HAARP: High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program
HAARP had been shut down at least temporarily since May 2013 due to budget cuts. But the primary reason is the inability of its diesel generators to now pass EPA’s Clean Air Act regulations without expensive modifications. [ARRL]
Compliance, not Science…….. Amazing
But “that’s” what “they” “want” you to “think”……LOL
UPDATE February 2017: HAARP is back on the air, at least for limited research projects and is now managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Geophysical Institute.
HAARP is a 3.6 Megawatt (!) transmitter located in Gakona Alaska. As its name implies, it is used in experiments to study the nature of the earths ionosphere with its 180 element phased array antenna. This transmitter can operate from between 2.8 and 10 MC in the HF frequency band. It can induce small patches of “heated” ionosphere above its location and that can be used to study the interaction between charged particles streaming in from the sun and earth’s magnetic fields.
This excitation is a very tiny fraction of what the suns’ own ultra violet radiation produces in the same patch of the ionosphere – except that HAARP can turn it on and off at will. Since the ionosphere is also critical to radio communications (either by bouncing signals off of it, or sending them through it (like GPS signals or those photo’s from the Mars rovers)) there is a lot to be gained by studying it.
On 20 January, 2008 HAARP ran an experiment from 0630Z to 0730Z to utilize its huge transmitter power and high gain, steerable antenna pattern to illuminate the moon with two-second long pulses of RF energy at a frequency of 6.79 mc, just below the 40 meter shortwave ham radio band.
Bouncing radio signals off the moon has been accomplished fairly routinely since the Army Signal Corps’ Project DIANA first accomplished the feat in 1946 using a modified WWII SCR-271 radar set. However that was at a VHF frequency of 111 MC; it has since been done (even by ham radio folks) on lower and higher VHF, UHF and microwave frequencies – it had apparently NOT been done on HF “shortwave” frequencies before. That takes LOTS of transmitter power and lots of antenna gain – perfect match for HAARP.
So the HAARP staff announced the experiment and asked for signal reports from hams or other interested personnel who possessed suitable receiving equipment. (Mentally-deficient Conspiracy fools – and those who profit from them – the tinfoil hat crowd, environ-mental cases, paranoids and the technology-ignorati need not apply – they get THEIR signals directly from The Mother Ship).
HAARP was not performing THOSE experiments on weather control, earthquake control, spacequake control, mind control, bladder control etc., just a really interesting experiment to bounce HF radio signals off the moon, radar-style.
Come to think of it, maybe HAARP was actually designed to be a magnet, attracting all those whacko’s who then self-identify. A Web search for “HAARP Conspiracy” yielded 3,370,000 results. They’re Out There……
Anyway, I was able to copy both the incident transmission from Alaska as well as the reflected signal off the moon about 2.5 seconds later on 6.79 MC using my trusty R-390A receiver and an inverted “L” wire antenna system. I sent them my report and received this nice QSL card as a reception report. Many other hams with a view of the moon during that time period also copied the CW signal reflected from the moon. Very very cool…
Reception report QSL Card from HAARP acknowledging my reception of the moon-bounce signals.
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Let’s hope that the University of Alaska, participating universities, ARPA or the services can come up with the additional funding to continue their research at HAARP!
N6CC / VERN KJ6OG JOB “SEE U AT TOWER PARK”
Hi! Yep, see you there!