----- Original Message ----- From: David C. Jenner &lt;djenner(a)halcyon.com&gt; To: &lt;classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org&gt; Sent: Tuesday, 22 February 2000 1:56 Subject: Re: IBM 4381 Avbl in South Australia ROFL. Very likely. The power plant also ran the HUGE airconditioning systems, not just for the computers, but the radomes and other buildings as well. I have no idea how much power the computers would have drawn, but I would imagine it was considerable. To run it elsewhere would require it to be downsized somewhat I would imagine. Well, the real estate would probably be cheap, but I think it's still part of the Woomera Restricted Area. Crown land. As for the rest? Interesting concept, but there's not a lot there except desert and the old rocket range. (Which is supposed to be being taken over to launch commercial satellites in conjunction with the Russians(?)) The communal canteen/restaurant at Woomera is still called the ELDO Mess. (European Launcher Development Organisation) 45C+ in summer, -5C overnight in Winter. < 5" rain per annum. Most of that in summer thunderstorms, plus tropical rain depressions from collapsed cyclones in the NW of Australia that drift down south far enough. (Happening now, actually) Relative humidity usually around 1%. Hang your washing on the line, by the time you've finished, it's ready to bring in. Bone dry & rock hard. (Well, it's the dryest state of the dryest continent on Earth after all) I used to live in Leigh Creek (open cut brown coal mine for the power stations at Port Augusta 250 miles south) about 85 miles due east of Woomera on the other side of Lake Torrens. (Salt pan - only a lake every few years) Yes. Big sealed runway/apron. Unfortunately, no. (some TALU acft loading gear was in the tender stuff, though it has now been withdrawn from sale) It WAS served by USAF C141 Starlifters. I used to work them on VHF when I was at Leigh Creek FS. (it was our airspace, there is a tower at Woomera but it is only manned if the RAAF have an exercise on there. (About as often as total eclipses.) Airspace belongs to Adelaide now, since Leigh Creek FS closed down.) MAC & a 5 digit number were the callsigns. I remember they had a pavement dispensation to land at Woomera before they beefed up the pavement a bit. Long strip anyway. The govt stashed it's ex-RAAF Mirage III's there in mothballs before they sold them to Pakistan. (Same climate as Davis-Monthan) It'd be interesting to see what sells for how much. Mining companies will snap up the power plant and much of the buildings I'd say. Doubtful about the chiller plant, though it would be capable of doing an entire small town if you wanted to. (Gove in the NT is like that - central airconditioning for the whole town - piped through to your house for a monthly fee - works well.) (Western Mining Corporation has a VERY big Uranium mine about 90 miles north at a place called Roxby Downs (originally Olympic Dam). Big town now. The rest may be hard to unload, partly because of WHERE it is. The market for gigantic Radomes and in outback Australia would seem to be rather small, but you never know. The houses should go pretty well, the ones from Leigh Creek got sold and trucked down south. Cost a bit, but since the houses went for around $15-20k each, add about $3-5k for the move and you saved about $20k on the price of a new one on your site. These will probably go for much the same price I imagine. Cheers Geoff Roberts Computer Systems Manager Saint Mark's College Port Pirie, South Australia. Email: geoffrob(a)stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au netcafe(a)pirie.mtx.net.au ICQ #: 1970476