Alien Early Warning System?

Voice of America Delano, CA Photo By Bobak Ha'Eri cc-BY-SA-205

Sometimes I drive by stuff and wonder, "What the heck is that!!!"

I was driving with my wife down to the Wool Growers resturant in Bakersfield a few months back and as we cut over off Hwy 43 to Delano we started passing what appears to be miles of strange looking antennas and large buildings in the middle of farm land.  My wife asked what it all was and I was clueless.  I told her that it was probably some old Cold War era facility for radar or some such thing.  It was all fenced off with signs warning people not to enter.

I didn't think much of it until a read an article and saw some pictures about an installation in Russia just outside the world famous Chernobyl called by Amature Radio Operators "The Russian Woodpecker"  Woodpecker Link.  It was a cold war radar facility that caused havoc to radios and even people's television sets here in the U.S.  The Soviets denied it's existence during the war.  Amature radio operators tried jamming it because it caused them so much interference and eventually it was shut down when the old Soviet Union went away.  There are some cool pictures online of this facility.

So I read this story and thought, perhaps the site near Delano was something similar for the U.S. and soon forgot about it.  Then on Sunday I was listening to a couple guys talk on one of the amature radio repeaters in the area and they talked about the antennas in Delano.  One guy had taken a tour and mentioned how it had shut down.  I overheard this conversation about part way through and didn't get all the details, but it peaked my curiosity once again.

So I did a google search and found it.  The Delano facility isn't a Cold War Radar installation, a mind control facility, or even a monitoring station for aliens.  It is the former site of the Voice of America radio transmissions.  Originally it was constructed at the beginning of WWII as a short wave radio broadcasting facility for the U.S. to get out our message to people around the world and to also provide broadcast radio for the GIs in the Pacific Theater.  Everyone remembers Tokyo Rose spouting off dribble in all the war movies, well the U.S. had it's own voice going out all over the world telling the allied side of the story.

Later the facility continued broadcasting from the U.S. through the cold war for the Voice of America.  In October 2007, after 23,000 consecutive days of broadcasting it went silent, the last such facility like it to finally shut down in the U.S.  The age of Satelites had come.  The facility is still powered to keep the lights on all the towers which could be a navigation hazard to small planes if it was completely dark.  I wish I had known about it a few years back and had taken one of the tours.  It must have been an amazing place.  There is a nice historical article here:  VOA Delano

This site has some interior pictures from a tour some guys took:  Tour

And last but not least, a Youtube video about the old girl.  Youtube Video of VOA Delano

The video comes off a bit like propaganda for saving the facility but it gives some interesting history of the facility.  About the only other thing Delano is remembered for is the UFW strikes by Cesar Chavez which are also briefly mentioned in the video.

It was nice to see this bit of history if only from the outside and then to learn exactly what it is.  So if you see something by the side of the road, do some research and you just might learn a little more about History.

Shortwave broadcasts are still alive and well outside the U.S.  Ham Radio operators share part of the 40 Meter Band with foreign short wave broadcast stations.  I listened to one in English out of Romania last friday night as it played news and music.  But the Shortwave radio stations are just about gone, relegated to more exotic parts of our globe but still reaching out far and wide with their signals.