Radios and the the Disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan
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- Опубликовано: 22 авг 2022
- Today, when GPS provides astounding levels of absolute position accuracy, it can be hard to appreciate the navigational challenges that Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan experienced on their around the world flight in 1937. Radio played an important part in in their success, and possibly in their failure. AWA member Brian Harrison, KN4R, takes a deep dive into the role of radio in Earhart's last flight, it's possible role in her disappearance and how a group of dedicated researchers are recreating Earhart's and Noonan's original transmissions using the same type equipment to help solve the mystery of their disappearance, and possibly locate their Lockheed Electra 10E.
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This is the best Earhart presentation I have seen. Speaking as an aviator who has spent years following the topic.
Outstanding presentation for Amelia and Fred Noonan,RIP
Simply spoken...they relied on a technology that she shunned (morse code), got rid of necessary equipment, didn't organize etc.
She didn't know Morse Code. Don't think Fred did Either. So why keep it?
Apparently Earhart decided to remove all the backup communication and navigation systems, probably to save weight. She removed the trailing wire antenna and CW communications capability that could have made a huge difference. If she lost her receive antenna when she took off on the last leg, the lack of backup systems was fatal
The transmitter used for morse code was not reinstalled after the Luke Field Crash because Earhart did indeed deem it unnecessary since manning was leaving and neither she nor Noonan knew morse code. Weight was probably also a factor too
Amelia or Noonan should have learned Morse Code since the range is so much greater, right? How hard is it to learn? My mother, a WW2 vet, learned to receive it at 60 words a minute and send it, but I don't know how fast she sent it in a few months as well as learning to type more proficiently than she had in high school through the CWACs. This expedition seems so bungled.
I think that's what happened. And neither one of them could send or receive Morse code. Their directional antenna was designed for medium to low frequency (500 to 1500 kHz) BUT their radio operated at high frequency (3105 kHz or 7500 kHz). So any chance to find their way using a directional antenna was very, very low. They left Lea without knowing if their directional antenna worked. Their only tests failed and they believed it failed because they were too close to the transmitter. Their is no evidence they had a lifeboat and even if they had life jackets they couldn't have taken their radio equipment with them. Earhart and Noonan both took stupid and unnecessary risks. That doesn't make them a hero in my book, just stupid and lucky, and their luck ran out. Custer had 2 Gatling guns, (machine guns) and he left them behind because he didn't think he would need them. BIG MISTAKE.
In fact they did have a backup antenna and could have established two-way communications had they used it. The Bendix DF loop was capable of receiving HF even though it was omnidirectional at HF. The one signal Earhart reported receiving was the 7500 KC beacon from Itasca. Had they realized the source of the problem, the damaged underbelly receive antenna, they could likely have received Itasca's voice transmissions on 3105 and/or 6210 with the loop.
Silly no backup and she must have died because of that?
AM has been around for a long time during CW days. The problem with AM, is that it is horribly inefficient compared to CW. SSB closed that gap some but CW is still on top.
The search plane flew over Gardner island, seeing clear signs of recent habitation but didn't land because no one waved at them. What if Amelia and Fred were unconscious or too hurt to wave ? Incredible negligence and incompetence. R.I.P. Amelia and Fred
The "clear signs of recent habitation" were the remains of an old building on the island. They had nothing to do with Earhart or Noonan. They didn't land because there was no place to land safely. Besides, there was no wreckage of the Electra anywhere on the shoreline or visible in the tree line. I have a copy of the first-hand interview with the pilot who was flying that search plane. He clearly did not think it had anything to do with Earhart.
It was clear from the getgo. They never carried enough fuel to get to gardener.
@@martylee5299 You are correct. But don't say that to TIGHAR. They will bite your head off. Besides, they need another island vacation.
@@booniebuster4193 they should go to newzealand next time. Food much better.
Or simply asleep. They had been through a very long day and were exhausted.
Thanks for this deep dive into her disappearance.
