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Ham Radio - The giant Collins HF discone antenna at the Titan Missile Museum.

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by KB7TBT, Nov 6, 2022.

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  1. KB7TBT

    KB7TBT Ham Member QRZ Page

    Ham Radio - The giant Collins HF discone antenna at the Titan Missile Museum.

     
    WA7RAR, WI8X, KN4MJC and 22 others like this.
  2. K0UO

    K0UO Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    I have pulled at the parking lot a few times/ unrolled the coax and hooked it up to my mobile HF rig, a lot of fun.

    Most of time I operated on 40. Probably equal to a good half wave vertical on that band.
    If you're south of Tucson definitely go in there and try it.

    73 from,
    The K0UO " Rhombic Antenna Farm" 2 miles of wire in the Air & On the AIR daily
     
    AK5B, N4FZ, W1JIM and 3 others like this.
  3. K0UO

    K0UO Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Revised above .... ..
    I have pulled in the parking lot a few times
     
    AK5B and N4FZ like this.
  4. K6CLS

    K6CLS Ham Member QRZ Page

    The afternoon I was there, I made a qso on every band, except 80m. Fun!
     
    KI5VIG, N6SPP and K0UO like this.
  5. AF9FA

    AF9FA Ham Member QRZ Page

    You should have seen it while it was in service! I'd like to have a dollar for every hour spent listening in on the radio system while we were on alert. I was stationed in Little Rock with the 308th Strategic Missile Wing. I'm a rule follower (Mostly) so I wasn't able to transmit but with TV going off line at 2:AM we needed something to do. :)
    I'd really like to visit the site.
     
    N6SPP, AD7SK, OE3CDW and 2 others like this.
  6. DO1FER

    DO1FER Ham Member QRZ Page

    For me its crazy, that those informations about a silo are published in a book for the public. Ok, its a museum for the most. But there is more outside and with bad intensions.

    But back to the museum. Is there a special electronic to shutdown the system for to prevend destruction of the local HF communicaton system, before or within the case of the case happens?
     
  7. K6CLS

    K6CLS Ham Member QRZ Page

    in a way... the silo was intended to survive a nearby blast, and be able to launch a retaliatory strike. the discone was not expected to survive, but there was a spare HF vertical in the ground which could be raised after such an event... but it probably didn't matter, because the launch crews had already received the target information and launch code, perhaps 30 minutes before the attack detonation.

    after so much EMP it was expected to have HF radio blackout over the continent for weeks. the crews had survival supplies for several weeks.

    this is a grisly topic, and the museum does a great job of presenting the line of thinking, in the context of the time. certainly lends credence to the idea that we should not just historical events by the standards of our time... if you do not believe in an absolute morality... deep stuff, late at night.
     
    KE6NOP, KN4XJ, DO1FER and 1 other person like this.
  8. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    This is a wideband omni antenna with a nice, low, launch angle. As such it probably wouldn't be your preference compared to a 10 element Yagi at 120 feet:) Omni's can be noisier and don't spatially notch , which is often needed in contests, for example.
     
  9. KW1NG

    KW1NG XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    When I was 17, I got to operate from KL7AIZ on Adak. They had a Rhombic pointed down to the west coast of US; it was a half mile long on a leg! Awesome antenna..
     
    AK5B, KI5VIG, N6SPP and 3 others like this.
  10. AD7SK

    AD7SK Ham Member QRZ Page

    I've been to the museum several times, but had no idea that the museum allowed amateurs to operate from the HF discone. How is permission obtained to do this?
     
  11. KA0HCP

    KA0HCP XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    No. Just no. A few hours on HF. Read the papers and books. -shakes head.
     
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  12. KA0HCP

    KA0HCP XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    I was navy nuclear loading and delivery (attack) qualified patrol plane navigator/communicator. After the initial introductory briefings the nuclear war nightmares only lasted a few nights. After that, I learned to love the bomb. ;)

    B-57 Nuclear Depth Bomb (retired in the 1990's, replaced by B-61 variant). Fifteen page loading checklist; Five page inflight delivery checklist.
    B-57 Bomb.jpg
     
    AK5B and VE4LS like this.
  13. KQ1V

    KQ1V Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    We had one of these on my ship, up on the O-7 deck, about 140 feet from the waterline; worked exceptionally well.. err, until the ship turned port, and then it was blocked by the mast!
     
  14. ND8D

    ND8D Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page


    At least for Titan II, the target information was baked into the computers in the control bunker long in advance and rarely changed. There were three targets the crews could select and whether the burst was air or ground based on instructions. I believe the alert crews were not privy to what "Target 1" "Target 2" or "Target 3" were or where they were.
     
  15. KC1CCG

    KC1CCG Ham Member QRZ Page

    Its great that the preppers are inducing at least a few folks to get ham licenses for after the apocalypse, but, as others have pointed out, the hf spectrum would be popcorn for a while after an NEMP attack. Also I believe NEMP would be used as a serious escalation but short of toasting cities. Break each other's kneecaps but leave the physical structures. Everybody backs off on going full exchange. We've been lucky for a long time. Decades to rebuild the grid.
     

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