HFU HF Underground
General Category => General Radio Discussion => Topic started by: ka1iic on April 22, 2014, 1805 UTC
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I remember this one very well, now inactive so this is nothing more than history. Nice web page tho... I have been on the site in years past and the RFI it caused locally was intense... to say the very least.
Nice pics of the site tho, if you like check this one out:
http://www.coldwarrelics.com/moscow_afs
73 Vince
KA1IIC
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Very interesting stuff. Lots of other defunct cold war stuff on that site. I just spent a couple of hours looking at the old Nike missile sites etc. I used to live near some of this stuff but never took the time to check it out. Thanks , Vince.
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No problem glimmer... It's what we do (;-)) Those arrays in Moscow were incredible... I wish I could have hooked my little FT817nd up to them. I think I would have sounded like 2KW <heh> There is a picture floating around of me standing beside a 'no trespassing' sign at the Moscow sight...
At first I thought there was only the single site but I later learned the were this one and two other identical ones in Moscow. (arrays that is)
I have followed this one very closely and I believe the Cumberland Falls site is still active (still blacked out on google maps)... BTW the Cumberland site is very close to the Navy NAA site..(north of NAA) that's the one (NAA) that does comms via VLF to the US nuke subs. Over 1 megawatts and it uses these huge copper pipes like things for its feedline, ;-)
I used to live in Maine BTW ;-) Native really... So I have 'lived it' so to speak ;-)
The local Maine Native American tribes are trying to buy the Moscow site for a 'wind farm'.... and from what I know, it was damned windy up there :-)
A certain person does have video of me on the site and I hope to get a copy of this but... he is paranoid and doesn't feel right about giving me a copy (sigh)... oh well... That doesn't mean I won't get it tho :-)
later
73 Vince
KA1IIC
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While my exposure to this AN/FPS-118 site while the system was operational is pretty limited (but I have been there a few times ;) )I did work with the development team at RADC on this project.
T!
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Very interesting stuff. Lots of other defunct cold war stuff on that site. I just spent a couple of hours looking at the old Nike missile sites etc. I used to live near some of this stuff but never took the time to check it out. Thanks , Vince.
The Nike radar systems are among the best designed and manufactured tracking pedestals and X band monopulse comparators ever produced. The pedestal with its dual opposed motors in each axis still produce track tolerances that are hard to beat. The monopulse comparator is wonderfully compact and has a depth of null that is hard to achieve at any cost today. And it was all done using slip-sticks.
The Nike weapons systems are gone, but the components live on in the form of precision tracking radars around the world, at test ranges, research facilities, and training assets. The pedestals (MTR, TTR, and TRR) are still refurbished and reutilized on a regular basis, it often being less expensive to do that than to try and develop new pedestals with better performance.
T!