To your question: could radio have saved Earhart and Noonan? IMHO the answer is yes! The one signal Earhart reports receiving is the 7500 KC beacon transmitted by Itasca. Of course it was too high in frequency to produce a null with her Bendix loop, and no null is what she reported, just like the failed DF test at Lae. However, using this loop atop the airplane, she likely would have been able receive Itasca's voice transmissions on 3105 and/or 6210. I guess it never occurred to Earhart or Noonan that their reception problems were likely caused by damage to the receiving antenna on the underside of the airplane during the overweight takeoff at Lae. There are rumors of a planned 333 KC beacon, which could have given a null on Earhart's loop, which they could have done had they established two-way communication so they could tell Earhart, with the result being a successful landing at Howland.
Why couldn't she receive radio messages?
@@dianamincher6479 It is believed that the wire receiving antenna on the bottom of the airplane was ripped off during the over-weight takeoff at Lae.
Why 3105 and 6210 was used doing the day... instead of 12mhz or 13mhz...the two frequencies in those bands are not good doing the day 😮
@@kevmichael2064 3105 and 6210 were internationally allocated for air-to-ground for this flight. They may not have understood exactly why back then, but 6210 is good for NVIS during the day. The HF mobile radio nets in the US use 40 meters to this day. NVIS was the main reason for allowing hams on 60 meters; I've had many QSOs on 60 meters during the day.
A very interesting synopsis of Ms.Earhat's last flight.Very thorough expose of possibilities that "caused " her and Mr.Noonan's disappearance. Thank you,for showing and sharing this program. Sincerely,Nancy.
Well done Brian. I learned a lot from this video. Keep them coming…
Excellent presentation!
Regarding minute 26:50: "Western Wireless Ltd" was Frank Jones' W6AJF company in San Francisco in the mid-1930's. He promoted his products in RADIO magazine, also based in SF at the time, and wrote hundreds of other articles for RADIO under various pen names. Western Wireless also designed/built the prototype 35 MHz two-tube super-regenerative transceiver that became the model "S" for the US Forest Service in the later 1930's.
Great Info, thank you Richard - I'll add to the next presentation revision!
Fascinating presentation. You've certainly done your homework, and that of a lot of others as well. 73's! ~KCØZTZ
Excellent and very much appreciated. Life member AWA
Thank-you so much for posting this; it really fills in info lacking elsewhere. And as a 55 year Ham/Pro, it was of special interest to me. I have seen the clip of the underbelly antenna presumably falling off at take off, BUT has there ever been absolute confirmation/documentation of this happening? So much hubris at play; the outcome was predictable.
The Itasca had an S5 level signal from Amelia, which apparently is good. Word is that would have put them within 30 miles of the ship. But they are low on fuel and only at 1,000 feet altitude. They can't find Howland. But somehow they are going to fly 400 miles to Gardner? That is like running low on gas heading to Miami, unable to find Miami, and deciding to drive to Jacksonville without filling the tank. If they were off course to the North because of the convergence zone winds, they would make a decision to fly one way for a bit and then do a 180 degree turn and fly the other way for a bit in order to try and spot the island according to her last transmitted track. But at 1,000 feet, you are limited as to what you can see. And there was cloud cover above apparently. At one point they may have been tracking directly to the island, but gave up too soon and turned around and went the other way. Out of fuel...out of options.
This a excellent Presentation from Brian with wonderful videos inserts I think not CW Skills both from Amelia and Fred was recipe for disaster fatal flight,Ian VK2IJ.
Thank you so much, very interesting!
Very nice presentation and backs up TIGHAR information. Only one 2 second mistake, shows a ship Radioman using an R-390 receiver during the radio searches. That radio came online in 1951 :-)
It is sad that for many years, people have said they were ill prepared in the radio dept. All this time, experts still feel the same way. I guess that means we need to prepare more.
Their directional antenna was designed for medium and low frequency (500 kHz to 1500 kHz), NOT HIGH FREQUENCY which is what they had (3105 kHz and 7500 kHz) Their ONLY receiving antenna was on the underside of the plane and OI believe it got damaged on takeoff. They left their backup (trailing antenna) behind. You make enough stupid choices it will catch up with you. They were both very unprofessional.
