[Milsurplus] Radar as a health aid

[CL in NC]

Interesting story about the airborne radar.  I worked on a couple systems some 45 years ago, all but one was fire control and radiated out the nose of the aircraft, but did work on one tube type that I have forgotten the correct ID on but was on EC121 Super Connies.  It had a 1 million watt ERP, and I think it needed the EC121 airframe to just get the radar set off the ground.  Before sailors and others knew any better, it was not uncommon for them to arrive in the avionics shop and stand in front of the dish on the nose radar mounted in the test rack in the shop and give themselves a shot you know where so that shore leave did not leave any little sailors behind 9 months later.  The RF would kill off the procreating elements for a while.  I worked at a long range site for a year of TDY, 4 million watts ERP, but we had a blackout switch when the sail was pointed at the building, that sort of worked.  The Air Force came along an put in a height finder radar, supposedly placed a safe distance away, it was 5 megawatts ERP.  It had a constantly failing blackout switch too, failure indicated by the breakroom TV wiping out and fluorescent lights coming on when they were off.   Thankfully they seldom aimed the height finder due west towards the building.  This was a 24 hour manned facility, every man except one, and I guess myself who got out after a year, every man died of cancer in their 50's and early 60's.  My faith in OSHA, which was not much, was proven to question their abilities when they came out one time to do RF radiation checks.  The OSHA guy with his tester and sensor that looked like a long microphone, dutifully climbed the ladder to the antenna, we overrode the safety switch so opening the hatch did not shut down the radar, and he walked up and held the sensor up as high as he could and did not get one reading of anything.  I think the sensor burned out as he drove up to the building.  His thousand dollar test set gave nothing when  I think a 1N34 and milliammeter would pin out at 4 megawatts on 1.3Ghz.

Charlie, W4MEC in NC