FW: [TowerTalk] Rhombic vs. Yagi - WBR70

[Eric Scace K3NA]

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
>
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