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 This item
appeared on the ARRL news website. It links to a video (embedded below) showing an engineered
demolition of a shortwave antenna farm in North Carolina commissioned by the
Voice of America (VOA) in 1963, during the
Cold War. The 'Voice of America' radio program was broadcast to people living in countries (Iron Curtain entities like Cuba, USSR, China, North
Korea, etc.) that censored information not approved by government agents. The video provides an aerial view of the entire
line of towers collapsing as the precisely timed charges go off. The most impressive aspect is that explosives are detonated
only on every other tower in such a way that the falling tower takes out the one next to it almost in a dominoes manner
(see yellow circle). 25 pounds of explosives were used rather than possibly 50 pounds if every
tower's guy lines had been blown up. I wonder if the camera used was mounted on a manned helicopter or a radio controlled
heli or multirotor drone?
The site was formally closed in 2006 and the land was signed over to Beaufort County, North Carolina, by the federal
government in 2014. A public park is planned for the 2,800-acre site, but the towers needed to come down because maintenance - such as keeping the
lights atop the towers lit - was deemed too costly.
Explosions Bring down 48 VOA Towers in Beaufort County
From the VOA website:
VOA Broadcast Frequency
Schedules
Effective 25 October 2015 through 26 March 2016 (Updated 03 November 2015) All times and dates are Coordinated Universal
Time (UTC), same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Frequencies are in kiloHertz (kHz). 1 MegaHertz (MHz) is equal to 1000 kHz. Conversion to meter bands: Meters=300000/frequency
in kHz. e.g.: 17705 kHz --> 16.9 meters
Abbreviations: All programs/frequencies are on daily unless noted otherwise. * - Monday through Friday $ - Saturday and
Sunday
English to Africa
0300-0400 UTC 909 1530 4930 6080 15580
0400-0430 UTC 909 1530 4930 4960 6080 15580
0430-0500 UTC 909 4930 4960 6080 15580
0500-0600 UTC 909 4930 6080 15580
0600-0700 UTC 909 1530 6080 9550 15580
1400-1500 UTC 4930 15580 17885
1500-1600 UTC 4930 6080 15580 17895
1600-1700 UTC 909 1530 4930 6080 15580 17895
1700-1800 UTC 6080 13590 15580 17895
1800-1830 UTC 13590 15580
1800-1830 UTC$ 909 4930
1830-1900 UTC 4930 13590 15580
1830-1900 UTC$ 909
1900-2000 UTC 909 4930 13590 15580
2000-2100 UTC 909 1530 4930 6080 15580
2030-2100 UTC$ 4940
2100-2200 UTC 1530 6080 15580
South Sudan - English
1630-1700 UTC* 11900 13865 15180
Posted April 6, 2016
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