• Orin@mastodon.social
    1·
    3 months ago

    @mattblaze@federate.social The vertical is for ham HF? Interesting. I could picture other reasons for HF, but wouldn’t expect ham.

    • Matt Blaze@federate.socialOP
      1·
      3 months ago

      @auroran@mastodon.social Yeah, there’s a small but active amateur radio club for the staff and friends there (4U1UN).

      • Bill Ricker@mastodon.radio
        1·
        3 months ago

        @mattblaze@federate.social @auroran@mastodon.social
        Geopolitical-aware nerds at the UN, figures.

        I would expect the station would be dual-use in a communications emergency. There’s usually a reason besides staff morale to allow roof use like that: contingencies.

        I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a Rockwell full coverage 5kW 0-30Mc transceiver from the supply available to the state CD bunkers in 1950s-60s. Beautiful.

        • Matt Blaze@federate.socialOP
          1·
          3 months ago

          @n1vux@mastodon.radio @auroran@mastodon.social Way back when I visited a few times, it was just some higher-end Yaesu rig. I think the station is just amateur; the NY UN HQ isn’t where most the operational stuff (peacekeeping, etc) is based.

          • Matt Blaze@federate.socialOP
            1·
            3 months ago

            @n1vux@mastodon.radio @auroran@mastodon.social Also, it’s an off the shelf HF amateur-band-only vertical, not the monster wideband log periodic that you see on typical “real” gov’t type stations.

            • Bill Ricker@mastodon.radio
              1·
              3 months ago

              @mattblaze@federate.social @auroran@mastodon.social
              Ah well, then it’s at best a limited contingency for Secretary General to get a voice connection to some besieged capital. I expected better of a cold war institution.
              (OTOH that would’ve been a decent contingency 50 years ago.)