VLF Transmitter Woodside
Encyclopedia
Woodside Omega Transmitter (station G, now Woodside VLF transmitter) near Woodside, Victoria
, Australia
at 38.481228°S 146.935294°E uses an umbrella antenna
carried by a 432 metre high grounded lattice steel guyed mast. This mast is the highest construction in the southern hemisphere. Construction of this station was originally planned to be built in New Zealand
but after protests from anti-war protestors it was built in Australia.
After the shutdown of the OMEGA navigation system
it was used until 2004 as transmitter for orders to submarine
s on 13 kHz under the callsign VL3DEF. Until December 2008, it had been transmitting a 100 baud MSK
modulated signal on 18.6 kHz. However, the station has been closed down and transmissions have now ceased. The tower remains, transmitting equipment is on display at the Port Albert Maritime Museum.
Woodside, Victoria
Woodside is a village in Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Woodside and the surrounding area had a population of 267. Near Woodside there is the tallest construction of the southern hemisphere, the aerial mast of the VLF Transmitter Woodside...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
at 38.481228°S 146.935294°E uses an umbrella antenna
Umbrella antenna
An umbrella antenna is a top-loaded electrically lengthened monopole antenna, consisting in most cases of a mast fed against ground, to which six or more wires are connected at the top, sloping downwards...
carried by a 432 metre high grounded lattice steel guyed mast. This mast is the highest construction in the southern hemisphere. Construction of this station was originally planned to be built in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
but after protests from anti-war protestors it was built in Australia.
After the shutdown of the OMEGA navigation system
OMEGA Navigation System
OMEGA was the first truly global radio navigation system for aircraft, operated by the United States in cooperation with six partner nations.-History:OMEGA was originally developed by the United States Navy for military aviation users...
it was used until 2004 as transmitter for orders to submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s on 13 kHz under the callsign VL3DEF. Until December 2008, it had been transmitting a 100 baud MSK
Minimum-shift keying
In digital modulation, minimum-shift keying is a type of continuous-phase frequency-shift keying that was developed in the late 1950s and 1960s. Similar to OQPSK, MSK is encoded with bits alternating between quadrature components, with the Q component delayed by half the symbol period. However,...
modulated signal on 18.6 kHz. However, the station has been closed down and transmissions have now ceased. The tower remains, transmitting equipment is on display at the Port Albert Maritime Museum.
External links
- http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b98
- http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0023209
- http://sale.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/omega-tower-shuts-down/1396883.aspx
- http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2008/12/23/2453832.htm