VALVE PRE AMPLIFIERS AND NUCLEAR WOODPECKERS

Well beat me on the bottom with a rolled up BVWS bulletin and call me Edna, just look at this.  When have you ever seen a Chernobyl pre amplifier.   I'll bet this thermionic masterpiece just radiates a sweet and mellifluous sound.

As some of you may know, during  1972, the Duga-1 radio receiver, part of the Duga radar array was constructed 11 km (6.8 mi) west-northwest of Chernobyl. It was the origin of the Russian Woodpecker which allegedly, if it stopped transmitting, would herald a Soviet nuclear strike on the West.

Also during 1972, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was constructed 9 miles northwest of Chernobyl. The plant was built alongside Pripyat, a city founded on 4 February 1970 and intended to house workers and their families to serve the nuclear power plant.

Fast forward approximately 14 years to 26 April 1986 and an  explosion of the No. 4 reactor resulted in the Chernobyl disaster which is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history - ever.

The accident occurred during a test of the steam turbine's ability to power the emergency feed water pumps in the event of a simultaneous loss of external power and coolant pipe rupture. Following an accidental drop in reactor power to near-zero, the operators restarted the reactor in preparation for the turbine test with a prohibited control rod configuration. Upon successful completion of the test, the reactor was then shut down for maintenance. Due to a variety of factors, this action resulted in a power surge at the base of the reactor which brought about the rupture of reactor components and the loss of coolant. This process led to steam explosions and a meltdown followed by a reactor core fire which lasted until 4 May 1986.

Following the disaster, Pripyat was abandoned and eventually replaced by the new purpose-built city of  Slavutych.  Final clean-up is scheduled for completion by 2065 some 80 years after the initial explosion.