William Sachiti acquired a large, dismantled AMES Type 84 radar unit from a disused Royal Air Force (RAF) radar station.
British entrepreneur and roboticist created a thread on Reddit’s /r/electronics subreddit seeking advice on reviving Cold War era technology, after living and working at an RAF station for about three months. Sachiti originally posted anonymously, but was identified by users using the knowledge that only five Type 84s were ever built in Britain, and News from May 2022 about Sachiti buying a radar station.
When asked by a user why he bought the Type 84, Sachiti replied with “Because I convinced myself that it might be fun to use to try to find UFOs?” Although said somewhat in jest, users have approached Sachiti about using the unit to search for UFOs, as well as others looking to scan the Moon and more. The Type 84 is on National Heritage List for Englandand cannot be demolished due to its historical value.
“So it’s sitting there, but since no one has been here for a while, it’s slowly started to degrade. And to me, every time I looked at it, I just thought, ‘Something has to be done.’,” Sachiti said during one interview with Vice.
“As you can see in the thread, you will find people who are so specific and they will tell you exactly how it works. If I put an ad in the paper, I would never get that level of talent. Even a commercial on TV… What I love about Reddit is that you can post in a very specific subreddit where people who are geeks and make stuff like this are experimenting with it. And my inbox is flooded with absolute experts…that’s the beauty of asking the right question to the right audience“, said Sachiti.
