Ham Radio - The giant Collins HF discone antenna at the Titan Missile Museum.

An amazing place and a unique and equally amazing antenna that you can hook up to!
Museum site:
titanmissilemuseum.org/museum...
Green Valley amateur radio club page:
www.gvarc.us/titan-missile-mu...
Wiki on discones:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discone....
Electronic notes on discones:
www.electronics-notes.com/art...
The titan 2 handbook I showed:
titan2handbook.com/
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Music used:
Bassa Island Game Loop - Latinesque by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/

[@bentrider1972]

My mother worked at Collins here in Cedar Rapids in the late 60's right out of high school till she retired around 88-90..She showed me how to solder and what not..So you could say Collins taught me how to work on my radios 🤣

[@robstewart5995]

I had the pleasure of transmitting from that antenna in June of 2022 . What a thrill, It was a beautiful crisp day and stations were coming in from Europe and I spoke to stations across the US that antenna seems to be a great receiving antenna With all that steel up in the air. Thank you Green Valley for taking care of that fantastic antenna.

[@kirkgoins7214]

I was a Titan II Launch Crew Member at Little Rock, AR 76-81. I can remember using the HF Radio in the wee hours of the night to listen to all sorts of stations from all over the world as we had no requirement to actively monitor a specific freq most of the time. Thanks for the memories...

[@loughkb]

Standing in there, I was thinking about the crews and how they'd pass the time. I imagined them tuning around the shortwave bands, listening to various stations for entertainment during the idle hours. And you've confirmed my thoughts. :-) That antenna sure hears well.

[@NickFrom1228]

Wow, during the Damascus explosion. That must have shook things up for a while. I'll bet there weren't loose sockets used after that...

[@kirkgoins7214]

@@NickFrom1228 IF the tech had properly positioned the heavy rubber material correctly on the platform, that socket should have hit that and rolled on to the platform and not fallen between it and the missile. BTW The Orion capsule's engine and thrusters use the same fuel and oxidizer as the Titan II did.

[@NickFrom1228]

@@kirkgoins7214 I have always wondered if there were some procedural failure involved. Same fuel. Wow, thats nasty stuff. Needs respect.

[@kschroll666]

In Sept 2021 in 106 degree heat I set my IC-7610 up attached to my running mustang so the battery wouldn't die and talked to my buddy in Washington state for about an hour and 20 minutes. 20 and 40 meters worked great!

[@AdamosDad]

We had one on the bow of my first ship (Collins HF discone antenna), the USS Newport News CA-148. Our only problem was our T1 and T2 guns had a lockout to keep us from shooting it off, that came to bear when we were being attacked by torpedo boats in Vietnam. I had a lot of experience with Collins equipment as an Electronics tech in the Navy, great stuff🖐🏻73's🎙🎧KD9OAM📻

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

Great video Kevin! I loved it and thanks for taking the time to make it. Very nicely made and edited. I really wish I could visit it... if I ever get to back to the US, I know where I'm going!

[@UltraLimitedHD]

KB9RLW de KY4R , great visit & video Kevin , glad to be in the log, 73

[@brucesteele3052]

I worked in that very hole in the the 1970s. Oh the stories I could tell. Fast forward and I am now w0vet. Might be fun to return and operate radio from there.

[@JohnWallace74]

Thanks for the video. I was wondering what an HF discone antenna would be like. Looks very cool!

[@timstanton6431]

Nice find! The interview made it extra special!

[@K7VZ]

I've operated on the antenna many times with the 4x4 Ham club as W7AZO. Thanks for the in depth view of the antenna history.

[@n2jmb]

WOW! Awesome video Kevin! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@davedeiler2072]

Fascinating information, thanks for the tour.

[@reedreamer9518]

I visited the Titan Missile museum back in 2006 - it was fantastic! But that was before I became a ham, so I don't recall seeing the discone. Good thing the Air Force did not have to contend with contesters when they used those HF antennas. ; )

[@chichimus]

Nice video. Yes, best to avoid contest days. I liked the info on Zephram Cochrane's warp ship :)

[@howardkarse9915]

A well played blend of Ham radio at the site - and nice presentation of the site/museum overall.

