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Navy VLF transmitter

B

bytor

Member
Aug 2, 2008
29
13
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So i will be working here for a few weeks changing the MCC and a transformer. This place is up in the mountains about 2 hrs from my house. They will not allow me to take pictures for obvious reasons but they do have some info on the interwebs. The antenna tuner is really a massive room completely copper clad even the stairs with 2 massive coils.

They collect water from a nerby creek and purify it then use it to keep the amp cool. the tank circuit is really a mechanical room with it's own cooling system. the ground plane is several square miles with grounding rods and 250 kcmil bare copper every 6 inches. pretty fricking amazing.

Largest Radio Transmitter Is Dedicated (1950s) - YouTube


check out this link for more info.Naval Radio Station (T) Jim Creek
 
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How cool is that.

Interesting the military is allowing civilians ( guessing you are a civilian) to work on their VLF systems. Man times do change from when I was active.

I guess they use the VLF for backup comms?

There are other means of comms I am aware of more reliable but then it does require the sub to surface.


I have been to Point Loma in San Diego, the comm base there, Great place and what an antenna farm they have. Seen the pics of the old VLF antennas, acres and acres of wires all pointed at the Pacific awesome.
 
nice

enjoy your stay. pic from google earth attached.
 

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The description sounded suspiciously familiar -- back in December of 1967 I did two weeks' Naval Reserve annual training at Jim Creek. I was a Radioman First Class (E6) at the time, and before that, from 1963 to 1966 I had been on USS Kitty Hawk.

When I came in the gate, the marine guard on duty told me that the Operations Officer had given him orders to direct me to his quarters before I checked in at the barracks. It was easy enough to find the nice house, which turned out to be occupied by my former Division Officer from the Kitty Hawk! We spent a great half an hour reliving old times and such.

It was a great two weeks worth of learning and operating. They actually had an HF cw link with San Francisco because the VLF transmitter was still being fine-tweaked.

Enjoy! Now that the rain has returned to the Pacific Northwest it's gonna be beautiful up there at NLK!
 
I didn't think the navy was doing VLF anymore ? Any who, I monitor VLF band everyday for any activity... I am running a long wire @500' around my qth...allows me to pick up some stuff on VLF.
 
yep the navy still runs her. I will work on some of the switch gear and a MCC cabinet for the building not the transmitter.

This was they way they communicated before a secured sat.
They still transmit as a back up source. There dummy load is the creek that was diverted to the back of the "Bowl".

We will be walking in the tank circuit totally amazing for a radio geek like me. I tried to explain this to my partner i will be working with but he dose not get it.

I am always amazed at good old American ingenuity from back in the day. Just roll up the sleeves and make a giant transmitter, or dam, or bridge, or skyscraper. we need a little more of that these days, not all this out sourcing but hey thats another discussion...
 
bytor said:
yep the navy still runs her. I will work on some of the switch gear and a MCC cabinet for the building not the transmitter.

This was they way they communicated before a secured sat.
They still transmit as a back up source. There dummy load is the creek that was diverted to the back of the "Bowl".

We will be walking in the tank circuit totally amazing for a radio geek like me. I tried to explain this to my partner i will be working with but he dose not get it.

I am always amazed at good old American ingenuity from back in the day. Just roll up the sleeves and make a giant transmitter, or dam, or bridge, or skyscraper. we need a little more of that these days, not all this out sourcing but hey thats another discussion...
Click to expand...
I hope you can sneak a photo or two?:)
Im not asking to see photos of documents lol just the cool transmitter (y)
 
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Sneaking a photo is not worth losing a job although it would be amazing to see Im sure. If a man has one important quality they have to keep its their word and their trust. That is so crazy and I was laughing at the river as the dummy load method but it all makes sense enjoy yourself and take it all in its one of those lifetime opporitunities.

Thanks for sharing my friend :)
 

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