Weird HF Antenna - SunAir
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Here's a bit of vintage aircraft radio porn ...
This 'buck rogers' mike weighs about 1kg and is steel , if it got loose in turbulence it would make a nice dent in your skull.
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Weird HF Antenna Kit
Aseanaero:
Re your post No:1 28th February, I once had an experience of a similar system in a Cessna 310. It was in November 1965 and we were testing Survey equipment, a "bomb shaped" device to measure the magnetic field over a particular portion of land.
The extending and winding in of the device was quite similar to your antenna. After a test we found that we could not retract the "bomb" and we could not jettison it , so after much discussion with the Tower in Sydney, which included an option to try and drag it off on the water of Botany Bay or try and "land" it on the runway at the Airport.
The feeling was that the "bomb" may skip off the runway and wrap itself over the the tail plane with a resulting big problem. They filmed the landing and there was no drama. the "bomb" flew gently onto the runway, wore off about half an inch of one of the fins, the wheels of the aircraft then touched down and the emergency ended . The Airport then re-opened and the engineers got into the system and fixed it. The reel system had broken and jammed between the cockpit floor and the bottom of the aircraft.
Regards
Tmb
Re your post No:1 28th February, I once had an experience of a similar system in a Cessna 310. It was in November 1965 and we were testing Survey equipment, a "bomb shaped" device to measure the magnetic field over a particular portion of land.
The extending and winding in of the device was quite similar to your antenna. After a test we found that we could not retract the "bomb" and we could not jettison it , so after much discussion with the Tower in Sydney, which included an option to try and drag it off on the water of Botany Bay or try and "land" it on the runway at the Airport.
The feeling was that the "bomb" may skip off the runway and wrap itself over the the tail plane with a resulting big problem. They filmed the landing and there was no drama. the "bomb" flew gently onto the runway, wore off about half an inch of one of the fins, the wheels of the aircraft then touched down and the emergency ended . The Airport then re-opened and the engineers got into the system and fixed it. The reel system had broken and jammed between the cockpit floor and the bottom of the aircraft.
Regards
Tmb
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Tmbstory , I guess that's why this reel system isn't so popular anymore , one more thing to go wrong , snag on a fence or hit a high tension power line with.
I would have thought that for ultra long range HF the trailing antenna would have given better performance ?
I would have thought that for ultra long range HF the trailing antenna would have given better performance ?
The Boeing E4 has a trailing antenna for VLF transmission.
The lower trailing wire antenna area contains the aircraft's 5 mile long trailing wire antenna reel, the antenna operator's station as well as the antenna reel controls and indicators.
Plessy 6ch VHF...
I had one of those in an old Auster.... and a box of crystals.
Before heading off to the next place had to plug in the appropriate xstals for the destination... and on the way, press to transmit and wind a handle for max on the needle gauge. Fizzed out along the trail somewhere, eventually.
Back in Oz I was told not allowed! so I had to install an AWA Skyphone.
How electronics has evolved..!
Before heading off to the next place had to plug in the appropriate xstals for the destination... and on the way, press to transmit and wind a handle for max on the needle gauge. Fizzed out along the trail somewhere, eventually.
Back in Oz I was told not allowed! so I had to install an AWA Skyphone.
How electronics has evolved..!
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Originally Posted by aseanaero
I would have thought that for ultra long range HF the trailing antenna would have given better performance ?
Getting the antenna snagged on fences was probably a bit of a killer though; wonder how much the local avionics bloke charged every time someone did that?
For 3452KHz you'd ideally want about 21m of wire (quarter of a wavelength.)
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The old reel up wire antenna would work well given you could actually get a length out that would be resonant. Not used one but saw them a long time ago.
Cant remember who asked but I have some plug in crystals from a very old VHF set. Choose your freq then plug and play. You can open up the can and see the crystal between the contacts. Nice.
vhf never catch on, why not
.. -. / .-- .... .- - / .-. . --. .- .-. -.. ..--..
Cant remember who asked but I have some plug in crystals from a very old VHF set. Choose your freq then plug and play. You can open up the can and see the crystal between the contacts. Nice.
vhf never catch on, why not
.. -. / .-- .... .- - / .-. . --. .- .-. -.. ..--..
I knew one dodgy character who replaced a winch / reel assembly with a different one which didn't fit - until he sawed, planed and varnished a nice wooden block to mount it on the rear fuse floor. All was good until he had a lightning strike and the carpentry work caught fire.
This looks pretty modern to me - who's ever used an ADF with a hand crank tuning knob and a meter ? (No not the hand cranked antenna
)
This looks pretty modern to me - who's ever used an ADF with a hand crank tuning knob and a meter ? (No not the hand cranked antenna
)
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Worked on an old deHav Dove with a hand crank ADF with a Bowden type drive down to the loop from memory. Long time ago.
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Brian A;
Someone can and probably will correct me, but wasn't it an "AIRMOVE PRIORITY" free call?
I recall the "AIRFLASH", but can't remember what it was about.
The drouge was only a plastic childs drinking cup, usually blue for some reason. Heaps on fences as already mentioned and 5499 was the most used freq I used in the East. Stuck in my mind all this time for some reason. Morse was possibly a better means of communication. More reliable at least than the static over voice on these monsters.
Anyone remember the VAR?
AIRFLASH PRIORITY
I recall the "AIRFLASH", but can't remember what it was about.
The drouge was only a plastic childs drinking cup, usually blue for some reason. Heaps on fences as already mentioned and 5499 was the most used freq I used in the East. Stuck in my mind all this time for some reason. Morse was possibly a better means of communication. More reliable at least than the static over voice on these monsters.
Anyone remember the VAR?
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"Airflash priority call"
Frank,
I remember well the free 'airflash priority calls' from public phones to cancel SAR when the Sunair HF was cactus. And I will never forget having dragged the 'drouge'(plastic funnel) after the antenae wire came off the reel and jambing it against the roof (C185A) That must have been between 1969 and 1976, long time ago now!!
I remember well the free 'airflash priority calls' from public phones to cancel SAR when the Sunair HF was cactus. And I will never forget having dragged the 'drouge'(plastic funnel) after the antenae wire came off the reel and jambing it against the roof (C185A) That must have been between 1969 and 1976, long time ago now!!
Last used the VAR at West Maitland around '66 / '67 or so....
FUN trying to get the 'Aural nodes' 'in line'....(East / West direction)
FUN trying to get the 'Aural nodes' 'in line'....(East / West direction)
Hi Frank,
The 'memory cells' fading a little, however,
I seem to recall that the 'Airmove Priority' was for the exchange operator to be able to put through your SAR cancellation calls free of charge, on the first (next) available line,
Whilst the 'Airflash priority' was to enable (instruct) the operator to actually interrupt a call in progress to enable you to call in an URGENT event - like - ooops I've crashed, or observed a crash etc. and require assistance......
Others may be able to clarify further....
Cheers
The 'memory cells' fading a little, however,
I seem to recall that the 'Airmove Priority' was for the exchange operator to be able to put through your SAR cancellation calls free of charge, on the first (next) available line,
Whilst the 'Airflash priority' was to enable (instruct) the operator to actually interrupt a call in progress to enable you to call in an URGENT event - like - ooops I've crashed, or observed a crash etc. and require assistance......
Others may be able to clarify further....
Cheers
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Airflash Priority.
Griffo,
I think you are right as we had phone party lines and calls had to be interupted to cancell SAR, hence the Airflash call.
Like I said, all a long time ago.
I think you are right as we had phone party lines and calls had to be interupted to cancell SAR, hence the Airflash call.
Like I said, all a long time ago.