[@billsmotrilla6215]

Loved this. Thanks for putting it together. I have always wanted to go there.

[@dougtaylor7724]

One of your best videos ever Kevin!

[@JReed305]

Cool antenna. From the sweeps it definitely looks like it could use a tear down and cleaning of all the connections, but considering is has been up that long with no maintenance it looks really good. What a cool antenna, thanks so much for sharing it with us.

[@randallwalker1897]

Thanks for the good video! My wife and I are snow birds and have been to Green Valley a lot. Plugging my radio into the historic antenna is always a thrilling experience!

[@tonyd6884]

Thanks for posting this video I am adding operating on this antenna to my bucket list.

[@stevesomers7366]

Thanks, Kevin. Great video. I visited the silo years ago, but did not learn about the hf antennas there. The whole place is an amazing thing to witness. Excellent video. 73, Steve AE6SS

[@AdamSWL]

Really interesting video Kevin! Thanks so much for putting it together and including the anecdote re Star Trek! It just amazes me that preparations were underway for the worlds end well before I was born!

[@baconwhiskey821]

Thanks for bringing us along.

[@robthomas4886]

Great video! I had the opportunity to visit the museum in 2012.

[@davemaier7]

Kevin-wonderful video. Thank you for all that you do in promoting Ham Radio. David, K7CI

[@Guns_N_Gears]

I was out there on vacation in Sept. We toured that museum, and everything there is colossal, even that antenna.

[@Bill-HRT]

Thanks for the Star Trek reference. I did not know that. Your video was interesting up to that point, but you really got my attention with that movie factoid!

[@scottjohnson3226]

Fasinating! Thanks for the tour.

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

👍 Excellent video Kevin, thanks.

[@stepside2839]

That was cool - educational - thanks much for bringing that to us.

[@MichaelColonnakc2scy]

This was really a great video ! i really enjoyed it, nice job. 😀

[@edwatts9890]

Nice effort! XYL and I toured that facility several years ago, and that discovered caught my eye. We were in a rental car, so, I didn't have a radio with me. We had been checking out Atlas-F sites in New Mexico, hoping to buy one and converting it into a home, and we stopped here on the way back to W6 land. Thanks for the video. Ed, KI6DCB

[@mewrongway]

Id be more than happy to store that discone in my back yard for ya!

[@akiddoo8113]

Thanks Kevin. Good job and very interesting.

[@craftsman123456]

Cool video and place. Had a great contact with someone about 6 months ago from there. Learned about The Silo at that time been wanting to go there ever since.

[@davidsradioroom9678]

Glad you got to go there. I would LOVE to operate at that antenna. Maybe some day.

[@enigmarbs2886]

Thank you for the interesting video. The principle of the antenna was very common for goverment use. Our clubstation have a little version of those system used on the CIA Headquarter in Nürnberg, Germany. They put it to a junkyard, when they leave the areas and we buyed it in the late 90's. Still a nice system👍🏻

[@charlescompton4495]

It would be great to work you out West. I'm a rag chewer and have worked a bunch of the bands QRP and 100 watts. Thanks for all the info over the years and this interesting KZbin. I use a dipole for 75 meters and anything it will tune plus a flagpole with a bunch of radials and work all directions (just not all states or countries). Thanks again, Greg KA8ZAF in Southern Ohio.

[@dankono4729]

I love that antenna...I have had the opportunity to try it out...

[@fryslander]

Thanks Kevin for showing us. This is something to put on my bucket list. Really interesting. 73 PA3GTL

[@HitchHiker4Freedom]

Cool tour. Thanks.

