Was stationed at Finland and Hanna City AF Stations 1963-1966.

I served at Thule BMEWS Jun 67- Jun 68. I heard stories about people who couldn't sleep during the summer when it was light all the time but I had my window covered and had no trouble with the "Big Eye".

I was stationed at Norton AFB IN the big block bldg SAGE
1962 to 1964. Was a radar operator and a radio operator for between controll. Sure wuld love ti find some pics of old sqdron.

I was at the 708th, Utopia, Alaska. 1954/1955
Finland, Minn 756th 55/56
Willmar, Minn 721st 56/57

Radar Operator
contact me at oo5035@yahoo.com

I found this ref "Thule Big Eye".

http://www.bwcinet.com/thule/2thule.htm

Quote-- After months at Thule, nearly everyone was afflicted to a sleep disorder which we called "Thule Big Eye." We would go days without being able to sleep. I can't recall a person in the RCA complex who didn't suffer from Big Eye at least once. KOLD broadcast late night movies on a program named for this malady, "The Thule Big Eye Theater." -- Unquote

Clue me in what is "Thule Big Eye" was a year remote NE Iceland in 58/59 ?

Mt. Umunhum Project:

Last October 17th, the Midpen Open Space District agreed to keep the Mt. Umunhum radar tower standing for 5 more years and put the onus on the "tower proponents" (that's us!) to help produce funding and partnership to pay for the cost of tower preservation and maintenance. Now is our chance to show the Open Space District that we mean business and we are standing up in the name of history and an important Bay Area iconic landmark.

I am pleased to announce the official formation of the Umunhum Conservancy, Inc. The Umunhum Conservancy is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Mt. Umunhum and its historic Radar Tower. Four other Board Members and I formed this non-profit back in November, but we had to wait for the 501.c3 IRS papers to come back before we really announced it. We have the Federal IRS papers back and the California state papers are due back any day now.

But the best news of all...we are now accepting donations!

You can go to the website at http://www.UmunhumConservancy.org and click the "Donate" button. You can pay via Credit Card, PayPal, or you can send a check (instructions and address are on the web site). Please help by donating and spreading the word about the efforts. Donations have already started rolling in.

A full fund-raising campaign and schedule will be posted soon as well documentation and information regarding the future of the tower and Conservancy's efforts. The Conservancy was announced in today's San Jose Mercury News by columnist and Radar Tower advocate Scott Herhold. (http://www.mercurynews.com/scott-herhold/ci_23284610)

Special thanks goes to our Board President Sam Drake for doing a lot of the legwork while I (a Director on the Board for the Conservancy) have been continuing to spearhead the efforts with the Santa Clara County Historical Heritage Commission to save the Radar Tower.

Thank you all for being so supportive and patient while we set up the Conservancy. We found out it takes a while to set up a non-profit foundation, but here we are...all official and out of the starting blocks and running!

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
--Basim

Basim Jaber
Board Director - Umunhum Conservancy, Inc.
Historian/Archivist - Almaden Air Force Station (Mt. Umunhum, CA)
Founder - USAF 682nd Radar Squadron Veterans Association
bjaber@jaber.net

POLAR MADNESS AND THULE BIG EYE.

LUCKILY I WAS NEVER EFFECTED BY THIS MALADY- ALTHOUGH I HAD TOURS OF DUTY IN ALASKA, LABRADOR, ICELAND, AND GREENLAND. AT 84, PERHAPS MY MEMORY DRUM HAS SCRUBBED THE LESS MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES.

Thule Big Eye! I don't have any idea about why this was such a wide-spread thing, but when I was there in 1961-62, almost everyone I talked to experienced an episode as much as once a month, including me.

Pete Holland, SMSgt, USAF Retired
Oklahoma City, OK
30372 Radar Maintenance (1965-1978);
32899 E-3A AWACS Radar Maintenance (1978-1984);
A11899 E-3A AWACS Airborne Radar Maintenance (1984-1988)
1 3702 BMTS, Flt 607, Lackland AFB, TX (May-Jul 1965)
2 3386th SS (Triangle Area), Keesler AFB, MS (Jul 1965- May 1966);
Basic Electronics, C-Shift & B-Shift; Sets, C-Shift
3 667th AC&W Sq, H-3, Hofn, Iceland (1966-67)
4 4754th Radar Eval Sq, Hill AFB, UT (1967-71);
TDY: Cold Bay AFS, AK; Kotzebue AFS, AK; Northeast Cape AFS, AK;
Ajo AFS, AZ; Mt Laguna AFS, CA; Mill Valley AFS, CA;
Jacksonville AFS (NAS), FL; Key West AFS (NAS), FL;
North Truro AFS, MA; Caswell AFS, ME; Charleston AFS, ME;
Ft Fisher AFS, NC; Minot AFS, ND; Lockport AFS, NY;
Othello AFS, WA
5 623rd AC&W Sq, Det 3, Yoza Dake AS, Okinawa, Japan (1971-73)
6 778th Radar Sq, Havre AFS, MT (1973-74)
7 705th AC&W Sq, King Salmon AB, AK (1974-75)
8 Tactical Fighter Weapons Center (TFWC) – Range Group, Nellis AFB, NV:
Caliente and Tonopah Electronic Warfare Ranges (1975-1977)
TDY: Keesler AFB, MS (QC School);
Bergstrom AFB, TX (TAC NCO Academy);
Keesler AF MS (Retraining - E-3A AWACS Radar Maintenance Tech School)
9 E-3A AWACS Test Team, TFWC/TAC,
Boeing Plant #2, Seattle, WA (1977-80)
TDY: Los Angeles, CA;
Hanscom AFB, MA;
Baltimore, MD;
Langley AFB, VA
10 961st AWACSS, Kadena AB, Okinawa (1980-81)
TDY: Clark AB, PI; RAAF Amberly, Ipswich, Australia
11 OL-AY, ESD (NATO E-3A AWACS Test Team),
Munich, West Germany (1981-85)
TDY: Geilenkirchen AB, West Germany;
Wiesbaden, West Germany
12 964th AWACS / 552nd AWAC Wing/DOT, Tinker AFB, OK (1985-88)
TDY: Elmendorf AFB, AK; Randolph AFB, TX;
Fairchild AFB, WA; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
13 USAF Retirement (1988)

Now on YouTube, an Air Force training film on "Maintenance of Microwave Power Tubes," including the magnetron and klystron. Get your popcorn ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rURJRJD7Lhw

Thanks, Steve. We'll be making a trip to "the hill" to get final measurements, and to get the reduction gear ratio so we can get the drive motor rewound correctly for our power.

Good news that the FPS-18 fund is "over the top." I have been looking around the web for antenna mounting pedestal diagrams and details. Nothing yet, but I see that it is identified as the AB-421/FPS-14. The antenna group nomenclature is OA-978A/FPS-14. MIL-HDBK-162A, Vol 1, 15 Dec 65, list the antenna group weight as 2918 lbs.

I spent 4.5 years at Preum AFS 615 Radar Sq Germany.
I would like to hear from anyone who was there during
that time.