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Thursday, June 12, 2008
DUGA-3 aka STEEL YARD aka WOODPECKER
Mama mia! Now that's an antenna! Put your HW-8 on that one and you'd be in business! Here are some more shots of the Woodpecker antenna complex: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1200861
Yikes! That's one heck of an antenna. In August of last year, a photo of the Woodpecker was making the rounds of the Flying Pigs QRP Club (FPQRP) email reflector, and I posted it on my blog at the time. You can see it here: http://blog.n9ik.com/?p=56 . This photo was taken from the top, and to me, being a tad afraid of heights, it looks like it's a bazillion meters high.
More interesting information on "Steel Yard", in the book "The Kremlin's Nuclear Sword" by Steve Zaloga. Seems it was part of the Soviet ballistic missile early warning system. Turns out it was expensive and ineffective, well except for QRMing the ham bands. Also on page 201, you can read about how a solar flare almost started WW III! 73s, Don NJ2E
Yikes! That's one heck of an antenna. In August of last year, a photo of the Woodpecker was making the rounds of the Flying Pigs QRP Club (FPQRP) email reflector, and I posted it on my blog at the time. You can see it here: http://blog.n9ik.com/?p=56 . This photo was taken from the top, and to me, being a tad afraid of heights, it looks like it's a bazillion meters high.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks, Bill. Wikipedia has a good article for those of you who never had the Woodpecker experience.
ReplyDelete73 de KC7IT
Oops, here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Woodpecker
That's an awesome array, I have it and *I think* a couple others saved in Google Earth. Sadly, much of this older gear is literally falling down.
ReplyDeleteBill:
ReplyDeleteThere is another (close up) picture of it on Wikipedia.
Next time the XYL complains about the antenna farm, show her that. It just might make her feel better about that 160m antenna project. :)
ReplyDeleteMore interesting information on "Steel Yard", in the book "The Kremlin's Nuclear Sword" by Steve Zaloga. Seems it was part of the Soviet ballistic missile early warning system. Turns out it was expensive and ineffective, well except for QRMing the ham bands. Also on page 201, you can read about how a solar flare almost started WW III! 73s, Don NJ2E
ReplyDeleteSorry, its code named "Steel Works" Don NJ2E
ReplyDelete