I don't suppose any of you have ever heard of "chaff"?
During WWII, there was a very neat little valve that was developed to detect objects at a distance. More commonly known as "RADAR", the early systems were limited in their capability but very effective in detecting incoming aircraft and "buzzboms" and "V2" rockets. England was constantly on guard and faced almost daily bombardment by the Luftwaffe's air attacks and buzzbomb/V2 attacks.
Radar stations were placed along the southern and eastern coasts of the UK to detect the threats...an early warning system.
The defense against radar....very very simple. What was it?
ALUMINUM FOIL STRIPS!
Yep that's right. Aluminum foil strips were cut to exact wavelength of the radar frequencies, and just before an attack group reached their target, they would release a ton of these aluminum foil strips and they would disperse in the air, scattering the radar return signals, which would result in a radar screen filled with false returns and noise. The foil strips would prevent the radar signals from reflecting off the airplanes, keeping them from being seen by the radar.
Maybe if you hang aluminum foil cut to FM frequencies in the trees, that might help a little! :p
RFB
The FM radio in use was a really
terrible multiband radio from a
department store called Korvette's.
I was trying to hear my friend's Part 15
station 3000 feet away.
We didn't know anything about anything.
This experiment was done before the really
strict FM Part 15 emission rules were put
in place.
I guess it was sometime during 1970.
Bruce, SLUG 88.3
P.S. In World War 2 - some time before
RADAR was developed, some people somewhere
thought they should place hundreds of microphones
on the east coast of the U.S. - so that any attacking
planes would be heard... You know what I mean.
Well, anyhow - RADAR was developed and the mike idea (fortunately)
was not necessary.
If they did use the mikes and they were pointed
in the wrong direction, they might have heard
my Mother and Father talking on the phone
in Connecticut. Well, they weren't my Mother
and Father - yet.
i need some sleep.
That is correct. Prior to and during the early deployment of the radar systems, they used huge sound horns, usually 4 of them or up to 6 per setup, and those sat on a rotating platform. An operator would wear headphones and listen for prop engine sounds or the buzz sounds made by the "buzzbombs".
It became an art. They had to be able to tell the difference between a Spitfire or Mustang engine versus the engine sounds from the Nazi fighter and dive bomber planes. There is even record of the Nazi's attempting to alter their engine sounds to mimic Allied planes. These operators had to know the difference between the engine sounds, along with learning how to block out other noises picked up by those extremely sensitive sound detector horns.
RFB
I read recently that the government, in its zeal to invade privacy, is using microphone triangulation attached to lamp posts to overhear common everyday conversations by people on the street.
It seems to me microphone triangulation might be a great way to record music, sports, and general crowd events for entertainment reasons.
Any knowledge about how that works?
The next time I go by a telephone pole or
a stop light, I'll have to start rambling in
the Vorkish language.
Vorkish is a language my brother and I made
up as kids. There weren't too many words,
but we usually got the point across.
"Arrf Sneff phlook nyess d'aluuushshshsneeeham."
Oops, I spelled the last word wrong.
D'aluuushshshsneeeyam.
That's better. It's been a long time.
Bruce, SLUG 88.3