drb rss about
suggest
advertise
subscribe
rss rss
rss

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Abandoned Ionospheric Research Station


"QUANTUM SHOT" #292
link



Rusting Giant Antennas in the Middle of Ukrainian Forest

Continuing the theme of our "Creepy High Voltage Installations" article, this research station (though not completely abandoned) is just as big, full of rust and bizarre "post-apocalyptic" atmosphere.

During the 80s this place had the functioning antenna complex the size of a soccer field, plus the "Ural" super-computer presiding over it all... The Ionospheric Research Station is located near Zmiev, close to Kharkov and is still used from time to time by (no doubt desperate) scientists - the area was declassified recently (it used to be a top secret installation, hm... I wonder why). This marvel of Soviet technology seems to be no match for HAARP Research Station in Alaska, but looks can be deceiving - and in the meantime it serves as a good "stomping ground" for all sorts of explorers of creepy and abandoned places.


The High Frequency Transmitter and Antenna Array

The biggest antenna is capable of producing 25 MW impulse power (compare it to the HAARP station's 12.5 MW) and is 25 meters in diameter. The IS (incoherent scatter) radar is quite unique (there are only 9 in the world) and covers 100 meter x 100 meter area.






The trees and bushes are slowly reclaiming the territory:



Various gorgeous scientific equipment seems to be well-preserved since the Cold War days:






Ring... Ring...
"Comrade Petrov?... Point the main transmitter to these coordinates and incinerate the war-mongering imperialist spy satellite out of the sky!"








Next James Bond adventure should definitely feature a villain climbing one of these babies:








The steel lattice-work is quite impressive:





Images are courtesy Neal, from KharkovForum and Fata-Morgana from Sun-Skadi site.

The similar, but better-maintained facility is located in Irkutsk. Here is a link to an informative (but very slow) English-language site.

Something else is lurking inside the Russian forest, the remains of an open-air cinema (!), for example:



or these bizarre structures that we can't identify yet:
(the location of these may not be necessarily Russia, so we'd like to hear what they really are)



UPDATE: This is an old granite quarry near Krakow, Poland. See more atSilent Wall and here. Plus a Google map location (thanks Marcin Derecki).





Marcin writes:
"It's called "Liban's Quarry". The place was open till late 60's. Now it's closed.
At the time of Second World War near this place was a concenration camp. In 1992 Steven Spielberg was making the movie "Schindler's List" in this quarry. I live about 1 km from that place."


+StumbleUpon

Permanent Link...
Category: Technology,Science
Related Posts:
Abandoned Tunnels & Vast Underground Spaces
Creepy High-Voltage Installations

Dark Roasted Blend's Photography Gear Picks:


READ LATEST POSTS:

May 16, 2008 - Quantum Shot #421
Extraordinary Art from Metal

Made from "found" and military scrap objects

May 14, 2008 - Biscotti Bits
Mixed Links & Images

incl. "A Giant Snail"
(for other daily "Biscotti" issues - see our main page)

COMMENTS:

9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

the structures in the last photo look like observation towers, either for a prison or a factory. maybe they have been left to decay at the factory where they were made?

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The towers at the last photo are looking like mobile observation towers. They could be used to watch for forrest fires.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

More likely to be cement or lime kilns, that looks like a chalk pit face behind. They are charged from the top with chalk and coal, the cement or lime is drawn off the bottom. The slope in the foreground could be for trucks to tip chalk into crushers.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The 'forest cinema' photo is of an abandoned outdoor theater, part of Moscow's All-Russia Exhibition Centre - see map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=moscow&t=k&hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=0&ll=55.831306,37.617322&spn=0.002118,0.004699&z=18&iwloc=addr

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The rusty towers in the last picture are from Krakow, Poland. It's an old granite quarry: http://www.silentwall.com/QuarryI.html

___  
Blogger Avi Abrams said...

Thank you guys! I updated the post with new info.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did anyone else notice that in the control panel picture, there are a couple of lighted buttons still on? That building cannot have been powered? right?

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not only is the instrument panel powered on, the oscilloscope on top of it is also powered on, and there is a faint line to be seen on its screen, so it's actually measuring something as well. It seems this equipment is still in use.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

the country isnt as wealthy as the us(but they also aren't in debt as much either)
so they are probably using it as an antenna to this day, other wise the complex would probably have been tore down and recycled for the metal

___  

Post a Comment

<< Home


SF ART & BOOK REVIEWS:
Fiction Reviews: William Gibson Stories
Novella Review: Charles Stross "Missile Gap"
Rare Pulp Fiction: Apocalyptic Blockbusters

MORE RECENT POSTS:


Anteater Coolness

Life with two anteaters in the house


Weird Inventions by Guys, Part 7

Special Summer Selection!


World's Smallest Cars, Part 2

Great things come in small packages


Soviet Futuristic Illustration:
Oodles of Optimism


Black-and-white rare series of images


Funny Animals, Part 11

Natural hilarity reaches a new high


Nightmare Playgrounds, Part 2

Manic-Depressive Creativity


Shipwrecks & Sea Disasters

The Beauty & the mystery of the wrecked ships


Unforgettable Faces, Part 3

Cast your vote for the most entertaining expression


The Tasty Art of Chocolate & Candy

Never eat an Easter Chocolate Bunny Again


The "Falling Towers" of New Chinese TV Center

Radical architecture for outdated propaganda machine


Out-of-This-World Fishing

Big Fish Extravaganza, Part 2


Senseless Signage, Part 10

Don't try to figure these signs out. Get a GPS instead.


Are You... You?

The Wonderful World of Parasites


Commercialized Clouds

Lucy in the Sky with Logotypes


You Know You Want This...
Steampunk Gear Masterpieces


plus interview with "Aaron Adding Machines"


Smile! You're in Politics
(Funny Pics)


Politicians in paroxysms of thought and deliberation


World's Strangest Vehicles, Part 4

Sheer Auto Adrenaline!


