I came across the following today, and remembered visiting the Belfast, Maine FCC monitoring site back in the 80s.  At that time, they had an active Wullenweber and it dawned on me , again, just today, that those monsters might still be lurking.  Indeed:

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Phooey; I can't seem to edit/copy/past an online .pdf.  So go here:   http://www.branchcountyarc.com/archive/newsletter/2011-09_newsletter.pdf  and read -- very carefully -- the article about the various Wullenwebers still being used.  One is in Vero Beach.  All told, there's a dozen or so.  VERY interesting ... !

73

Luck, WA4STO

KC9TNH

Thanks for that interesting read (and nice newsletter).
George Sterling would probably nod in approval.


I need a bigger backyard. :)

WA4STO

Roger that.

And neighbors that are as deaf as I am.  See (or, rather, HEAR), the Wullenwebers had this rotating gizmo (a goniometer) that thwacked around those 360 degree points and made quite a racket in doing so. 

Although, if I could get the neighbors to accept that in my backyard, shouldn't be much of a bother for them to accept my wind turbine(s).

73

Luck, WA4STO

KC9TNH

Quote from: WA4STO on July 09, 2013, 07:50:24 PM
Roger that.

And neighbors that are as deaf as I am.  See (or, rather, HEAR), the Wullenwebers had this rotating gizmo (a goniometer) that thwacked around those 360 degree points and made quite a racket in doing so. 

Although, if I could get the neighbors to accept that in my backyard, shouldn't be much of a bother for them to accept my wind turbine(s).

73

Luck, WA4STO
Cracking-up, literally.  I just phased in to a bunch of Ben-Hur era slaves hauling this big 'thwacker' around its 360? - so how often did it make the circuit? Is this just a small church carillion every now & then or a constant high-speed train that you never get used to unless your name is Elwood Blues?

So if the, uh, goniometer thing is at 210 and they need to zero in on Gil, do they just back up or do they have to go past me, then Ray?

What a... a...  thing. That would put a hexbeam into therapy.

EDIT:  I don't suppose there was an ASAFS near that facility in Turkey back in the day...?

WA4STO

Not sure about ASA but there sure were a bunch of Navy and AF guys there.

Check this out, a listing of personnel!

http://www.kas60-61.org/newpers.htm

WA4STO

Quote from: KC9TNH on July 09, 2013, 08:24:44 PM

EDIT:  I don't suppose there was an ASAFS near that facility in Turkey back in the day...?

Evidently a TON of ASA sorts. 

http://www.eccoh.com/days/days159/dool159.pdf