Going through old photos, I decided to publish some additional shots from my 2014 trip to Ukraine. These are all from the abandoned Duga-3 early warning radar installation near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This site was particularly rewarding to photograph, and I could easily have spent a whole day there.

You can find more photos of this and other structures in my trip report.


Cable detail.
Q with 01 @ f/8, 1/40 s, ISO 125


The myriad columns, struts, catwalks, braces, and cables form wildly different patterns with slight changes in perspective.
Q with 01 @ f/2.8, 1/400 s, ISO 125


Looking up. The transmitter and receiver are 60 km apart.
Q with 01 @ f/1.9, 1/800 s, ISO 125


The mist gives some sense of scale; it is difficult to overstate the enormous size of this imposing structure.
Q with 01 @ f/2.8, 1/640 s, ISO 125


Standing back as far as the surrounding forest permits.
Q with 01 @ f/2.8, 1/1250 s, ISO 125

[rednax]

what a thing! Great shots!

[AlexBW]

That looks like a cool object to photograph. Nice photos

[bobbotron]

Fantastic photos, what a crazy structure.

[Kerrowdown]

Certainly an interesting place to be... were you allowed to wander around and photograph freely there?

[RoxnDox]

Interesting antenna design, very cool photos... You very rarely see pics of these big radars, especially from the Soviet-era sites...

For those who don't know, this is a phased-array radar without a dish antenna, it uses slight variations in the timing of the pulses from each antenna to electronically steer the beam. Each of those wire cage thingamawhoozits is a separate antenna, combine hundreds of them and you get a powerful system that can scan a wide area very rapidly. Use the right frequencies and it can even see over the horizon.

Jim

[Jens Lyn IV]

were you allowed to wander around and photograph freely there?

Essentially, yes. We would be given a departure time for our bus and then let loose. At some sites we had to stay with the guides, but not here.

[Kerrowdown]

Essentially, yes. We would be given a departure time for our bus and then let loose. At some sites we had to stay with the guides, but not here.

That's good to hear... "perestroika" in action in the real world.

BTW that's some very cool imagery.

[Chetverovod]

Interesting antenna design, very cool photos... You very rarely see pics of these big radars, especially from the Soviet-era sites...

For those who don't know, this is a phased-array radar without a dish antenna, it uses slight variations in the timing of the pulses from each antenna to electronically steer the beam. Each of those wire cage thingamawhoozits is a separate antenna, combine hundreds of them and you get a powerful system that can scan a wide area very rapidly. Use the right frequencies and it can even see over the horizon.

Jim

So called "Russian Woodpecker" )

So it sounded on shortwaves:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Woodpecker.ogg