@@happyhankjrWas it similar to today's "get-there-itis"? I should add "bias confirmation"- they got away with stuff before maybe?
This is Absolutely the best review on the subject on youtube.
Brian, Thank you for your presenting what I perceive is the best most detailed information on the loss of Amelia Earhart in one video. I particularly liked you review of radio equipment of the era and look forward to your upcoming Pan-American presentation.
Really good presentation. Thoroughly enjoyed
Amazing work. Thank you.
ADF. Reminds me of my instrument check ride. I actually chose an NDB (utilizes an ADF) FOR MY Non precision approach. It gets you to airport on approach with higher minimums. I kind of enjoyed the NDB approach, but if the weather was less than 500 feet, forget it.
Gillespie and TIGHAR don't like other theories, and only want their own theories to be taken as fact.
10:07 numerous reports of nearby radio communications... 55:01 No Howland radio plan 55:49 New Guinea landing confusion, radio difficulties 58:05 tiny target: Howland 58:20 3 runways for varying wind conditions 58:40 plan: gunshots, dynamite to scare thousands of migratory birds from runways 59:57 broken antenna mast on takeoff? 1:03:35 Navy newsreel 1:05:51 numerous shortwave radio reports, some bogus 1:08:53 radio reports of distress calls 1:10:19 teenager Betty in Florida: detailed notepad transcript, heard Amelia, man's voice; confusion, distress 1:12:10 Norwich City shipwreck reference? 1:13:44 long-distance signal transmission flukes? 1:21:06 TIGHAR recovered artifacts
Now knowing Noonan had made an error of 200 miles on one trip makes me further think they went to Gardner island. Navigator error or blown off course by the storm and Gardner island was the best place to head for.
One account by Captain Almon. A. Gray says the plane should have been out of fuel but there were still radio transmissions being made after that time. Were they on Gardner island? I'd say they were.
G4GHB.
Here is a possibility - - Imagine landing on an island - which is not Howland island - And within the July 2 to 7 1937 stay the island gets covered by water because of the nature of that time of year ? Therefor the plane is brought out to sea until it finally sinks ! This has been known to happen in the Pacific Ocean !
Very interesting information about possible loss of the antenna under the aircraft.
Unfortunately, if they had been communicating with the airport after taking off, then they would have noticed after a few miles that the antenna was not functioning.
Or perhaps there are records of communications after departure.
It seems odd that they didn't use the radio after departure, as this would have been a sensible precaution. i.e doing a radio check on the ground would not have detected the problem with the antenna, as it was not damaged before takeoff.
Both paul mance and henry manning quit. When she crashed on take off Both of them said that's it. No money is worth this
Thank you so very much for sharing your experience and expertise. Like many other people - it's only through people like you and your efforts that we can 'see' history through 'your eyes'. Means a lot to us
😂 Mask Slave 🤣
Amelia probably made the assumption that since she had noon and she didn't Need radios.
Excellent documentary .Thanks for your expertise. Months prior the island was evacuated due to severe drought . FN may have died in aircraft . He was trapped and she could not help him out. She may have made hole trying. Further analysis of patch may verify this to match Lockheeds AL . The found/lost bones and the Freckle bottle /landing gear seem to be best evidence.
well done WB5MZO and Robert the Boeing Test pilot
Pity that they didn't use a sea plane .
Howland Island sounds like a long shot anyway.
Agree! One book says that Paul Mantz’s Aircraft pick for Amelia was a Sikorsky S-43 Baby Clipper (seaplane) - but she went with the Electra
Spying using civilian aircraft was used a lot then we will never know.
This is a theory I've been thinking for a while and its about the International date line. I went to the states Sydney Hawaii and San Francisco in 1983. And when you go from west to east across the pacific ocean via this route i feel this route was very similar . They took off New Guinea which is roughly 2 k miles north of Sydney. After when the captain tells you you are now crossing the date losing one day and coming back gaining one day . If Noonan did a sun sight of that morning about 8 to 9 am and calculated it and told the equation of the nav route. I think Noonan possibly made a simple mistake. The date line they were on the other side not their actual side of the line. So the day was not correct but they Noonan thought his sun sight was correct . i hope you understand what i am saying. A mistake like this could be immense. correct me if i am wrong . dont forget they were going west to east
my other question is why did they change direction
comments welcome
Eight minutes into this and they go to a commercial. Its worse than tv.
