timo_w2s
Retired moderator
- My Satellite Setup
- Vu+ Duo 4K SE
Dr.HD F15
- My Location
- Maidenhead, UK & Helsinki, Finland
I went for a walk last night over to the Arqiva Chalfont Grove uplink station in Buckinghamshire. It's only about 40 minutes away from my house on foot but it does involve walking down some rather muddy narrow footpaths running through some pretty spooky woods.
It was a very calm, crisp, frosty night. As I walked through the eerily quiet pitch dark woods I could start to hear the distant hum of air conditioners and occasional faint whirring of motors. Along the way I'd occasionally disturb a roosting bird overhead and we'd both get a bit startled. After a couple of hundred metres as I started to enter a clearing I spotted a fox out for his nightly prowl, looking rather puzzled as to what I was doing there so late at night.
Then as I stepped into the opening I looked up and was greeted by a warning sign on the parameter fence, "Danger: Non-ionising Radiation," and a number of large satellite dishes beyond it all lit up against the dark starry sky. It is quite a breath taking sight. Although I've been here before a few times this is the first time I'd done it in the dark from this particular direction so it was still pretty damn impressive. Even non-enthusiasts have been amazed when I've shown them this site. I think part of the reason is because it's so well hidden away in the woods you'd never know it is there unless you go looking for it.
I went to school just 500m away from the site for over 5 years and never knew about the dishes. All I knew was there were some army broadcasting studios based there (there are still a few old SSVC signposts around the village). I even did cross country runs during PE lessons when I was a kid past the woods but never saw the discrete dishes. It was only in my later years after I'd come back from Finland when I started to go for walks on my own that I finally found the dishes and realised how big the site actually was. Of course it has been expanded somewhat since I was younger too.
The bad news is I rather foolishly didn't bring my tripod with me last night so the resulting photos where somewhat burred and grainy and limited to where I could steady the camera for long exposures. I need to go back again sometime and get some decent pictures now that I know I can get some good night shots. Ideally I'd also like to get a bit of moonlight on the dishes and surroundings too but the moon was absent last night.
So I shall be back some calm, moonlit night.
It was a very calm, crisp, frosty night. As I walked through the eerily quiet pitch dark woods I could start to hear the distant hum of air conditioners and occasional faint whirring of motors. Along the way I'd occasionally disturb a roosting bird overhead and we'd both get a bit startled. After a couple of hundred metres as I started to enter a clearing I spotted a fox out for his nightly prowl, looking rather puzzled as to what I was doing there so late at night.
Then as I stepped into the opening I looked up and was greeted by a warning sign on the parameter fence, "Danger: Non-ionising Radiation," and a number of large satellite dishes beyond it all lit up against the dark starry sky. It is quite a breath taking sight. Although I've been here before a few times this is the first time I'd done it in the dark from this particular direction so it was still pretty damn impressive. Even non-enthusiasts have been amazed when I've shown them this site. I think part of the reason is because it's so well hidden away in the woods you'd never know it is there unless you go looking for it.
I went to school just 500m away from the site for over 5 years and never knew about the dishes. All I knew was there were some army broadcasting studios based there (there are still a few old SSVC signposts around the village). I even did cross country runs during PE lessons when I was a kid past the woods but never saw the discrete dishes. It was only in my later years after I'd come back from Finland when I started to go for walks on my own that I finally found the dishes and realised how big the site actually was. Of course it has been expanded somewhat since I was younger too.
The bad news is I rather foolishly didn't bring my tripod with me last night so the resulting photos where somewhat burred and grainy and limited to where I could steady the camera for long exposures. I need to go back again sometime and get some decent pictures now that I know I can get some good night shots. Ideally I'd also like to get a bit of moonlight on the dishes and surroundings too but the moon was absent last night.
So I shall be back some calm, moonlit night.
