ARLA/CLUSTER: Powerful ham experience on VHF, UHF and SHF based on a huge dish antennas, located in Portugal

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

(http://danielmarques.blogs.sapo.pt/47228.html)According to the information
diffused by our colleague *Adelino Francisco, CT1A*L using as source and
support the latest issue of the QSP – Portuguese Magazine of Radio and
Communications (Nº 398), it’s presently in preparation an important (I
might even say 'powerful') radio amateur experience, based on a two
decaying huge dishes antennas, located in the “Serra da Nogueira� (Nogueira
Mountain), Bragança, Portugal – locator IN61nr.

There has been always some secrecy regarding this communication site but,
as far as it was possible to determine, it has been in telephone service
until the 1980’s, used as a link to send and receive civilian and military
radio microwave signals between Artezamandi Mountain, in the French
Pyrenees and Nogueira Mountain in Portugal, through a “troposcatter�
(tropospheric forward scattering) connection.

The Nogueira Mountain or Pena Mourisca Mountain also, is the 11th highest
geographic peak in Portugal’s mainland, reaching 1.319 meters of altitude
at the top of its ridge. It is located in the highlands of the
Trás-os-Montes province, approximately at the northeast top “corner� of the
Portuguese territory. The French mountain Artezamandi peak reaches 926
meters above sea level and it is located in the southwest of France, next
to Franco-Spanish border in the Basque Country, around 490 kilometers in
strait line from the Portuguese site.

A important Portuguese ham radio team is preparing all the technological
systems in order to “reactivate� the remaining of the two huge reflectors
and focal point, placing some directional antennas of VHF and UHF bands on
the most favorable positions to accomplish it. Besides that antennae
alignment, they will invest in some output power, using a linear fed 1kW
amplifier to 144 MHz and 500 Watts at 432 MHz in addition, during the IARU
Region 1 VHF and UHF competitions, on September the 5th and 6th (IARU
Region 1 VHF Contest) and possibly at October the 3rd and 4th as well (IARU
Region 1 UHF and SHF Contest).

There are persistent rumors that unfortunately the current owner of the
site, the Portugal Telecom corporation, is determined to fully dismantle
the relic remains of the gigantic dish. This radio emission has, among
other purposes, the goal to provide some visibility to such historic site
and generate some eventual dynamic push that could engage citizens on an
emergent civic movement, committed to the preservation of the site,
regarded as a major Portuguese technological monument.

This is in fact one of the few examples in the world, regarding similar
structures and facilities, but also one of the rarest examples of the radio
communication system used to tropospheric forward scattering connection
system.

Best Regards from Portugal,

*João Costa, CT1FBF*
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