[@MG.50]

THANK YOU ! That was a very interesting video coverage of not only the antennas but the entire site. ESPECIALLY want to thank you for pointing out the book _Titan II Handbook_. It will be added to my library soon. My first job in electronics was for "Rockwell International Collins Radio Group" in Richardson, Tx, the first year after RI purchased Collins Radio. I was straight out of USAF microwave technician school. As an Air National Guard troop, I came back to my home station 254 Combat Comm in the Dallas area after graduating tech school (1978). It was a long road, and I was a contractor from 1996 until I retired in 04/2020... 42 years of wearing many hats from RF tech to Sr Eng Tech to PCB layout to Sig Integ Eng to Sr EE when I retired. It was mostly in aerospace and military engineering & engineering support. I worked in different capacities for Rockwell Collins 4 different times, 4 times for Ball Aerospace, General Dynamics, MIT Lincoln Laboratory (one of our national labs),TI, Raytheon, etc. A contractor gets around. It was (mostly) a fun and interesting ride. Best regards, KE5VOC Michael

[@Mike-H_UK]

Great video. very informative and enjoyable.

[@joemcmanus79]

de WB2ZDB, WOW, JUST PLAIN WOW!!! GREAT video Kevin, and TY for putting it up, wish I had one of those for my toy box!!! 😁😁😁 Oh well, I'll hit you up for the print and construction details if I ever hit the lottery!!! LOL 😁 L8R, 73

[@frankENZC]

Excellent video! Thanks.

[@ghostedyoutuber263]

Dangit, my friend and I were just there on Sunday. Too bad we did not catch you then as we where checking out the antenna.

[@captbart3185]

The backup radios for my Pershing missile battery were Collins KWM2’s which had to be “tested “ routinely on the ham bands to make sure the were functioning properly and I had a very understanding signal corps officer who allowed my to “help”😊. Loved those radios but couldn’t afford one for myself.

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

😄 They must have some of the most tested KWM2's ever.

[@captbart3185]

@@Steve-GM0HUU I tried to ensure that that was true!

[@leek0lw]

@@captbart3185 Our commo officer "loaned" me a KWM2 that I had off post. I was in a Pershing unit in Neu Ulm, Germany. The discone is very cool to see in person. 73, K0LW

[@yardleybottles6025]

Very cool! Thank you!

[@lilblackduc7312]

Very Good! Thank you, Kevin...🇺🇸 😎👍☕

[@patrickbuick5459]

I had salivated over using the sterba curtain at the RCI site in Sackville NB as / when they shut it down, but no go.

[@cknight3457]

Very interesting video, Kevin! Thank you. Titan was one of a few projects I got to work on when starting my electronics career at the assembly level many years ago.

[@jptucsonaz8503]

Awesome job with the video Kevin. So glad you had a 'blast' making it. Collins really outdid themselves with that design being that it's 60 years old and still in working condition. The taxpayers truly got their money's worth from that project. 73 John

[@kirkgoins7214]

We did have a TV on the main level of the Control Center and then there were lots of card games as well.

[@lowellrieger5112]

Chuck WA7ZZE also has a wonderful series of books on Heathkits.

[@raymondmartin6737]

In 1967, when I was in summer training after my junior year of college in US Air Force ROTC, my Captain discussed career fields in the USAF, after training was over, as a Missle Launch Officer, which was not what I did between 1969 and 1973 duty.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Kevin. Beautiful video my old friend. Top notch. Good job!

[@loughkb]

Thanks Cal. I wondered if the subject would attract your attention. heh. :-)

[@slincolne]

Fascinating !

[@mikethees6434]

Great video

[@sdriza]

Thank you Kevin

[@andrewhill4226]

Very good interesting video, thanks Kevin. 73's Andy M6APJ.

[@RobertJohnsonG0GFC]

Thanks for the Tour Kevin, I'll add the museum to our places to visit list the next time we get back to Arizona (usually fly to Phoenix from the UK). The book looks amazing, I've downloaded the sample from the website....it's good... and will now see if I can find a seller here. Stay safe 73

[@titanmissilemuseum]

The book is available only at the museum, or from Amazon or Chuck's website. It's unfortunate that international shipping is so costly.

