Comments
reddit455 t1_iu63bby wrote
there's STILL one in Colorado (and a few other places around the world).. it literally takes a minute or so just to transmit time. few bytes
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In the United States, the signals received by radio controlled clocks originate from NIST Radio Station WWVB, which is located near Fort Collins, Colorado. WWVB broadcasts on a frequency of 60 kHz. Your radio controlled clock actually has a miniature radio receiver inside, which is permanently tuned to receive the 60 kHz signal.
Wurm42 t1_iu6p7wf wrote
Yeah, the bitrate is terrible, which is why Sanguine and other early military ELF transmitters only sent three-letter code groups.
The messages you could send were basically "Sub X, execute plan Q out of your standing orders, or "Sub X, find a safe spot to surface and check in by radio or satellite coms".
SFXBTPD t1_iu8tgd3 wrote
Sub Z in the foyer with the ballistic missle
[deleted] t1_iu82fcg wrote
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BigBobby2016 t1_iu62xko wrote
Wow…I was telling a young person at work about this only yesterday. It’d probably been 20 years since I’d last talked about it, now here it is on Reddit today
_a_dude t1_iu67qom wrote
Not exactly the same thing. But this is pretty close to the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon, or frequency illusion
TacTurtle t1_iu6b933 wrote
There is one in Alaska and one in [REDACTED]
ramriot t1_iu7fgyu wrote
Canada & Hawaii, though the former is apparently no longer used.
Dont_Wanna_Not_Gonna t1_iu6jq0o wrote
I laughed.
emby5 t1_iu634f6 wrote
There were a few. Upper Peninsula had one (Republic, MI).
Dont_Wanna_Not_Gonna t1_iu6jorx wrote
Is that why I can hear Radio K through my fillings when I’m passing through on my way to Lake of the Woods? I always wondered about that.
bobnla14 t1_iu8cjrf wrote
Are you sure that isn't the result of you meds wearing off?
PappyVanPinkhole t1_iua5aef wrote
There’s a Nelson DeMille (fiction) book, wildfire I believe, that references this a lot - great read
HippopotamicLandMass t1_iuajot4 wrote
I think Michael Crichton’s Sphere features the same antenna, too!
flightwatcher45 t1_iu61y8x wrote
Like Jim Creek in WA. Very cool
Kooky-Ad5929 t1_iu6kjrj wrote
I went camping out there back when I was in the Navy. Nice area and had a sweet little lake for fishing in too.
BrokenEye3 t1_iu60d91 wrote
Only to submarines?
KMjolnir t1_iu622cs wrote
Surface vessels would be easier to reach and wouldn't need something that big. Water blocks a lot, and any large surface installation that could reach a sub would be gone. Reaching a nuckear-armed sub, from underground, would require something massive.
voucher420 t1_iu6376h wrote
Like 2/5 of Wisconsin huge?
no_step t1_iu69lmt wrote
It was an ELF, extremely low frequency transmitter. Those radio waves need extremely large antennas and a particular type of soil
[deleted] t1_iu63o89 wrote
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TacTurtle t1_iu6bn25 wrote
It is actually more that the wavelength for extremely low frequency radio requires extremely long antennas for efficient transmission and reception - not an electrical hardware size issue.
Wavelength = speed of light / frequency so as frequency goes down, wavelength (and antenna size) go up.
Subs use a long antenna cable they can extend and tow behind underwater for ULF radio transmission and reception.
Faster transmission with a shorter antenna requires getting closer to the surface for higher freq radio which will not penetrate water as easily.
[deleted] t1_iu6c0lc wrote
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TacTurtle t1_iu6fhd4 wrote
The actual generation and radio equipment could fit in a couple shipping containers or a small building, it is the antenna that is big.
3MW is small enough power you can get them as pre-packaged skid-mounted units like https://www.westernstatescat.com/power-systems/electric-power/gas-generator-sets/cg260-12-2100kw-3000kw3mw-gas-generator-2/
Example: check out this weather radar array - radar is radio broadcast and receive, just at much higher frequency. WSR-88D weather radars for reference are almost 1MW. The Wisconsin ELF was 2.6Mw.
Wurm42 t1_iu6obqj wrote
The extremely-low frequency (ELF) array the Navy eventually built could be used to reach surface ships or land forces as well, but there were easier, more effective ways to communicate with everything but submarines.
DeadForDecember OP t1_iu61jtd wrote
Nuclear submarines
Minnewildsota t1_iu7ptt1 wrote
Nuculear. It’s pronounced nuculear.
cain071546 t1_iu87ci6 wrote
It's Nuclear, Nuculear is not a word. >Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants. Nuclear decay processes are used in niche applications such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators in some space probes such as Voyager 2. Generating electricity from fusion power remains the focus of international research.
Minnewildsota t1_iu8v5kw wrote
SirSassyCat t1_iuc5dxm wrote
Subs are the ones with the nukes. Also, in the event of nuclear war, the surface fleet has probably been attacked too.
TheDurrrmanNeighbor t1_iudcdpw wrote
Purportedly the western states have wanted the relocation of the US capitol. This is perhaps one of the old plans on contingency.
ctl-alt-replete t1_iu7o5ra wrote
40%. Just say 40%
[deleted] t1_iu7p3p1 wrote
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DanYHKim t1_iu7a5xl wrote
Was this used in Red October?
Minnewildsota t1_iu7ps9c wrote
As a Minnesotan, they should have.
Njt8i945_4 t1_iu8a8v3 wrote
Exterminly Low Frequency Radio System.
Gene_Different t1_iu8w481 wrote
Jim Creek, Cutler, Lualualei, O-Sub, N-Sub, etc. etc...
pickleer t1_iu7qil2 wrote
Nicola? Nicola Tesla, is that you I hear??
SSF2T t1_iu8ldge wrote
Still not the dumbest thing your governments have done by far
DeadForDecember OP t1_iu8m9dy wrote
I'm not American and it never went beyond the proposal stage
SublimeMudTime t1_iu60j26 wrote
I thought a long time ago I read that there was an ELF (extremely low frequency) transmitter in Black Duck, MN.