To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 17:38:30
>To: "Gilmer, Mike" <mgilmer@gnlp.com>
>From: A Bowen N4OO <abowen@nettally.com>
>Subject: Forestport Antenna
>
>Design of this tower was covered in the late Paul Lee's (N6PL) Vertical
Antenna Handbook. It was 1200 ft high and heavily top loaded to resonate at
80 kHz, according to the book. It was cited as an example of what can be
done with top loading. Feed impedance was around 1 ohm.
>
>No word on what type of communication it was used for. The tech report
referenced in a bibliography indicated that the design was done on an Air
Force contract in 1962.
>
>The top loading guy wires were attached at the 1040 ft level. I wonder if
the designers (long before computer analysis programs) were aware of how
much the radiation resistance was lowered by sloping the top loading
radials? And also that the 160 ft above the top hat did virtually no
radiating because of the "choking' effect of the top hat. The hat probably
should have been at the very top. Perhaps it was the only practical way to
design a structure for such a low frequency.
>
>INK N4OO
>====================================
>
>At 02:25 PM 2/16/99 -0500, you wrote:
>>
>>According to the below website, the (now-demolished) R&D tower for this
>>Omega system was in Forrestport, NY and was just a few miles from me. I
>>didn't know what it was at the time (assumed military, of course) but I
>>had driven along a country backroad to within about 300 feet of the
>>base. The road went past the tower, under some of the guys. That was
>>one big monster - a thing of beauty :)
>>I'm curious; the local TV coverage of its demolition was "gee-whiz" but
>>said little about the uses of the "Omega" system. Since it was Navy
>>funded, I assume long-range, low-frequency (submarine?) communications?
>>Anyone know?
>>
>>Mike N2MG
>>
>
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