[@JxH]

@@titanmissilemuseum FYI - I've bought endless books from other countries, including plenty from the USA. I've noticed that some sellers in the USA are able to ship books to Canada for postage costs of (for example, says on the sticker) ~US$5 and they're marked as "Printed Matter" or similar. Other sellers (usually individuals) don't seem to know the trick, and I've bought books for Cdn$38 that cost the poor seller US$40 to ship to me (I felt bad). I do not know the details of this USA postage category trick, but I can tell you that almost all books I've bought from sellers in the USA are shipped for quite low postage costs (not even close to $10). Same thing from the UK too, postage of only a few UK pounds.

[@titanmissilemuseum]

@@JxH Within the US, there is an inexpensive shipping option called "media mail" (formerly called "book rate") specifically for books and other media. Unfortunately, this rate is not available for international shipping.

[@shughes5725]

I worked in Titan maintenance. We referred to this antenna as the "Christmas tree".

[@loughkb]

The curator there has been looking for any kind of technical manual or service manual for that antenna. If you know where you can find it please let him know.

[@1947dodgewf32]

Very cool!!!!

[@BigShip98]

That's only about 2 hours from me. I should go check it out in the near future. Thanks for sharing. KJ7JJY

[@johnwest7993]

Good stuff. If you are ever in the area I sure would like a techie tour of the VLA in NM. (hint hint)

[@californiakayaker]

I had some extremely good times building various discone antenna's, the real versions right out of the ARRL The one you diagram is very interesting because it can be used as a "fat" vertical ! Antenna manual. I kick myself now as we had a HF Coast Guard station with a quite unusual antenna (Humboldt Bay) and I haven't been able to find anything showing where they documented that design. I believe it was vertical but I'm not sure. I also believe it was broad banded. We now work with the KFS system which generally uses Log Periodic s The have either re-commisioned some of the old antenna's or added them somehow, and have not only the web sdr system, but the kiwi system for their antennas. I use the SE one, its amazing !

[@californiakayaker]

The "marine" versions required a ton of maintenance. Its crazy but the people who did that do not seem to get on the web much ? I suppose I could write the commander of that coast guard station and see if he has any young guys who aren't partying 24/7 and would have time to took at some of the old documents for diagrams ! lol (But, you had to be around this coast guard bunch to see what I'm talking about).

[@brianmee5398]

Saw this antenna on a visit to the site a few years back. The antenna received the LF signals from the GWEN relay system.

[@loughkb]

There are several antenna on site. Including large VLF loops that were buried underground for receiving those lower frequency ranges. The discone was for 3 MHz and up.

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

I am hoping to build a discone antenna besides my house soon, but I need to clear some trees and brush first!

[@Rocketman88002]

Aerial photos of the former Titan II sites show the area where the discone antenna was located. I'm guessing there was or maybe still is a buried ground plane.

[@warrenstickney6813]

I was there in 1975 as a fac elect for that site.

[@furion..]

They typically bury one 1/4 wave radial every 3° - for about 120, 66' radials or 1.5 MILES of ground radials.

[@JxH]

The huge metal hoop in the cone presumably isn't required electrically, since the RF voltage all around the hoop would be the same (including phase) due to symmetry, so the huge hoop must be purely structural (a more battle-resistant design). Therefore Amateur versions of this design could presumably use non-conductive ropes to continue the tension path for each cone wire straight down to a circle of stakes in the ground, with the cone wires taking the bend towards the base (I trust that most people can easily follow what I saying here). If anyone wishes to include the hoop (electrically), then horizontal connections could be added from each cone wire bend point to the adjacent ones. Height-wise, 22m isn't all that tall, plenty of hams have towers that tall, so reproducing an electrically-equivalent version of this design isn't all that far fetched. I'm not sure it's worth the effort, but it should be do-able for those interested.

[@rogergrimsby5805]

> i'm not sure it's worth the effort Some people just need to modify their transceivers so they'll transmit out of band; not sure why. "There might be an emergency..." But, they'll be needing an all-band antenna, hi.

[@jertres2887]

Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety Great book About a silo accident and the dilemma of keeping thermonuclear capability safe and at the same time relibly available in the next few minutes and the real history of our doing that.

