It has been quite a while since I managed to post anything here.  I did hear from a fellow ham the other day that he had read it so I am slightly motivated to at least provide an update...

After moving from San Diego the shack is now firmly established in Tucson, AZ.   There is a great community of amateur operators here and a few clubs.  One in particular, the Green valley Amateur Radio club maintains an interesting antenna at the Tital II Missile Museum.  It is available (free) to licensed amateurs who can park and connect to the antenna.

I have twice parked my camper/van next to the antenna and easily made several dozen contacts with my portable-ish 991A.  The antenna is huge and fascinating.  Pretty much flat SWR on all bands, it was installed in the late '60s to provide communication for the missile silo crew.  

As it happens, I was assigned to one of those crews in 1970.  I was part of a four man crew that was responsible for launching the largest nuclear weapon that the US ever created.  Not exactly how I saw myself from high school a few years earlier.  At any rate, it is good to visit a Titan silo without that feeling of terror in your gut.

If you get the chance, go to the museum it is worth a visit.  Then hook up to the antenna (it is seldom busy) and make some good contacts.

The Titan Missile Museum, also known as Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 or as Titan II ICBM Site 571-7, is a former ICBM missile site located at 1580 West Duval Mine Road, Sahuarta, AZ