Extreme Exploration:
Russian Nuclear Research Facilities


Deep under the mountain, or in the world's deepest lake


Miniature Spy Guns, Part 2

Do not move while I destroy you, Mr Bond


Never Give Up! (Funny Pics)

Crazy Logistics, Issue 8


Most Beautiful Fractals

Infinite possibilities for art


Cool Ads, Issue 10

Visually arresting and deliciously weird


Japanese Creative Barcodes

Cut out your UPC label and... frame it!


The Geekiest LEGOs &
Rubik's Cubes


The world of twisted dimensions


Disturbing Wiring, Part 4

More Tangled Awesomeness


Russian Nuclear Icebreakers:
To the North Pole!


Odyssey in the Arctic with Russian Icebreaker Fleet


The Deadliest Creatures
(Most Easy to Miss)


The Real Terror Lurks in Quiet Darkness


Strangest Christian Products & Signs

Repent! the end of good taste is in sight!


Lovely Ladies of Yesteryear, Part 2

Vintage eye-candy, guaranteed
(very mildly nsfw)


Fear & Loathing inside
Abandoned Stalin's Mines


Fire & Ice Underground


Armenia: The Epic Land

This kind of nature needs an IMAX


Time Machine:
World's Biggest Collider


Have a loophole in time, will travel


Airplane Oops! Situations
Part 2


Aviation Safety for Dummies

MORE OF THE RECENT POSTS:








Surreal Art Update
Funny Animals, Part 10
Worst Intersections & Traffic Jams
Radical Mannequins
Police can be Intense
Airship Dreams
Weird Inventions by Guys, 6
Russian Imperial Faberge Eggs
Most Elegant Skyscrapers
Gas Mask Fashion, Part 2
Discovering Iran, Part 2
Coolest Retro Devices
Moments in Sports, Part 6
Nightmare Playgrounds
Steam-Powered Messiah
Weirdest Accidents, Part 3
Huge Road Trains
Ladies in Space
Weird Signs, Part 9
Fallen Cranes Galore
World's Most Curious Ephemera
Mystery Plain of Jars in Laos
Overwhelmed at Work
Robots in Arts
Miniature Spy Guns
Love, Romance & Parenting
Tank Accidents, Part 2
Ice & Snow Carving Art
Train Graveyard in Bolivia
Retro-Future: Transportation
Painting with Light
Animals Having Fun, Part 9
- many more in the Archives and in the Contents Index (left bar)

FULL ARCHIVES (with previews, fast loading):

April 2008 -- March 2008
February 2008 -- January 2008 -- December 2007 -- November 2007
October 2007 -- September, 2007 -- August 2007 -- July 2007
June 2007 -- May 2007 -- April 2007 -- March 2007 -- February 2007
January 2007 -- December 2006 -- November 2006 -- October 2006
Link Latte archives


CATEGORIES:
airplanes | animals | architecture | art | auto | boats | books | cool ads | funny pics |
futurism | food | gadgets | health | history | humour | internet | link latte | military |
music | nature | photo | science | science fiction & fantasy | signs | space | sports |
technology | trains | travel | vintage | weird



Airplanes
Animals
Architecture
Art
Auto
Biscotti
Boats
Computers
Cool Ads
Food
Funny Pics
Futurism
Gadgets
Health
History
Humour
Link Latte
Military
Music
Nature
Photography
Science
Science Fiction

Space
Sports
Technology
Trains
Travel
Vintage
Weird






DRB feed on Twitter

Avi Abrams
Rachel Abrams
Erlend Aaseth
M. Christian
Michael Colwill
The Free Geek
James Golbey
Andrew N. Grimes
Jason Heath
Joshua S. Hill
Paul Schilperoord
Scott Seegert
Constantine vonHoffman

- Join Our Team -
Guidelines




  • The last picture is from an ad: http://www.pantherhouse.com/newshelton/who-do-ya-think-youre-talking-to-some-lamo-that-scuba-dives/
    Read more

  • Everyone in Japan does that pen twirling thing, it's practised at school until it comes second nature.
    Read more

  • Makes me want to take up my juggling sticks again.

    I found out through a last-minute invite that you can get pretty good at a skill if you practice it intensively for a couple of weeks. (While walking is good.)
    Read more

  • Electrical engineers everywhere are having trouble breathing...
    Read more

  • That image of the Indian "electrician" is not uncommon here where I live in Venezuela. Every now and then you get to know these guys' abrupt end-of-lives via the local newspapers.
    Read more

  • Samuil’s Vomit Urinal: While the design might be original, the basic idea is not. These things used to be quite frequent in Germany and Austria. They can still be found in old taverns and even in some newer ones. Look it up here: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speibecken
    Read more

  • Read more

  • http://www.cee-gee.net/Movies/Movies.htm

    Code Guardian The Movie - Nazi-Steampunk-Robots...

    :-D
    Read more

  • Was just going to post that link Dave, C.O.D.E. Guardian is the most amazing CG video I have ever seen. Unreal. I'm not one for steampunk suff, but this is still a great post!
    Read more

  • Vista Vinyl:
    ...if only they made it for mac.
    Read more

  • http://www.instructables.com/id/EIR5164HLGEQB0AALA/
    http://www.instructables.com/id/Apple-puck-mouse%2fkeyboard-coat-rack/

    Mac keyboard/mouse coathanger
    Read more

  • Don't forget Etch-a-Sketch art!
    e.g. http://images.google.com/images?q=etch+a+sketch
    Read more


Send us your topic ideas, site suggestions, rants or sweet unpublished poetry. We love to hear from you.
Sponsored Links:

Vehicle Moving