Thanks for the further background Eric.. I still work for the FAA,
running the M1FC for MIA, ANB and SJU. We're expecting to pull the plug
on this system in the next year or so. We're using the system, NADIN,
that replaced the teletype system we used for so long. I had a lot of
the M-28 stuff that the National Weather Service got rid of when they
converted to Extel. I gave a treasure trove of parts, all catalogued, to
Doug in Baton Rouge, as well as several machines I'd collected.
We also used WBR70 for AM/SSB communications on 6568 Khz in the 70's for
both Air/Ground, and contact with an HF net in the Gulf and the
Caribbean. I still remember the bi-weekly calls from 'WRANGLER 100' off
GSO for BQN.
Thanks agn
Gil
W4PJI
On Fri, 5 Jan 2001 11:16:46 -0500 "Eric Scace K3NA" <eric@k3na.org>
writes:
> WBR70 brings back a lot of memories.
>
> WBR70 was used to transmit meteorological data on teletype around
> the Caribbean. As a young boy who intended to major in
> meteorology in college, I used to copy their TTY almost continuously
> on my Model 14 and later, when WBR70 went to 100 wpm, on a
> Kleinschmidt printer... and then plot and analyze the resulting
> weather maps. On a good day I could plot a map as fast as the data
> came in.
>
> It was also a great source for the latest tropical storm and
> hurricane bulletins, broadcast as soon as they were released by the
> National Hurricane Center. I think 14370 was one of their
> frequencies, which I was copying off the back end of their antennas
> as I
> was up in New York state at the time.
>
> Eventually the USA returned Swan Island to its previous owners...
> and the teletype data feeds went to satellite and cable networks
> as they became cheaper and faster than maintaining an HF transmitter
> farm. The FAA shut down all its teletype met networks,
> including the US domestic ones, at the end of the 1970s and the
> National Weather Service put all the information on a network of
> minicomputers. I wound up working on the conversion project... and
> also worked for several years with Bill Titus at the FAA, whose
> responsibilities included WBR70 and its sister stations. Bill had a
> deep love for HF radio, even though he was not a ham, and
> started out his professional career as an intercept operator at
> Blechtley (spelling!) Park in the UK, copying German Enigma traffic.
>
> -- Eric K3NA
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
> [mailto:owner-towertalk@contesting.com]On Behalf Of rmoodyg@juno.com
> Sent: 2001 January 4 Thu 16:58
> To: w7why@harborside.com
> Cc: towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Rhombic vs. Yagi
>
>
> The FAA (preceded by the CAA) had a transmitter site WBR70 (the
> structure
> still exists) located in southwest Dade County Florida, on the edge
> of
> the Everglades (west of the levee) that transmitted on several HF
> freqs
> simultaneously. They had TMC transmitters and a huge antenna farm
> with
> several rhombics directed toward Swan Island, San Andres, and
> Tegucigalpa. There were also several Sturba curtains and numerous
> dipoles all of phosper bronze wire. In the 1970's the workload
> diminished and the transmitters were replaced with Racal-Milgo. We
> used
> receiving Log Periodic antennas located directly on Tamiami airport
> between the parallel runways. A grand sight indeed. I believe they
> were
> the big Hi Gain LPs that we saw advertized in QST and could only
> drool
> at. Anyway, hurricane Andrew eliminated the aluminum overcast at
> TMB,
> and the transmitter site is used solely for storage now. sigh..
>
> Gil W4PJI
>
> On Thu, 04 Jan 2001 00:02:55 -0800 Tom Osborne
> <w7why@harborside.com>
> writes:
> >
> >
> > Ted Leaf wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Guys,
> > >
> > > The former big Voice of America station in the U.S. used huge
> > rhombics.
> >
> > And lets not forget the grand old man of DX'ing, W6AM and his
> > rhombic farm. Rotary yagi's are great, but don't have the
> > mystique of a good rhombic farm :-) 73
> > Tom W7WHY
> >
> > --
> > FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
> > Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
> > Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
> > Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
> >
>
> ________________________________________________________________
> GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
> Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
> Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
> http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
>
> --
> FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
> Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
> Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
> Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
>
>
>
> --
> FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
> Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
> Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
> Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
>
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
|