Hi Nick, thanks for all of the info.
In your pictures I was standing by the antenna marked MA29 on the phone company property. I has taken a pix on my phone but didn't really detail what was there like your's do. That is the one I mentioned above which seemed to look like a log but now I'm not so sure. Your picture #56.
In fact I'm really confused as to what most of these antenna's are called. Like MA01 in the top left corner of the property, pix #69. Ground fed point into what looks like a cone.
Anyway, always amazed when I see antenna farms like this and the engineering that went into it. When I heard that VOA Delano was being dismantled I used the Google street view to check out what was contained on their property which was unreal.
Also, quite impressed with your basement view from your website. You have taken the hobby to another dimension!
Thanks again,
Bob
VOA Delano is still standing, at least it was a year ago. I've gone out there multiple times just to stand in awe at the curtains.
You can get in the first gate, but the second gate is locked (the one after the guard shack). The guard shack was open when I was there, and a quick perusal found some poor shlep had left his COBRA paperwork (for insurance) behind. Since it had personal info on it, I destroyed it for him, although it was nearly a decade old.
If you stand around or drive around long enough local law enforcement comes out and acts like the gestapo. They have keys to get inside the perimeter fence, and even into the building.
The farmer next door (to the south) is really cool and will grant you easement on his roads so you can get pretty close to the southernmost tower of the curtain array.
I always dreamed of installing a clandestine OWL from the bottom of the curtain to the edge of the farmers property, but trespassing on government property can carry hefty fines. Thank God I never did, as most of my work now requires access to sensitive parts of Vandenberg AFB and China Lake Naval Weapons Center. Been through gates one and two on the latter. Still waiting for something to come up to go through gate 3.. I hear that's where China Lake gets really..... Interesting.
Last I heard, Kern County was talking about converting the actual building into a homeless shelter. I doubt that would ever go anywhere, but..... There was talk.
All the electronics are gone. One of the TX is on loan from the government to the Collins Museum. There is a write up online on how it all came to be, and almost didn't.
It would be REALLY cool to get access as a ham club or something. Fire up those curtains one more time!
--Shane
KD6VXI