Battel Engineering, Inc.
10020 North 58th Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85253
office: (480) 991-9747
fax: (480) 991-9748
email:
bateng@earthlink.net
203. The “Bird Cage”
The “Bird Cage” in the photo was developed as a proof-of-concept to
demonstrate that the IMAGE spacecraft could be tested at VLF and LF in
the near field with acceptable background attenuation. Once completed,
the “cage” was in fact donated to a local bird lover and is now
used as an aviary.
In the foreground, testing of vertical VLF antenna is being performed. Voltages up to 1000 VRMS from 1 kHz to 100 kHz were developed for the various attenuation tests required with the “Bird Cage” and “Big Box” in the photos. It is not known whether ships sailed in circles during testing due to interference with various Navy VLF navigation transmitters operating at similar frequencies.
Image © Steve Battel, Battel Engineering, Inc. All rights reserved.