[A-DX] (UDXF) Secret Cold War past of a Spanish tourist hotspot (interesting link only)

[Roger]

El 13/06/2020 a las 17:51, Frank Thierry via groups.io escribió:

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/radio-liberty-costa-brava-spain/index.html

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Quote from this CNN article. Apparently they are not familiar with 
shortwave propagation:
> ".....This spot was favored not only because of the availability of 
> space -- the antennas were laid out in a mile-long line parallel to 
> the shore -- but also because it provided direct, unimpeded access to 
> the sea. A physical phenomenon called tropospheric propagation makes 
> it possible for radio waves to travel further over water."


Tropospheric propagation?
It was (only) used for military communication via Tropo-Scatter within 
the Warsaw Pact, with Moscow.

That was shortwave here and not decimeter or centimeter waves.
The location was just ideal because of the skip distance of the short 
waves for reflections in the ionosphere.
The entire Soviet controlled area from the Balkans, further towards 
Moscow, further towards the Urals were in the main beam direction.
A location on the beach was ideal:
- no immediate obstacles in the immediate vicinity at flat radiation
- no human dwellings in the immediate vicinity of the main emission 
direction
- but that probably wouldn't matter. From Franco's point of view, it 
would only have contaminated the "unpopular Catalans" with radiation anyway.


See the skip/target areas:

https://youtu.be/pNW3aSNmM8U?t=2372


Here is another documentary in Catalan, but with English original sounds:
- very good documentation, most of it can be understood if you are 
familiar with Romance languages
- a senator for Galicia is also interviewed. But he answers in Spanish, 
not in Galician. ;-)

https://youtu.be/OIgaMOKlMdE?t=395


roger