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ALAN GALE'S POLE HILL VOR UPGRADE IMAGES (PART 1)
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On this page you will find some images of the VOR Beacon at Pole Hill in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, UK. I had originally visited the site back in 2013, but as it had been off air from the early part of January 2018 for some engineering work, I decided that a walk over there might be a good idea, and would give me a chance to find out exactly what was going on. My visit took place on a rare fine day on the 21st of April 2018, and this was a Saturday, so no work was taking place at that time, and I took a number of photos of what was being done there. Thankfully this site is very easy to reach and to photograph from the lanes and public footpaths that surround the compound containing the VOR, though the site itself is in a fairly remote location at around 1400ft asl (426m), and way up on the moors above the town of Todmorden, so the only way of reaching it is either by car, bicycle or on foot.
It was noticeable that all of the original metalwork on the top of the VOR had been removed and replaced with a newer and more substantial type, and from the damage to the entrance road, it looked like either a large mobile crane, or other large vehicles had recently been in use there, and were too big to fit up the original narrow road. A new sign had appeared on the gate since my last visit, and this suggests that the VOR may be having an upgrade from a Conventional VOR to a larger Doppler VOR (DVOR). As of early May it was still not back on the air yet, so I will make another visit over there when it does eventually re-appear so that I can compare how the finished item then looks in comparison to how it looked on my last visit there in 2013. You can see how it looked back then then by visiting Gallery Two via the button below. The work taking place was being carried out by the VOR operator Thales Aerospace, and you can find some very interesting brochures about their various VOR systems on their website at THIS LINK:
NOTE# - As this location is fairly remote and I am no longer able to drive anymore, I made this visit there a part of a longer hike throughout the area, and you can find the full story of the eventful day out that I had there on my own Photogallery at the following link: https://windypics.piwigo.com/index?/category/883-the_pole_hill_plod
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The VOR is something of a local landmark and can be seen clearly from several miles away.
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You can see the new frame on the top of the VOR, this is slightly larger than the old one, and has had its bases fitted into new concrete blocks.
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Closer view from a slightly different angle.
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The ground wasn't quite a solid as it looked, not surprising after all the recent rains in the area - this was a very rare fine day.
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Seen here from the western side.
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The front gate was looking a bit wonky, looks like it has been walloped by something big.
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The new sign on the gate now showing that Pole Hill is, or rather will be a Doppler VOR.
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You can see that the road seems to have been widened slightly here to allow access to something big.
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Looks like this aerial has had a bit of an upgrade as well.
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Google Earth image, showing the layout of the Pole Hill VOR site.
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Alan has several other Galleries as well, click on the buttons below to visit them:
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If you have shots of your own that you would also like to see on display here in the NDB List Photo Gallery, we would love to hear from you too!
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CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO GO:
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** NOTE **
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Information given in this page may be freely re-produced by any 'NON-COMMERCIAL' sources (hobbyists, DX Clubs etc.) provided that due credit is given to the 'NDB List' website as the source, and files are not altered in any way without the prior permission of the copyright holder.
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Thank you for visiting the NDB List Photo Gallery
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