The IDF radio networks are expanding into AM radio in order to reach into Gaza's tunnels.
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Israeli Army radio and AM
- Thread starter Freddy Fendele
- Start date
Now only if Medium Wave frequencies would penetrate underground, especially when tunnels use steel or rebar for reinforcement.
I think someone has "ground wave" confused with "underground wave".Now only if Medium Wave frequencies would penetrate underground, especially when tunnels use steel or rebar for reinforcement.
I do suppose that one of Israel's several hundred kw MW transmitters might penetrate some of the tunnels if located really close to the Gaza Strip border. But it is interesting to note that technology does not change with different ideologies.
We are the people whose God parted the Rea Sea. Do you truly think a little thing like the Laws of Physics is going to stand in our way?
And who would be listening even supposing any signal would reach humans in miles of underground tunnels? Would Hamas have portable MW/AM radios listening to a message from Israel that they're coming to kill them? I think it's safe to say they knew that at the start. Would the hostages have portable MW/AM radios to hear that the Israeli government is coming to save them? I mean, come on.
I saw on the news last evening that families of hostages stormed the Israeli Parlament yesterday to demand negotiation and cease-fire long enough to get their loved ones out. I say that any specialized broadcasts are intended to tamp down unrest over the war effort, not to communicate with any humans in tunnels underground.
According to Reuters, some hostages were given TVs and Radios, ostensibly including AM (as most "radios" have FM and AM), and according to Reuters the IDF's broadcasts are intended to reach the remaining hostages, including some who reportedly have heard previous IDF broadcasts, although the article says that MW won't penetrate tunnels -- and not all of the 132 remaining hostages are in tunnels. Some may be located in safe houses above ground, where FM, TV, and/or AM might reach. The MW is being considered because of it's "longer range" -- at least according to the article.
You know, the IDF is one of the most highly effective fighting forces in the world, and they aren't populated by stupid people. You don't keep a 9 mile wide country (at least at its central point, near Tel Aviv) safe by having stupid people running your communications. If they think MW could work to reach hostages, maybe they know more about the potential of using radio to reach them, than a bunch of US and Canadian radio people thousands of miles away.
A quote:
"Of scores of hostages freed in a November truce, several said captors had allowed them limited access to TVs or radios.
One of them learned from the radio that her husband and daughter, from whom she had been separated during the Oct. 7 cross-border Hamas killing and kidnapping spree that sparked the war, had survived. For another, an Israeli broadcast was the first notification that two relatives were among the dead.
But the accounts often left unclear whether the hostages were kept just under the surface, or in tunnels well out of range, or in above-ground safe houses with regular reception."
You know, the IDF is one of the most highly effective fighting forces in the world, and they aren't populated by stupid people. You don't keep a 9 mile wide country (at least at its central point, near Tel Aviv) safe by having stupid people running your communications. If they think MW could work to reach hostages, maybe they know more about the potential of using radio to reach them, than a bunch of US and Canadian radio people thousands of miles away.
A quote:
"Of scores of hostages freed in a November truce, several said captors had allowed them limited access to TVs or radios.
One of them learned from the radio that her husband and daughter, from whom she had been separated during the Oct. 7 cross-border Hamas killing and kidnapping spree that sparked the war, had survived. For another, an Israeli broadcast was the first notification that two relatives were among the dead.
But the accounts often left unclear whether the hostages were kept just under the surface, or in tunnels well out of range, or in above-ground safe houses with regular reception."
Unfortunately, of the remaining 136 hostages only about half of them are likely to be alive.
In the coming weeks we'll see one of 2 things happen: Either another temporary ceasefire with Hamas, or full blown war between Israel and Hezbollah up north.
In the coming weeks we'll see one of 2 things happen: Either another temporary ceasefire with Hamas, or full blown war between Israel and Hezbollah up north.
Could be, but that remains to be seen. One thing is for certain; it's unlikely the hostages will be sitting around listening to MW radio. Somehow I doubt their captors would allow it.
From what I've heard, not all the hostages were captured or remain under Hamas control. Other bad actors ran in and grabbed hostages for the cause. Hamas hasn't been able to identify or locate hostages they didn't take, so this could be a problem in rounding up ones for future cease-fires or trades.
Maybe they’d make them listen to oldies on AM…
Well, the article says that Hamas did allow some hostages to listen to radios, and some hostages heard about family members' fates by listening to the radios, so radio apparently has some sort of role in this situation. Whether it's MW or FM is obviously undetermined. I would think it was FM, but the IDF knows more about the situation on the ground than we do.
Yes, no doubt AT 40 or old Rick Dees shows.
In New York's arguably deepest subway station (181st Street on the 8th Ave IND subway), I could pick up numerous local AM stations (including several 5 kilowatt regionals) while standing on the platform waiting for my train.
This particular train station and tunnel was blasted through the upper Manhattan bedrock, instead of being standard "cut and cover" construction.
So yes, they'll have no trouble picking up AM radio in those Gaza tunnels.
This particular train station and tunnel was blasted through the upper Manhattan bedrock, instead of being standard "cut and cover" construction.
So yes, they'll have no trouble picking up AM radio in those Gaza tunnels.
Thea views I have seen of most Palestinian tunnels shows a concrete and mesh wall structure or solid metal pipe panels. Both are total Faraday shields. And the surrounding earth is desert sand... the lowest conductivity on the planet. That is why some of the Saudi Arabian AMs are 1 and 2 million watts.
In this case the distance between the upper ground level of subway stations in NYC is typically ten feet or less. What has been reported in the Gaza Strip, tunnels dug by Hamas are between 60 and 82 feet underground. Big difference.
The train station I'm talking about is 180 feet (37 meters) underground. Again, it's one of the deepest in the system: 181st Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) - Wikipedia
181st Street station (IND Eighth Avenue Line) - Wikipedia
They are deep enough to be used as shelters in case of an atomic blast.
And you can hear AM radio stations underground, with all that electrical noise in a Faraday cage? Sorry man, you aren't defying physics.The train station I'm talking about is 180 feet (37 meters) underground. Again, it's one of the deepest in the system: 181st Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) - Wikipedia
181st Street station (IND Eighth Avenue Line) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
They are deep enough to be used as shelters in case of an atomic blast.
I was able to. 50 kilowatt stations like 1010 WINS, WOR, WABC, WBBR and WEPN (back then WEVD). Keep in mind these towers were across the river in New Jersey
WFAN and WCBS were harder because of their location on High Island.
Just telling you what I was able to experience. The electrical interference was more of an issue, especially when a train would enter the station. Reception was typically improved by standing close to a structural steel member - such as a column.
Obviously the IDF know something you don't.
That's 121 feet, not 180.
My bad, I stand corrected. I fat-fingered and confused 181st Street with 121 feet. Still, 121feet down solid Manhattan bedrock is definitely no slouch
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