Thursday, January 23, 2014

Historic VOA Delano Site for Sale

QTH FOR SALE: US Government surplus property consisting of 800 acres just to the west of Delano, California. Property contains several buildings, a water pumping station, and a number of very large curtain array transmitting antennas aimed in various directions. Dream antenna farm for well-heeled DX club or ham radio syndicate. Sale is as-is. Some TLC needed.


Your neighbors are farms, several small state prisons, and a couple of recently sold parcels owned by developers.  Quiet for audio and RF.  Plenty of room for remote link antennas to allow ham radio use of the remote site from a home QTH in the noisy city.  Also room for tennis court or swimming pool.




Now let's get serious: the hobby has an incredible opportunity here.

This property has considerable historical significance.  It would make a great on-air radio museum,  similar to the Maritime Radio Historical Society's KPH/KSM/K6KPH installations on Pt. Reyes National Seashore, several hundred miles north.

The United States GSA will take public interest inquiries first (possibly including the aforementioned museum use, don't know).  Absent these, it will then put the property up for competitive bidding.  Presumably, the cost should not greatly exceed that of a mansion in Los Angeles, and there are certainly far fewer antenna restrictions.

Full information is at this government web site.