Visiting Chernobyl

**RedHorseman25** · 11-26-2011, 06:04 PM

Dave;

thank you for posting the pic. Didn't even know this award existed. Makes perfect sense that it does, just never really gave it a thought.

I fear the answer to your rhetorical question, is not nearly as many as who earned it.

Boridin

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 11-26-2011 06:04 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**rabbitface** · 12-16-2011, 11:47 AM

brilliant pictures,that place must be massive,can i ask a stupid question,what used to happen there on a day to day basis and why so much radiation?
and has any1 got any pictures of what it looked it back in the day

many thanks adam

**Adrian Stevenson** · 12-16-2011, 11:52 AM

Hi Adam, the nuclear reactor expolded in 1986:

Chernobyl disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prior to that, this was just a normal town.

Cheers, Ade.

**Tango** · 05-31-2012, 05:13 PM

A very interesting thread thanks for posting!!! Im sure one of those Call of Duty games you go around here getting into trouble!!!Cheers Terry.

**aj4010** · 05-31-2012, 06:06 PM

Great pictures, thanks for showing. The one with the hanging mask is iconic, the best of the set IMHO. I wish I had taken that one!

Best Regards,

Andy

**tempelhof** · 05-31-2012, 07:18 PM

i worked for NSA back in the 80s in this area of the world involved in NSA SIGINT and COMINT activities. if you are referring to an antennae array which existed in Chernobyl and currently about 20 miles within the restricted zone, this array was also responsible for an extremely powerful signal which was theorized to be covering something else. this signal appeared in the 70s and dropped off about the time of the meltdown. it was later confirmed to be originating from a soviet over-the-horizon radar element of the soviet ABM warning system. don't know for sure if we are talking about the same thing here, but this was one massive antennae array and it's the correct location or thereabouts. if we are talking about the same thing, i've included a picture of it.
during the time i was active, we never did discover what exactly the purpose of this signal was.
these days you can read about this stuff on the internet. and, in fact, that's where i got this picture.
strange world we live in today at least coming from my perspective. heck... even the facility i worked in is all over the internet now. back then, you could be arrested taking a picture of the place or shot entering the grounds.

thanks for posting these pictures. i really enjoyed them.

by RedHorseman25

The antennae array you refer to is not for radar, but is a radio signal interception array. It has limited directionality, but it allows the operators to listen to, and conduct direction finding on the origin of the signal.

I would love to see the building where the radio signals where received, and monitored.

Boridin

**aj4010** · 05-31-2012, 07:32 PM

by tempelhof

i worked for NSA back in the 80s in this area of the world involved in NSA SIGINT and COMINT activities. if you are referring to an antennae array which existed in Chernobyl and currently about 20 miles within the restricted zone, this array was also responsible for an extremely powerful signal which was theorized to be covering something else. this signal appeared in the 70s and dropped off about the time of the meltdown. it was later confirmed to be originating from a soviet over-the-horizon radar element of the soviet ABM warning system. don't know for sure if we are talking about the same thing here, but this was one massive antennae array and it's the correct location or thereabouts. if we are talking about the same thing, i've included a picture of it.
during the time i was active, we never did discover what exactly the purpose of this signal was.
these days you can read about this stuff on the internet. and, in fact, that's where i got this picture.
strange world we live in today at least coming from my perspective. heck... even the facility i worked in is all over the internet now. back then, you could be arrested taking a picture of the place or shot entering the grounds.

thanks for posting these pictures. i really enjoyed them.

Hello templehof. Are you talking about the Soviet Woodpecker transmission?

Kind Regards,

Andy

**tempelhof** · 05-31-2012, 07:34 PM

yes, i am. don't know if this is the exact array, but we were getting that signal out of this area and i believe once i left it was traced there.

**tempelhof** · 05-31-2012, 07:38 PM

i don't remember being affected much by it. it was really the ELINT guys that dealt with this sort of thing. people talked about it occasionally. i was more on the voice signals side of things. and responsible for east german air forces and air defence at that. this was sort of out of my domain but the guys from other "offices" definitely were quite familiar with it.

**aj4010** · 05-31-2012, 08:01 PM

Great stuff, templehof. Anybody who is interested can Google Soviet Woodpecker transmission and hear it. The Tin Foil Hat Brigade has since blamed many "unexplained" er.. unexplained things happening in the US at the time on that signal. It was very powerful, and as far as my limited understanding of it, it was an attempt by the Soviets to create an over the horizon ICBM defence. Spooky to listen to though. Never would have thought one of those things was at or near Chernobyl.

Best Regards,

Andy