Lualualei Naval Radio Transmitting Facility

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• Lots of great photos - dead link
• 1953 tech report
• 1972 Antenna radiation parameters
• 2010? equipment inventory
• 2012 renovation - dead link
• 1998 photo of VLF transmitter control
• 1998 photo of twin 1500' towers

Naval Radio History of 14th Naval District (Hawaii) - pdf

VLF Transmitters -

• TAW - 300KW - moved from Pearl Harbor in 1936
• TAW-a - 500KW - upgrade from TAW in 1940
• AN/FRT-64 - 1MW - 1964-present?
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Check out Bill Heidig's photos of Lualualei - here's a sample

Construction of the transmitting station at Lualualei, intended to support a receiver station installed in 1920 at Wailupe, commenced in 1933. The main antennas were completed in 1935 and the facility was activated in 1936.

Eastern Pacific Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station operates and maintains communications facilities and equipment for Naval shore installations and fleet units in the eastern Pacific. The installation operates six facilities on the island of Oahu, but conducts industrial operations primarily at the main station and receiver site in Wahiawa and the Naval Radio Transmitting Facility in Lualualei.

NRTF Lualualei occupies approximately 1,700 acres and lies in a large coastal valley near the southwestern shoreline of Oahu. NRTF Lualualei is located approximately 10 miles to the southwest of NCTAMS PAC Wahiawa. The topography is generally level and the elevation ranges from 10 to 100 feet above mean sea level. NRTF Lualualei is located on land that consists of a thin layer of alluvial and coastal sediments and reef deposits overlying consolidated limestone. Civilian land use surrounding this facility is largely rural and the site is surrounded by agricultural and small areas of Urban and Conservation Land Use districts. NRTF Lualualei is contiguous to the Naval Magazine Lualualei, which occupies an additional 8,105 acres of the valley. The nearest urban area is the town of Maili, which lies approximately 1 mile west of the station. The towns of Waianae and Nanakuli are also located nearby.

Helix House No. 2 (Structure 87) is an octagonal, cast-in-place concrete building constructed in 1945-46. It is nearly identical to the first Helix House (Structure 3) built at RTF-Lualualei in 1935. The copper-lined Helix House, named for the coiled wires in the equipment housed within, amplifies and tunes the frequency of the radio signal for optimal output. At the time of construction, these structures comprised an impressive and state-of-the-art radio facility, which was the only one of its kind in the Pacific region. The complex represents the Navy's pioneering efforts in initiating new developments in radio-electronics and their leadership in the utilization of radio-electronics in military operations. ...

Link to higher resolution versions of photos below
OVERVIEW OF HELIX HOUSE NO. 2 (S-87), WITH ANTENNA TOWERS, HELIX HOUSE NO. 1 (S-3) AND TRANSMITTER BLDG. (S-2) AT REAR, LOOKING WEST SOUTHWEST.	VIEW OF HELIX HOUSE NO. 2 (S-87), WITH ANTENNA TOWER CABLE SUPPORT IN FOREGROUND, LOOKING SOUTHEAST	VIEW OF SOUTH ELEVATION OF HELIX HOUSE NO. 2 (S-87) SHOWING MAIN ENTRY DOOR, LOOKING NORTH NORTHWEST	VIEW OF EAST ELEVATION OF HELIX HOUSE NO. 2 (S-87), LOOKING WEST
INTERIOR; VIEW OF ANTENNA TRUNK OPENING AND ENTRY DOOR, LOOKING EAST SOUTHEAST	INTERIOR; DETAIL OF ANTENNA TRUNK OPENING, LOOKING EAST	INTERIOR; DETAIL OF ROOF FRAMING STRUCTURE, LOOKING SOUTHWEST	--
Link to higher resolution version of photos below