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Japanese early warning systems---pre radar.

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:18 pm
by emgcr
Here is an amusing sight. Might they make wonderful gramophone horns if used in reverse ?! Not exactly exponential...............

Re: Japanese early warning systems---pre radar.

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:34 pm
by ImperialGuardsman
How did they work? Did they measure sound or pressure waves in order to determine if an aircraft was in the sky?

Re: Japanese early warning systems---pre radar.

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:49 pm
by De Soto Frank
The carriages look like they were repurposed from Model T Ford running-gear...



Even Old Deaf Tom should have been able to hear with an ear-trumpet like these !

:mrgreen:

:coffee:

Re: Japanese early warning systems---pre radar.

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:52 pm
by banjo_picker
ImperialGuardsman wrote:How did they work? Did they measure sound or pressure waves in order to determine if an aircraft was in the sky?
Apparently it collected low frequency sound, and piped it to an earpiece that somebody would listen to. They would pick up the sound from a bomber's engines.

Re: Japanese early warning systems---pre radar.

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 2:54 pm
by emgcr
ImperialGuardsman wrote:How did they work? Did they measure sound or pressure waves in order to determine if an aircraft was in the sky?
Yes, just like a giant magnifying ear trumpet. In the UK, we had (and still have) equivalent concrete structures along the coast facing Holland, Germany, Belgium and France for similar purposes.

Re: Japanese early warning systems---pre radar.

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:30 pm
by estott
Armies tried a remarkable array of acoustic listening devices: https://www.google.com/search?q=army+li ... 66&bih=643

Re: Japanese early warning systems---pre radar.

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:13 pm
by emgcr
Here are some of the English "sound mirrors".

http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/soundmi ... ons/denge/

Re: Japanese early warning systems---pre radar.

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 7:43 pm
by Curt A
Then in 1964, Dr. Amar G. Bose, professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology looked at this picture and decided to turn this into a home audio system... the birth of the acoustic wave technology. :lol: