Editing VLF Transmitter Woodside

{{Short description|Demolished transmission tower near Woodside, Victoria, Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox building
|name=Woodside Omega Mast
|building_type=[[Radio masts and towers|Guyed grounded mast equipped with umbrella antenna]]
|location=[[Woodside, Victoria|Woodside]], [[Australia]]
|coordinates={{coord|38|28|52|S|146|56|7|E|type:landmark|display=inline}}
|status=Demolished
|completion_date=1982
|destroyed=22 April 2015
|height={{convert|432|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|architect=US Coast Guard/Australian Department of Transport
|main_contractor=Electric Power Transmission Pty Ltd
}}

[[File:Woodside VLF Transmitter.jpg|thumb|left|VLF Transmitter Woodside]]
'''Woodside Omega Transmitter''' near [[Woodside, Victoria]], [[Australia]], was a transmission tower that was completed in 1982 and demolished in 2015. Until its demolition, it was the tallest object in the [[Southern Hemisphere]].
==History==
In 1977, The [[Government of the United States of America|United States]] and [[Government of Australia|Australian]] governments agreed to establish an [[Omega (navigation system)|OMEGA navigation system]] in south-eastern Australia.<ref>[http://www3.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1977/20.html "Exchange of Notes constituting an Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America for the Establishment in South-Eastern Australia of an OMEGA Navigation Facility ATS 20 of 1977 "] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415113229/http://www3.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1977/20.html |date=15 April 2017 }}. Australasian Legal Information Institute, Australian Treaties Library. Retrieved on 15 April 2017.  (1975).</ref><ref>[https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=reports/1975/1975_pp96.pdf ''Report from the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence on Omega navigational installation.'' Canberra: Govt. Printer of Australia.]</ref> The agreement was extended in 1995, to 30 September 1997.<ref>[http://www3.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1995/18.html "Exchange of Notes constituting an Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America concerning the continued Operation in South-Eastern Australia of the Omega Navigation Facility ATS 18 of 1995”] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416132921/http://www3.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1995/18.html |date=16 April 2017 }}. Australasian Legal Information Institute, Australian Treaties Library. Retrieved on 15 April 2017. Australia</ref>

Station G was an Omega transmitter that used an [[umbrella antenna]] carried by a {{convert|432|m}} tall grounded lattice steel guyed mast. Unlike many of the other Omega Transmitters, Woodside was not a "hot tower," that is, one which is insulated from a ground connection by large ceramic insulators that support the entire weight of the structure.  Rather, the tower was electrically insulated from the topmost guys which served as the radiators, similar to the metal radials of an umbrella without cloth covering.  The mast simply supported the downward sloping guy wires which are the active elements.  The guy wires were also used to hold the tower itself in place.<ref>[http://www.haikuvalley.com/Other/Australia/21320329_kTMbrS#!i=1697884245&k=vzNpHJQ Australia - HAIKU VALLEY]</ref> This mast was the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere.<ref>[[List of tallest structures in the world by country]]</ref> Construction of this station was originally planned to be built in [[New Zealand]] but after protests from anti-war protestors it was built in Australia,<ref>[http://antipodeanmariner.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/omega-navigation-system.html Antipodean Mariner - Omega Navigation System]</ref> although not without controversy.<ref>{{cite news|date=22 November 1982|title=17 held in wild Omega protest|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page12856184?zoomLevel=1&searchTerm=Omega|access-date=17 September 2014}}</ref> The tower was officially opened in October 1982,<ref>{{cite news|date=21 October 1982|title=13 Years of Controversy|newspaper=The Canberra Times|access-date=17 September 2014|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116476883?searchTerm=Omega%20Gippsland%20-shares&searchLimits=sortby=dateDesc|last=Cranston|first=Frank}}</ref> but had been operating for 3 months prior to that, with the first broadcast at 10am on the 16th of August, having taken 3.5 years to construct,<ref>{{cite news|date= 17 August 1982|title=Omega Base Operational|newspaper=The Canberra Times|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126890037?searchTerm=Omega%20Darriman&searchLimits=sortby=dateDesc|access-date=17 September 2014}}</ref> however the tower itself having taken only 30 days to be constructed.<ref>[http://nofingerprints.net/blog/climbing-the-omega-tower/  NoFingerPrints.net - Climbing the Omega Tower]{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

After the shutdown of the OMEGA navigation system on 30 September 1997, the station was used as a transmitter for uni-directional communications to [[submarine]]s on 13&nbsp;kHz under the callsign VL3DEF until 2004. Until December 2008, it had been transmitting a 100 baud [[Minimum-shift keying|MSK]] modulated signal on 18.6&nbsp;kHz.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2008/12/23/2453832.htm Curtain draws on Cold War icon - ABC Gippsland Vic - Australian Broadcasting Corporation]</ref>

==Current status==
The station was decommissioned in November 2008. [[Aircraft warning lights]] continued to operate on each of the 10 43m platforms, although some of the lights had stopped working.

On 25 January 2014, a [[BASE jumping|BASE jumper]] was killed during an attempt to parachute from the tower.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dead base jumper's helmet camera may have been removed, Victoria Police say|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-26/victoria-police-search-for-dead-skydivers-helmet-camera/5219580|access-date=27 January 2014|newspaper=ABC News|date=27 January 2014}}</ref> It was demolished by explosives on 22 April 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tallest structure collapses in a heap|url=http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/tallest-structure-collapses-in-a-heap/story-e6frfku9-1227317556363|access-date=29 April 2015|newspaper=News.com.au|date=23 April 2015|archive-date=25 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425234137/http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/tallest-structure-collapses-in-a-heap/story-e6frfku9-1227317556363|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Transmission equipment from the Omega navigation system is now on display at the Port Albert Maritime Museum.<ref>[http://yarrampa.customer.netspace.net.au/pamm.html Port Albert Maritime Museum]</ref><ref>[http://www.cv.vic.gov.au/organisations/3951/port-albert-maritime-museum/  Culture Victoria - Port Albert Maritime Museum]</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of masts]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b98
* http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0023209
* http://sale.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/omega-tower-shuts-down/1396883.aspx {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20110706113628/http://sale.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/omega-tower-shuts-down/1396883.aspx |date=6 July 2011 }}
* http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2015/04/23/parliamentary-secretary-for-defence-defence-completes-demolition-of-omega-tower-at-darriman-23-april-2015/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329114228/http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2015/04/23/parliamentary-secretary-for-defence-defence-completes-demolition-of-omega-tower-at-darriman-23-april-2015/ |date=29 March 2016 }}
* http://nofingerprints.net/blog/climbing-the-omega-tower/{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/tallest-structure-collapses-in-a-heap/story-e6frfku9-1227317556363 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425234137/http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/tallest-structure-collapses-in-a-heap/story-e6frfku9-1227317556363 |date=25 April 2015 }}
{{coord|38.481228|S|146.935294|E|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlf Transmitter Woodside}}
[[Category:Omega navigation system]]
[[Category:Former radio masts and towers]]
[[Category:Radio masts and towers in Australia]]
[[Category:Towers completed in 1982]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2015]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished by controlled implosion]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:1982 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:2015 disestablishments in Australia]]