tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post8297916925769363290..comments2024-03-28T00:23:01.632-04:00Comments on Lem's Levity: The AN/FPS-35 radar was one of the most powerful in the world.Trooper Yorkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978703998566102194noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-73729545119273747672019-12-11T22:35:35.650-05:002019-12-11T22:35:35.650-05:00I worked on those big dinosaurs too. I schooled on...I worked on those big dinosaurs too. I schooled on the FPS-20 and ended up working on the FPS-35 and the FPS-26HF. But the most fun was on the old FPS-6HF radar. It was an old G.E. relic, but for years was the backbone HF of the AF, prior to the coming of the FPS-26. It was a good radar. But on my~~~the presentation on the new RHIs of the 26 was so much sharper than the old OA- Dang~~~I forgot the nomenclature of the FPS-6 RHI. My memory is about as short as the PW of the old FPS-6~~~I think it was 2us, wasn't it? But not too bad after some 55 years. radarayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18303531038285627355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-59114452738981231322019-12-11T21:04:44.925-05:002019-12-11T21:04:44.925-05:00Gee, my comment concerns a comment made by Buck Ja...Gee, my comment concerns a comment made by Buck January of 2014. I guess I'm a bit late. Buck says he was the NCOIC of a 35 antenna crew and complained about the nasty conditions while working on the 35 antennae. I was stationed at the 648th (Benton AFS) during the early 1960s. At that time the FPS-35 was maintained by the FAA, as the FAA was the prime user of the search info produced by that radar. As AF personnel, we only maintained the two FPS-6's one FPS-26, and two gap-filler sites at Ulysses and Joliett, Pa. which incorporated one FPS-14 and one FPS-18 low power radars. We also maintained the BUIC equipment which was still used for standby in the event the T-2 failed (which it wouldn't dare~~~would it?) It never did while I was there, but they did run some manual missions for practice, which was fun to watch~~~after the UPA-35 scopes were all calibrated, of course. However, getting back to the original statement of Buck's: During the 4 years I was in Radar Maintenance, I never met a NCOIC that worked on radar, antenna or otherwise. Most of the ones I worked under didn't know an ohm from a volt, as they were input from an Administrative field. The good NCOs were the ones that conducted OJT training on new incoming 3 levels from Tech School. These were the ones that SHOULD have been the NCOICs. But I guess they knew too much? radarayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18303531038285627355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-77154897305239705782019-12-11T19:53:05.794-05:002019-12-11T19:53:05.794-05:00I left a comment but it seems it was lost. What di...I left a comment but it seems it was lost. What did I do wrong?<br /><br />Radaray jrmagpwr69@gmail.comradarayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18303531038285627355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-31957283834527265532019-12-11T19:50:26.260-05:002019-12-11T19:50:26.260-05:00I was in the USAF working in radar maintenance on ...I was in the USAF working in radar maintenance on AC&W radar at Benton AFS, Pa. This was in 1960 to 1964, so the only chirp I ever heard of during that time was the last sounds some of the swallows made after swooping to close to the radome that housed the FPS-6 or FPS-26 HF radars when it was nodding in the poor hapless swallow's azimuth. One of our "duties" was to clean-up the walkway around the radome of dried up swallow carcasses. They were some of the earliest examples of Microwave cooking, but didn't leave very much to eat.radarayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18303531038285627355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-53836620452706396992014-03-31T01:37:32.346-04:002014-03-31T01:37:32.346-04:00My dad also worked on those big radars. Mostly on ...My dad also worked on those big radars. Mostly on mountains. When we were in Japan, he went TDY a lot to JASDF locations. He was based out of Naha, Itazuke, North Camp Drake and then Fuchu. For the last two bases, we lived at Grant Heights. There is a Facebook page that covers Camp Drake (Momote Village), Grant Heights and Mutsumi Dai. Here is the address, https://www.facebook.com/groups/37715283769/ Have a good one. JimNorth Coast Hot Jobshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10530467878639253854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-11804644180223943292014-01-13T05:21:17.935-05:002014-01-13T05:21:17.935-05:00The most interesting thing about radars then was c...The most interesting thing about radars then was chirp.<br /><br />They sweep the frequency of the transmitted pulse, and have a frequency-sensitive delay line in the receiver.<br /><br />The pulse goes out long and comes back into the receiver piled into one place, giving a huge signal to noise advantage without having to bust the transmitter with power.<br /><br />Slight complication: doppler range shift. A moving target shows a shifted range owing to the de-chirp delay.<br /><br />Nowadays they have pseudo-random pulses, to get what they call the ambiguity diagram they want. Nothing so nice as a chirp.rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-90450489084797302262014-01-12T17:36:34.323-05:002014-01-12T17:36:34.323-05:00It is different radar, the one inside the dome. Ac...It is different radar, the one inside the dome. Actually, a sphere. The more powerful radar sticks out beyond the edges of the box. Chip Ahoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597726289890879627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-75698346537052981232014-01-12T15:19:11.467-05:002014-01-12T15:19:11.467-05:00You're too kind, Virgil. That's why I lov...You're too kind, Virgil. That's why I love ya... in that brotherly way.Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05319116022465066060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-33122569259549713572014-01-12T15:12:26.466-05:002014-01-12T15:12:26.466-05:00PS: He's a HUGE Hockey and Detroit RedWings fa...PS: He's a HUGE Hockey and Detroit RedWings fan...lives & breathes..virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-23003847118726507002014-01-12T15:06:07.699-05:002014-01-12T15:06:07.699-05:00Chip, Buck (as you can see by the link) is an ex A...Chip, Buck (as you can see by the link) is an ex AF retired radar guy your Father's age (and mine), a supremely hedonistic iconoclast cigar & beer aficionado and twice-divorced ex off-the road moto-racer (also was an IT guy in his 2nd career-- along with two sons in the armed services, one an AF Major and one a Navy Lt CDR) and has his own blog (where I comment frequently,) so I tipped him on your post for comment.<br /><br />(PS: You can thank me by depositing "mass quantities" of bitcoins to my paypal account. :) )virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-45535391263427063722014-01-12T12:58:55.424-05:002014-01-12T12:58:55.424-05:00It is covered now with a dome but it was uncovered...<i>It is covered now with a dome but it was uncovered when I lived on the site then called Benton Air Force Station.</i><br /><br />Different radars. Benton probably has an FAA air route surveillance radar (ARSR) these days, in lieu of the -35. None of the FPS-35 antennae were enclosed in domes, the antenna stretched out beyond the edges of the building it sat upon, so a dome just wasn't feasible. There were four or five FPS-35s located in various parts of the US. <br /><br />I know a little bit about the -35, as I worked on the one <a href="http://exileinportales.blogspot.com/2005/12/does-that-look-cold.html" rel="nofollow">at Fortuna AFS, ND</a> for a year, where I was the NCOIC of the FPS-35 antenna crew. Working on that antenna deck in sub-zero cold was no flippin' picnic, let me tell ya.Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05319116022465066060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-65781865653870019312014-01-12T09:58:49.791-05:002014-01-12T09:58:49.791-05:00It sure was a different time back then.It sure was a different time back then.AllenShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08848966772462502893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-30133036475266042422014-01-12T09:45:57.151-05:002014-01-12T09:45:57.151-05:00My dad signed in to work construction of DEW (dist...My dad signed in to work construction of DEW (distant early warning) radar sites in Greenland in the early 50's.<br /><br />I feel like part of the Radar Brotherhood here.Michael Hazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261384414481528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-82373751083533491952014-01-12T08:34:01.862-05:002014-01-12T08:34:01.862-05:00Sometimes it's kind of fun to throw a little r...Sometimes it's kind of fun to throw a little rock up in the air and watch a bat swoop in on it before it veers off and give you a dirty look and calls you an asshole.Eric the Fruit Bathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11003976042428037836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-50879140455522082812014-01-12T07:30:34.274-05:002014-01-12T07:30:34.274-05:00The one in Roberts is a storage center.The one in Roberts is a <a href="http://www.nikestorage.com/" rel="nofollow">storage center.</a><br />AllenShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08848966772462502893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-7067003570409986942014-01-12T06:41:14.011-05:002014-01-12T06:41:14.011-05:00The Nike Hercules radars in East Hanover NJ was ho...The Nike Hercules radars in East Hanover NJ was how you found the airport at a distance until they removed them.<br /><br />Whippany nearby also had a couple, though I think those were Nike Zeus radars, and there was no difficulty finding Morristown airport next door anyway.rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-59850328116641272622014-01-12T06:17:55.529-05:002014-01-12T06:17:55.529-05:00I was in an Army military hospital in Tachikawa, J...I was in an Army military hospital in Tachikawa, Japan.<br /><br />Are these Nike Missile sites? There are two close to me. One in Roberts, WI and the other in East Farmington, WI which has been converted into a Lutheran Retreat. AllenShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08848966772462502893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-68788521867294019342014-01-12T05:26:36.704-05:002014-01-12T05:26:36.704-05:00You know what? You just reminded me. It was at tha...You know what? You just reminded me. It was at that house my dad build the biggest aerial I've ever seen. With a motor on it. Attached to the side of the house it extended well above it. From inside we could make it rotate. Talk about a perfect toy for kids. We could actually climb the pole. That aerial system followed with us for five or so more houses before dropping to oblivion somehow. Chip Ahoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597726289890879627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-717986195212622043.post-48463688257013101772014-01-12T05:08:17.031-05:002014-01-12T05:08:17.031-05:00If the power system uses an earth return as in som...If the power system uses an earth return as in some countries, then the radar and the homes have a component in common, the earth.<br /><br />The homes notice a buzz on everything when the radar is on.rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.com