[Lowfer] Decca memories

Wed Mar 12 00:10:04 EDT 2014

Graham - its  a crazy small world in March 82 I arrived at CFS Alert sig Int (via Trenton and the missile wing at Thule) along the coast from you on Ellesmere in support the 79-82 Transglobe expedition in its attempt at the first circumnavigation of the Globe via both poles, led by my boss Sir Ran Fiennes  - I was No.2 radio Op :-) supporting Lady Fiennes. 

I was based at the end of the runway @ Alert and ran HF back to the UK via a military link back to RAE Farnborough and Civilian also via Portishead - those were the days of CW voice and 20 minute Muirfax on 8/12 and 22MHz - we attempted to set up a VLF rx as the expedition was tasked by the Univ of Sheffield looking at Whistlers ( very successful over a year or so in Antarctica) but the runway lights just created too much noise even though we put the X loops out on the Arctic ocean. Still recall doing 90mph down the runway on my 440 Elan and my eyeballs freezing. Nice ratings bar...

Subsequently I was flown  by Twotter and set up HF links from Tanquary fjord as the aircraft/HF comms had to have an alternate to Alert - loads of activity at the time with "Hurricane" and dropping fuel out of the back of C-130s out of Edmonton....spectacular. I ended being alone there for a month or so and had the company of a pack of Wolves that passed thru a couple of times. Great fun and was running Racal high speed 'Squirt' CW and early testing of tactical loops. Shortly after I was deployed to the South Atlantic/Antarctica when VP8 was invaded - not so much fun

In 86,87,88 and 89 end of Winters I was based at DREP Ward Hunt doing HF support, handing wires off the old 68 Plastaid tower still standing - Our expeditions was attempting to get to the North Pole unsupported with no resupply and doing field  science with the of Fairbanks/Polar Continental shelf project out of resolute - hand drilling ice cores at -50C on the recently departed Ice Shelf- 

I recall hearing Decca signals at the time.. and was wondering where they were coming from. We operated on MF (inc 2182) HF and listened on 6m for Au E (watch Norwegian television a lot!)  and even ran MS/Eu sked on 2m towards Eu from the camp there using a large PA and were heard by one DL station on ME.AuE but I wont claim the Brennan trophy - lots of odd noises heard on VHF up there during Aurora - very spooky place..

Ward Hunt has a lot of fossils (still got some) but it appeared to be magnetically active too - 

I could tell of an attempt at attacking a  defended Decca master in eastern UK in the 70's ....but that's another jackanory story...

Cheers Laurence KL7 L (2 AZT and VOO264/5 supporting VYD69/Resolute/Bradleys)

> Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 02:06:29 +0000
> From: planophore at aei.ca
> To: lowfer at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Lowfer] [EXTERNAL]Re:  29.4 kHz TACAMO
> 
> 
> I never did have an opportunity to visit any of the Canadian DECCA sites 
> but in the early 80's I did work with the Canadian department of Energy 
> Mines and Resources (EMR now called  Natural Resources Canada), 
> Geological Survey Canada (GSC) on the Polar Continental Shelf Project 
> (PCSP). Late in '82 we installed EMR's portable DECCA LAMDA system on 
> the Northern and North Western coast of upper Ellesmere Island to be 
> used in '83 in concert with Project CESAR (Canadian Expedition to  Study 
> the ALPHA Ridge). Portable is the operative word if you consider a half 
> dozen 18" rack mount equipment cases, ATU, 150 foot tower, and two 15 KW 
> diesel generators portable. Interestingly when we sited the three 
> stations DECCA red ended up being a wee bit too far from DECCA MASTER to 
> permit a reliable lock. We had to use HP RVFS's (5065A's I think) and 
> frequency synthesizers at each site. I seem to recall that Master was 88 
> (apprx) KHz, Red was 118 (apprx) and Green was 132. Of course operating 
> with a rubidium locked transmitter required a lot less hands on than 
> otherwise.
> 
> I helped install the three sites in '82 and operated DECCA RED on Ward 
> Hunt Island in '83. That may have been the last season EMR's DECCA was 
> used. I lost track and moved on to other things. I still have the DECCA 
> chart that was made for that chain and as usual, when I go looking for 
> it I can't find it but will stumble across it when I am looking for 
> something else.
> 
> cheers, Graham
> 
> 
> On 2014-03-12 01:13, David L. Wilson wrote:
> >> And lets not forget DECCA LAMBDA around 100KHz and a little further up the
> >> band or down in wavelength if you prefer LORAN A and ARGO around 160
> >> meters - not VLF but related in a loose way to DECCA, Omega and Loran C.
> > Yes, I logged the eastern Canadian Decca chains around 71, 85, 115 and had
> > forgot them.
> >  From my log (wonder if anyone ever visited one):
> > kHz           Pwr    Call         Location
> > 70.387      1.2   VGW269 DECCA-Comfort Cove, NF Canada (2c/purple) (off)
> >   71.142      2.4   VGW277 DECCA-Ecum Secum, NS, Canada (7c/purple) (off)
> >   71.4375     1.2   VGW280 DECCA-Sept Isles, PQ, Canada (9c/purple) (off)
> > 84.465      1.2   VGW268 DECCA-Port Blandford, NF, Canada (2c/master) (off)
> >   85.180      1.2   VGW272 DECCA-Grindstone, PQ, Canada (6b/master) (off)
> >   85.370      2.4   VGW274 DECCA-Chester, NS, Canada (7c/master) (off)
> >   85.725      1.2   VGW279 DECCA-Port Menier, PQ, Canada (9c/master) (off)
> > 113.573      1.2   VGW273 DECCA-Port aux Basque, NF, Canada (6b/red) (off)
> > 113.827      2.4   VGW275 DECCA-Alma, NF, Canada (7c/red) (off)
> > 114.300      1.2   VGW278 DECCA-Shippegan Is., NB, Canada (9c/red) (off)
> > 115.435      1.2   VGW269 DECCA-Comfort Cove, NF, Canada (2c/purple MP)
> > (off)
> >               1.2   VGW268 DECCA-Port Blandford, NF, Canada (2c/master MP)
> > (off)
> >               1.2   VGW270 DECCA-Shoe Cove, NF, Canada (2c/red MP) (off)
> >               1.2   VGW271 DECCA-St. Lawrence, NF (2c/green MP) (off)
> > 116.412      1.2   VGW272 DECCA-Grindstone, PQ, Canada (6b/master MP) (off)
> >               1.2   VGW273 DECCA-Port aux Basque, NF, Canada (6b/red MP)
> > (off)
> >               1.2   VGW266 DECCA-Antigonish, NS, Canada (6b/green MP) (off)
> > 117.157      1.2   VGW280 DECCA-Sept Isles, PQ, Canada (9c/purple MP) (off)
> >               1.2   VGW279 DECCA-Port Menier, PQ, Canada (9c/master MP) (off)
> >               1.2   VGW278 DECCA-Shippegan Is., NB, Canada (9c/red MP) (off)
> >               1.2   VGW281 DECCA-Natashquan, PQ, Canada (9c/green MP) (off)
> > 126.697      1.2   VGW271 DECCA-St. Lawrence, NF, Canada (2c/green) (off)
> > 127.770      1.2   VGW266 DECCA-Antigonish, NS, Canada (6b/green) (off)
> > 128.055      2.4   VGW276 DECCA-Jordan Bay, NS, Canada (7c/green) (off)
> > 128.5875     1.2   VGW281 DECCA-Natashquan, PQ, Canada (9c/green) (off)
> >
> >
> 
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