[Collins] Re: Dixon Site - high power

Tue, 28 May 2002 06:16:47 -0500

I was a communications guy with the Apollo recovery program in the late 60's
out of Honolulu, and we ran a few of the Harris rigs in vans spotted
temporarily on the decks of the Navy's Primary Recovery Ships (small
aircraft carriers) that picked up the astronauts after splashdown. The
Harris rigs made for spectacular light shows at night in the ship's rigging
with a coating of salt spray on everything. We ran full duplex key-down ISB
for the most part, with voice in one sideband, RTTY in the other. By QSY'ing
like maniacs in a range of 4-26 megs we kept a solid HF link going 24/7 over
a 2,000+ mile path with a 98%+  reliability for over ten days at a pop,
without the benefit of computer predictions. An exercise like that will
certainly teach you a few things about propagation. Corona and little local
RF lightning bolts kept the deck crews pretty well spooked, though. They
definitely believed the "Danger - High Voltage" signs. :-)
73, Jerry W5KP

----- Original Message -----
From: "Herzog" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, May 27, 2002 7:29 PM
Subject: [Collins] Re: Dixon Site - high power

> I can add to your comments about the Dixon, California site. The area is
> surrounded by onion fields that we passed daily while installing
> transmitters there, in about 1969.
> The RF Communications Company, (Now Harris) installed about a dozen AN/FRT
> 84 Transmitter site was a  Navy building.  Adjacent to the east was the
> AT&T transmitter site, probably (We didn't see all of either building)
the
> one you are talking about.
>
>       The FRT 84's were 10 KW Pep, 5 Kw avg. transmitters covered 2 to 30
> Mhz, automatically tuned in 10 second maximum.
> In both cases the receivers were located 30 miles away.
>
> We had vacuum capacitor problems even at that 10 Kilowatt average power
> level, so I appreciate Jenning's troubles.
>
> The feed lines were high enough so that cows could graze under the
> antennae.  Apparently the RF did not hurt them.
>     K2LB, Will
>
>
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