They aren't going to find anything around Howland. She was transmittingfor5days after she was supposed lost, which means the plane was on land and on wheels.
I wonder if they weren't trapped in the plane somehow. He wasn't struggling to get to the radio, he was struggling to attempt to get out of the plane.
Or maybe she could but he was injured and couldn't.
That grain flim depicking Earhart Noonan taking off is a clip of two pieces of flim put together the first part is a practice. The second is the actual take off for Holland Iland. You can tell this by the lenght of shirt Earhart is wearing , the pactice takeoff she is wearing a short sleve shirt and in the acually takeoff she has a long sleve shirt on.
My Dad had A Haiicrafers when he was a kid and in the military in the 1930s and 1940s...he heard her too on his Radio...😮. ..my dad told me about all of this 😮may times
A 6 Mhz signal will easily propagate that distance on the fundamental frequency and doesn't have to be on a harmonic frequency, especially if it's near the top of the 11-year solar cycle. I can talk all over Europe on the 7 Mhz 40 meter amateur/ham radio band almost every day from here in northwestern NC as long as there hasn't been a recent earth-directed CME (coronal mass ejection) from a sunspot exploding on the Sun's surface. A CME can comletely wipe out radio wave propagation if it's strong enough and if it's earth-directed. It usually takes a earth-directed CME 2-3 days to travel the 93 million miles to the Earth. They also cause issues with satellites & GPS navigation satellites and even cellular telephones if they're strong enough.
And the 2nd Harmonic would become a large portion of the output power if the plane half in the water or floating.
12.42 MHz is likely be ause i simulated a proximity reflection by accident, and turned on my Spectrum Analyzer.
I was surprised by what was happening.... i think i have video of this...
I was using a 7 Mhz ww2 transmitter, and i had vehicles under the antenna.
Lots of ground reflection with short distances like her plane in tbe water.
I have experi ental suggestion here only. I have no proof that it would be exactly
The same for her radio, but i mention it,
I also have a website about Amelia..
Cheers, Andrew VK5WT.
I actually looked up the solar cycle for that time, and those dates would have been at or near the top of the solar cycle.
Is there a similar video which traces the kind of equipment and uses on American side of are you conflict? I found (in SEA) and sold some hard used Collins gear from that era.
I talked to a guy on a snow cat in the Artic Circle with a cb walkie-talkie and I was standing in my yard in GA USA...
Picture titled “Team is Set” is it just me, or does it look like the plane has a smiling face? 🙂
At 59:38 to 1:00:00 into this video the man points out what may be THE cause of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan's deaths - The antenna breaks or is damaged when their plane takes off - - Look for the puff of smoke - - It is the antenna that makes it possible for her to HEAR incoming messages - Watch the video closely at 59:38 to 1:00:00 ! - BUT at the time on that take off day on July 2 1937 did the people on the ground that were watching and filming their take off see what the man in the video points out ? Was it reported by the July 2 1937 onlookers back then that there was a puff of smoke on the take off ? WTF - !
@:59 I do not believe that was an antennae mast hit. Nothing found on the runway. Remember, it was one of the buisiest airports in the world. They would ceck that runway. 2. The tail was already flying and up. I believe there was a sand patch and it appears a larger puff of dust from her starboard wheel and a lesser puff behind the portside wheel.
Could her plane have flown on one engine, could they have gained altitude shut one engine down to save fuel. This could drastically change the search area.
If you shut one engine down the other engine has run at a higher fuel consumption and the aircraft is uncoordinated therefore no you do not say feel this way but-bye throttling both engines back once she got over Halen island there is no need to go full cruise speed
Some estimates say she had 4+ hours arriving at Helen Island even with an unforecast 26 mile an hour headwind Hachi throttle back to save fuel while going north or south online she might’ve increased her range to make it to the Marshall Islands
One thing I know 1600-5000khz in the morning...goes dead as the sun comes up in my area in the Pacific 2310 and 2410khz station from Australia 🦘 goes weak even WWVH on 2500khz is weak too...now if 6.210mhz is used at night and early in the morning and dark...it would work 😮
Most interesting the fragment could have come from Aircraft the Mystery deepen Ian VK2IJ.
i guess it was looked as to where the patch was made or cut from A.
3000KHz and 6MHz...are night frequencies....why frequencies above 12mhz.. was not used doing the day....in the morning low frequency is not good in the morning and day?.... strange they should of known
IF they landed safe. CW capability would have saved them. They would have lived. Was there fresh water on the island? They only had a few days to live, unless they had a inflatable evaporator.
Norwich City is pronounced Nor-itch city as one continuous word.
It's too bad the boat didn't have some flairs to let off when they realized she couldn't hear them.
This was very interesting but I immediately turned it off when you had the Ric "Earhart eaten by crabs" Gillispie on here.
Of course Putnam provided all the support that she needed and advertising. But from a pilot's perspective Amelia just did not have the common sense needed to stay alive. We have a saying in aviation and it goes do not do anything Different, dumb or dangerous. And of course you have to learn but it is with the safety of a second pilot Instructor. Paul mance was her Instruct her safety pilot and when she lost him in Hawaii due to her own crash Both he and the radio man walked off the job. That spelled her demise. Putnam then forced her into an impossible situation. Do something that she knew wasn't safe. Having a radio man the entire time up to This point she knew very little about radio work. Additionally now she had no safety pilot that would keep her alive. So Manning and Paul Mann's quit. A grizzly way to die as a Cast away. Rest in peace Amelia and Newnan
If they in fact had died as castaways. But either way, it was her lack of technical know how and operational know how of Radio equipment that ultimately did them in.
Wow. That would be an $11k radio today...
FUBAR is correct. It happened a lot back then, ignorant ppl not doing their job properly.
Was a long wire antenna used..?...why no SSB mode?....I heard Ham at night on 3000khz band....4000khz Marine also at night.... but 6mhz (49m) goes weak as the sun comes out...even The Point Reyes station is out in my area...why they didn't use 8mhz or 12mhz at that time...this is a good documentary... thanks for This 😊
No SSB was probably because there were no suitable SSB transceivers at that time. Looking on Wikipedia SSB only started to be use by high power shore stations in 1927. SSB transceivers were more much complex than AM in that era.
During take off from Lae, there was a visible cloud of dust, narrated said it was(smoke) the receiving antenna wire and strut hit some vegetation(dirt runway) and broke off; it ran along the belly of plane. She therefore could not receive any messages from Itasca or any other ships. The Itasca thought she was ignoring their calls.
If they were sending radio signals then recently discovered possible plane crash 16,000 meters down is not her plane.
I was captain on the same airplane only smaller. Two thirds scale. On takeoff you have to hold the nose full forward until you're ready to rotate especially loaded heavy like she was. Had she done this the Receiving wire mast would not have broke off. Only at flying speed should you release forward pressure and rotate. She forced it off the ground because she was out of trim to the forward beyond limit. I can tell this by looking at her take off.
Not her first crash....seems she was overrated as a pilot...Noonan on the other hand was a top navigator
@@Dilley_G45You're right but he was a alcoholic and a drunk. If you've ever experienced You would never hire one.😢 She was as good as dead when manning left.
@@neatstuff1988 OH I like a drink myself, and I don't employ people 😆 Point is she wasn't a great pilot, he probably screwed up navigation. They couldn't read Morse code which is insane neglect when you're in the 30s. It should have worked out
👍👍👍👍👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Why does everyone always disregard the radio messages heard from the evening of 2 July through 7 July? Pan Am Direction finding stations showed where she was, but the Navy blew it off and didn;t even send a shore party to search the island. She was probably too weak or dead to respond to the fly over aircraft and the plane had been washed out to the sea.., I think everyone conspired to make sure she died.
