Tonopah Test Range "The Towner"

www.thetowner.com...

First of all, don't set your standards too high here. The link goes to an excerpt of a book that seems like a diary of a road trip. This chapter is of their Tonopah visit. Unfortunately it seems anyone who writes about the town visits the Clown Motel. (People, cut that out.) The history, well at least as readers of ATS are concerned is either the comm sites on the peaks or the Mizpah, where the Tonopah Test Range "bandits" would hang out. (Photos in the "Red Eagles" book.)

The author does find one person to at least mention the TTR. He leaves a clue about the "golf balls." This goes over the author's head. The "golf balls" are located at 37°16'59.87"N 116°38'45.87"W.

If this link survives the forum:
google maps

These are the "golf balls" you see in that old episode of "Hard Copy" about the Nellis UFO.

a reply to: gariac

'Golf balls' are geodetic domes used to hide what direction the satellite dishes inside are pointing. Spy vs. spy listening game, eaves dropping on the other guys communications, hiding in plain sight.

image

a reply to: intrptr

Have a few more. This one is on the TPECR, not far from the other two.
37°18'16.59"N 116°41'5.67"W

Baldie:
37°26'57.90"N 115°44'0.69"W
37°27'6.90"N 115°44'6.08"W

Tonopah FAA (plus who knows what)
38° 8'27.16"N 117°12'1.75"W

The actual Nellis site, based on hardware:
38° 8'36.47"N 117°11'56.91"W

Often a radome just protects FAA radar, but at some point you can have too many golf balls.

I can confirm one of the Baldie golf balls is radar. Rate is about 13 seconds, which can be two different FAA radars.
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Edit:

To get to the Tonopah FAA site, head north on 95 from (hah hah) downtown Tonopah. Turn right on Radar Road. That should be easy to remember. The road is paved all the way, but I suggest having good brakes. Without a low gear, you will be riding them.

You can see the TTR from the radar site, albeit 30+ miles away.

Nellis UFO

At the start of the video, you can see the two golf balls.

While this sounds like they are on a plane, the video is from a ground (SAM) unit. Possibly a Roland.

originally posted by: gariac
Nellis UFO

At the start of the video, you can see the two golf balls.

While this sounds like they are on a plane, the video is from a ground (SAM) unit. Possibly a Roland.

This particular footage has one possible solution, that of a bug crawling on the camera lens.

The operators keep 'tracking it' as it crawls, following it with the camera controls in manual mode as it gives the illusion of flying ever higher by crawling across the lens aperture from lower left to upper right.

At one point it can be seen to have little 'appendages' like the LEM (moon lander).

An insect seems the most likely explanation, to me, in this case. In other words, can't rule out a bug.

a reply to: intrptr

I don't think a bug on the lens would be in focus. The cameras are very telephoto. (I'm assuming they use the Cohu cameras on the present day Rolands.) The other thing to keep in mind is these "threat" operators are not your average yahoo. They spend hours a day with their gear.

The "UFO" looks more like a bunch of balloons to me. There doesn't seem to be much of a radar return.

If you trawl the interwebs, this video had many people doing analysis. You may have to use the web archive since it is old in "Internet years."

a reply to: gariac

Can't rule out balloons either, the range indicator is upper right corner.

a reply to: intrptr

I,too, think it looks like a cluster of party balloons. I was in a NASA control room at Edwards AFB when a similar UFO nearly interfered with a research mission. Fortunately, the UFO (balloon cluster) landed on the bombing range and got snagged in some bushes where it was no longer a potential problem.

originally posted by: Shadowhawk
a reply to: intrptr

I,too, think it looks like a cluster of party balloons. I was in a NASA control room at Edwards AFB when a similar UFO nearly interfered with a research mission. Fortunately, the UFO (balloon cluster) landed on the bombing range and got snagged in some bushes where it was no longer a potential problem.

I bet those metalized party balloons are a real pain for radar. (And we know the electric utility companies don't like them.)

I had hiked to Crash Mountain, which is really just a no name hill slightly west of the Coyote Summit parking area. I found a cluster of balloons with those chemical glow sticks attached to them, which must have been someone's idea of a UFO. Either self entertainment or perhaps they set it off to amuse the tourists.

But getting back to the TPECR, it is weird that they feel compelled to radome the gear. Perhaps because it is in a "viewable corridor." That is there is an endless stream of commercial aircraft that fly along the edge of the airspace.

originally posted by: Shadowhawk
a reply to: intrptr

I,too, think it looks like a cluster of party balloons. I was in a NASA control room at Edwards AFB when a similar UFO nearly interfered with a research mission. Fortunately, the UFO (balloon cluster) landed on the bombing range and got snagged in some bushes where it was no longer a potential problem.

"Potential problem" because of interference with ward head guidance during testing?

Hmmm, if true thats interesting.