VLF/LF High-Voltage Design and Testing

Abstract : The U.S. Navy has had a requirement for long-distance communications from the beginning and it is natural that their interest in high-power wireless transmitting systems dates back to the beginning of radio. Until only recently, the Navy was still operating some of the very-low-frequency and lowfrequency (VLF/LF) antennas that were constructed not long after the beginning of radio. For example, the LF transmitting antenna at Chollas Heights in San Diego, torn down in 1997, dated back to 1915. Three of the towers in the VLF antenna at Annapolis are identical to towers in the original VLF antenna constructed in 1917. They were added to the original antenna between 1934 and 1937 as part of an upgrade. The Annapolis antenna was modified in 1969, keeping those three towers. The VLF station was closed in late 1997 and the antenna has been demolished. The design of high-power VLF/LF antennas has evolved over the years, but the design of the modern antennas still leans heavily on the early antenna designs. The existing VLF/LF system is the only visible remnant of the Navys original radio system constructed at the beginning of this century, and it is appropriate that this report begin with a brief review of the history of the Navys involvement in radio communications.

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