[@sonus289]

would be cool to load it up on hf with a tuner ....ill have to give it a try

[@CamilleCullen-ow6qj]

Great video, many thanks!! Robert K5TPC

[@samallan6616]

A discone/cage monopole combo. Awesome. Someone ought to create a kit to build something like that then sell it to the hard-core hams with money to burn.

[@chrisscott1547]

Cool antenna. I think you mean Radial field.

[@CARLiCON]

Cool vid, thanks for sharing. I visited the the Titan II museum back in the early 2000s, & saw the antennas but they never really went into how the radio stuff worked. Was it using an encrypted digital mode? They wouldn't have been transceiving straight phone or CW with such a high security installation right?

[@JAMES-KB7TBT]

Winner.

[@tpcdude]

We need a kit of parts with dimensions to build new ones .. perhaps not nuc blast hardened. how big is the screen for example?

[@loughkb]

You should have all the info you need to figure it out. I paused on the page of the book with all of the dimensions, on purpose. I also gave the basic discone dimensions related to frequency and the ratio of disc to cone wire lengths in the graphics. If someone has the room and the time, they can build one.

[@tpcdude]

I wonder if they had access to both feedpoints to set it up for either mode. I have been to This museum .. you want to have a friend take a picture of you scaling the chain link fence near the sign that says "deadly force authorized"

[@loughkb]

Chuck talked about that during the interview. The feed points.

[@Siskiyous6]

If a Ham wins the big lottery tonight ...........................

[@gregryan7284]

I have used this discone several times. My results were the same as yours in that the signals were week but useable. I am wondering about the condition of the feed line. Does it degrade in the extreme heat? Greg N7GCR

[@loughkb]

The local club maintains the feed line. They just replaced it not too long ago. Where the propagation was, signals were booming in. And I was getting out well. Again, where the propagation was.

[@jamescstanley5018]

Hi Kev, Great and interesting video! As one self confessed nerd to another, what would Putin give for that book and a Dr Who time machine! Imagine, Putin buys the book and then sends it back 60 years to his old KGB chums! Seriously, if time travel is ever practical, just what would the dictators of the world do with the technology? If ever there was a reason to ban the investigation of time travel that must be it!!

[@gabrieltgh]

Greetings,a xe2 ham can use it?

[@loughkb]

As long as you are legal to operate in the U.S., you can use it.

[@californiakayaker]

Comment on the sentences right after your question at about 7:00 he said 3 to 6 mhz, and 6 to "3" mhz. was that supposed to be "30" mhz ?

[@loughkb]

Yes.

[@SpinStar1956]

👍

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

Are they going to rebuild the transceivers in the Nuclear Bunker where you are.

[@titanmissilemuseum]

There are no plans to rebuild any of the coms equipment.

[@ralphnunn3]

Wow. Interesting stuff. I might need to make another trip to AZ to have a look. And yeah, I wouldn't mind hooking up to that antenna! DE K7RLN

[@Dazzwidd]

in the low frequency mode it needs the ground because it's operating as a monopole, it's pretty simple stuff. Yes Collins do know rudimentary antenna design principles 🤣

[@Dazzwidd]

it's working with transmission line phenomenon. It's not resonant 😆

[@kimgumm4403]

Those antenna mess up the free TV antenna. Called Base station you talk over sea with those high antenna the FCC will Tell you take it down back in 1980s folks had tall antenna like 50 feet in Air big no no nope too much power messed are TV up talking over are TV crap nope those too much power no !

[@charlesschindler1971]

Well done. Great video Kevin.👍🏻

[@loughkb]

Thanks 👍

[@kittykat999a]

Did you notice that Interstate 19 is marked in Kilometers instead of Miles? It’s the only Interstate using Kilometers. The signs and exits are in Kilometers. Every time I go to Green Valley I get a LOL when I see that. de N5USS

[@loughkb]

Oh, I noticed. :-)

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

Is there a reason for it being marked in Km? I did not think the US did Km!

[@loughkb]

@@Steve-GM0HUU en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_19

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

@@loughkb Thanks for the link. Always learning something new on your channel 🙂.

[@olivierconet7995]

Super interesting ! Thanks a lot