Re: [IRCA] TP for 29 Apr from Victoria, BC

["Kevin S" <satya@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Nick:

I do know that the south end of the Island, of all places on the West
Coast, was selected to be the monitoring station for Japanese
transmissions during WWII.  Per one Web site, "in 1938, with the threat of
a second world war looming, the U.S. Navy took over Fort Ward and enlarged
it by confiscating surrounding properties. Tests soon showed that the fort
was an outstanding location for eavesdropping on radio transmissions from
the Far East, especially from Japan. So the Navy built antenna fields and
a top-secret military listening post.  It was at Fort Ward that the United
States cracked the wartime code of the Japanese forces. "

So, there must be something about its location!  Per:
http://www.usncva.org/books/book-10.html
the frequencies of interest were 12 and 16 mhz, not MW :-(.

Apparently there was literally miles and miles of wire strung up on mast
after mast; according to Wiki, they were big old rhombic antennae.  The
Wiki is a good read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ward_(Washington)

I live in the center part of the island, while Fort Ward is at the south
end, maybe 5-6 miles away.  I have a friend with some land down near there
and we keep threatening to do a DXpedition down there.  alas, it's only a
handful of miles from the big 50 kw transmitters on Vashon Island
(KIRO-710, KOMO-1000, etc.), but they are due south, so a good W or NW
directional antenna might be just the ticket!

Kevin S
Bainbridge Island, WA





> At 19:01 4/29/2010, you wrote:
>>Hey Nick:
>>
>>Unless my front yard gets flooded during a good rain, I am very
>>land-locked in all directions; to the NW are the Olympic mountains and a
>>bunch of other non-aquoeous stuff.  It was indeed surprising to hear
>>anything at all this morning, much less with audio.
>>
>
>
> Not entirely tongue in cheek, Kevin, but I wonder if you get some sort of
> Fresnel effect from the Olympics?   Years ago Don Moman and I heard DU's
> on the "other" side of the Rockies (in the Alberta foothills) that I
> hadn't heard on the coast of Vancouver Island.
>
> Nick
>
>
>
>
> *****************************
> Nick Hall-Patch
> Victoria, BC
> Canada
>
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