OK, radio buffs,...

[SemiSalt]

Two antennas (?) on the roof of a van. What's going on?

Radio Van.jpg

Additional info: the van's motor was idling, and occasionally racing.

[Ajax]

Hahn radio, perhaps. It's called a "field day" when they take their rigs out on the road and make as many contacts as possible.

[Jamie]

[kimbottles]

Field Day is the last weekend in June.

Maybe this is an undercover NSA vehicle?

[kdh]

If this van's rockin' don't come knockin'.

[BeauV]

It’s a giant Radio Direction Finder, you drive the thing in circles until you find the source of the bad guy’s transmission.

Or, it’s a feeble attempt by the FBI to hide one of their listening posts as A beat up old van.

[kimbottles]

Actually if you used the proper phasing of the two antennas it would make for an effective direction finder.

The odd thing is the thickness of the antennas, usually you would see whips. Maybe they are helical wound for lower frequency coverage?

And the van does not appear to sport a ham radio license plate lending credence to Beau’s undercover comment.

[Charlie]

Perhaps it’s a Tesla protype schooner-rigged hybrid gas/wind vehicle?

[SemiSalt]

More info: the location is not quite line-of-sight from NYC. The van is pointed almost directly at JFK airport about 30 miles away.

I've seen vans before with rigs to lift antennas 20 or more feet high. I think those were fitted out as RVs, and I figured those were TV antennas to facilitate getting broadcast TV from RV parks.

The van was just out of sight on the left of this pic of the boat ramp just after a post-Michael high tide.

High Tide at Ramp s.jpg

At any given time, about half of the cars parked here are occupied by men of retirement age just getting out of the house for a nap, or maybe to listen to the radio. (Limbaugh? Hannity? God help us!)

[Tim Ford]

Perhaps it’s a Tesla protype schooner-rigged hybrid gas/wind vehicle?

I think we have a winner, here. Nicely played, Charlie.