Gardener island is 400mi from howland island. earhart and noonans target was howland. Noonan was a excellent navigator. Earthart was excellent pilot. His target was howland. Earhart flew to howland. They knew they close to howland. Why would they go on a 400mi trip to another island. They were low on fuel. They didnt. They crashed and sunk looking for howland! The numbers are the numbers. The numbers dont lie. Ya'll need to look around howland.
It's said she may not have been as great a pilot as we think she was.
I would disagree was those that think ladies cant fly planes.This wasnt about flying the plane. She was said to be a excellent stick and rudder pilot. And she proved she could fly, and fly the electra. That wasnt the problem. As reported. Noonan got her close. Probably 40 miles or so close. They seemed to have only enough fuel in the end to go to howland, with a small reserve. It was reported they overshot howland, then turn back towards howland. The radio failed them in the end. Sadely they ran out of fuel not far from howland.
Yep absolutly Zero chance they even went towards Gardner, it would have been insane to even try.
from Pan am, noonan was not a Good Navigator
@@dknowles60 noonan was known to stick to forecast weather. Hes dead. Ill defend him. Earheart and Noonan where pioneer's.
Have they ever done scans around the island? Metal detection? Or anything?
Looks like there was a spotting on sonar the other day.
Lockheed said that the extra fuel tanks would have made the plane float for hours..The ocean in that area has huge contour variations and depths..It's said that they left the life raft behind to save weight..I doubt they will ever find the plane..
Ballard will find it. Before 2030
@@ginaluciano9933 Not searching around Howland.
If she was in the water, how do you explain the radio transmissions, on her frequency, for five days after her supposed loss?
Interesting but no answers.
I don't understand the two hundred eighty one mile north business. There's no such indication. Also even if they didn't know morse code who doesn't know the s o s signal ? Three short, 3 long, Three short... The whole thing smacks of dumbness. Sorry.
No Morse key. It was taken off, too.
Putnam should Have been ashamed of himself for sending Her. Of course he had nothing to lose because she didn't marry him accepting the legal sense. Sighting she would not be held to submit evil code.
Its on a sandkey
Great quest!! It is truly sad that poor decision-making ended up killing her. How about that advertisement. Killed a really brave woman. I doubt that even in her death that commercialism has the listener involved, again making lots of money. No one has disclosed how much her cowardly spouse made off her death. These arcane videos make money and no doubt that the producers get the $$$. She will never be found in 12,000 feet of water. Shame on all of you.
🥝✔️
I'm sticking with the picked up & taken to Saipan, where she & Noonan died/were killed. Too much GI & Japanese evidence to ignore.
@josephstabile9154: No actual real evidence as far as I know, just hearsay from "someone who knew someone who said something".
Wait...
A female pilot in 1937?
But I thought women weren't allowed to be doctors lawyers pilots etc in 1937
😂😅
Dear Tom Crouch why would a hoaxer take 2 hours to dupe so few people and yet include mentions of New York City so as to make the call less credible - where Amelia would have no reason to mention New York as aiding iin her rescue?
Too bad about all the irritating um, um, um...
Sorry guys but the truth is she was captured by the Japanese and executed on Saipan in 1944.
As I understand, the navy ship had accidentally left the radio on all night long and burned the special battery out and there wasn't any spare battery to replace it. So, they were not able to use all the radio gear they needed.
Antique Wireless Museum,
Thank You so much for the Documentation, also All 'Officials, Ladies and Gentlemen
last but not least Mr. Brian Harrison, All About - kompetent, 1st-class - as ever heard and did....see..
As - I'm - old School - applied - relativ simple Radio-Equipment, in.. - 1960-ties.. new German Luftwaffe..
with planes ..MKIV/T-6 later T-33 and French-Fouga-Magister.
Instructions - in case of 'crash- to do.. I heard about destiny of Amelia Earhart, Female Pioneer..
Since that time - open answers especially *Dis-Appearances ?!..
God Bless Amerika, wishing You...*Simply the *Best
Regards,
HERE YA GO ruclips.net/video/T7dg9sqnppA/видео.html
Yes, this guy is as about close to the truth as anyone I heard so far. I'd put my money on him!