{"id":46785,"date":"2020-12-04T10:43:02","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T14:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=46785"},"modified":"2020-12-04T10:43:02","modified_gmt":"2020-12-04T14:43:02","slug":"radio-waves-arecibo-failure-caught-on-video-heathkit-employee-reminisces-radio-at-100-series-and-fcc-to-require-email-on-applications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/radio-waves-arecibo-failure-caught-on-video-heathkit-employee-reminisces-radio-at-100-series-and-fcc-to-require-email-on-applications\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Waves: Arecibo Failure Caught on Video, Heathkit Employee Reminisces, Radio at 100 Series, and FCC to Require Email on Applications"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Arecibo Observatory’s 305-meter telescope in November 2020 (Credit: University of Central Florida)<\/p><\/div>\n

Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio<\/h2>\n

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em>\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s<\/em> Radio Waves<\/em>, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0<\/strong>Enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em> contributors Ned Wharton, Pete Eaton, Zack Schindler, and Dave Zantow for the following tips:<\/p>\n

\n

NSF releases footage from the moment Arecibo\u2019s cables failed (ARS Technica)<\/a><\/h3>\n

Today, the National Science Foundation released video taken at the moment the Arecibo Radio Observatory’s cables failed, allowing its massive instrument platform to crash into the dish below. In describing the videos, the NSF also talked a bit about the monitoring program that had put the cameras in place, ideas it had been pursuing for stabilizing the structure pre-collapse, and prospects for building something new at the site.<\/p>\n

A quick recap of the collapse: the Arecibo dish was designed to reflect incoming radio radiation to collectors that hung from a massive, 900-ton instrument package that was suspended above it. The suspension system was supported by three reinforced concrete towers that held cables that were anchored farther from the dish, looped over the towers, and then continued on to the platform itself. Failure of these cables eventually led to the platform dropping into the dish below it.<\/p>\n

[…]The video of that collapse comes from a monitoring system put in place in the wake of the cable failures. Due to the danger of further cable breaks, the NSF had instituted no-go zones around each of the three towers that supported the cables. With no personnel allowed to get close enough to inspect the cables, the staff started monitoring them using daily drone flights, one of which was in progress during the collapse. In addition, a video camera was installed on top of the visitor’s center, which had a clear view of the instrument platform and one of the support towers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n