Is this a TV Broadcast antenna?

[IC-R20]

This weird small tower site popped up in town a couple years ago that never really made any sense to me, recently I've taken to flying a drone up into it to see exactly what was there and managed to snag a model number on the side of one of the antennas. 2 big shelters, ac units, and generators for only 4 little antennas. 3 of them being these LPDAs which each have a GPS antenna on the mast next to their mount and then a small vertical antenna a little down the tower from them. The location and headings of the antenna also make no sense.





I couldn't find anything via GEOSEARCH in the ULS or on the antenna/tower locator site, there's also no numbers or contact info anywhere around the site.

Site Coordinates: 35°14'20.8"N 114°01'15.6"W

 

[prcguy]

I have one of those, its an older UHF TV receive antenna typically used at cable TV headends.

 

[merlin]

Looks like a TV remote broadcast site and/or a cable headend.
I would think around the perimiter would be a sign stating who owns/operates the site.

 

[IC-R20]

I have one of those, its an older UHF TV receive antenna typically used at cable TV headends.

Ok now that makes sense. It popped up around the same time a Fiber company started setting up in town and they also provide TV service. I just looked outside the front again and it does have the equipment box to connect to their fiber network. The 1 antenna pointed away from the other 2 lines up just about right to the heading for the KMOH-TV transmitter site and then of course the other 2 pointed toward the main mountain site where the rest of the transmitters are.

 

[buddrousa]

Nice drone pictures which drone are you using I have a DJI Mini 4 Pro.

 

[fire_master_21]

That is one of the head ends for Allo. They are picking up the OTA tv off the Hualapai Mountains with upper and lower antenna. The middle antenna is indeed shooting towards Oatman for KMOH. No RF originates from that site so no need for a license, they are simply picking it up and shoving it into their system to charge customers for it. County residents already pay taxes to upkeep the translators but being charged again by Allo to have it into their homes by fiber.

 

[prcguy]

That is one of the head ends for Allo. They are picking up the OTA tv off the Hualapai Mountains with upper and lower antenna. The middle antenna is indeed shooting towards Oatman for KMOH. No RF originates from that site so no need for a license, they are simply picking it up and shoving it into their system to charge customers for it. County residents already pay taxes to upkeep the translators but being charged again by Allo to have it into their homes by fiber.

The cable company has invested $$ to be able to include the local channels into their system so they have a right to charge something for delivering it to your house. The big question is do they charge a fair price? Many years ago the FCC demanded DirecTV include the major local channels into their system for about 230 areas across the US. That cost DirecTV somewhere in the Billions of $$ to comply with more satellites and ground stations plus a mega fiber ring around the US. Then people complained they had to pay a little for local channels.

Back to the antenna, mine has been hanging from the rafters in my attic from an experiment when TV first went digital in 2009 and I had forgotten about it. I need to get up there and fetch it.

 

[kc2asb]

The cable company has invested $$ to be able to include the local channels into their system so they have a right to charge something for delivering it to your house. The big question is do they charge a fair price? Many years ago the FCC demanded DirecTV include the major local channels into their system for about 230 areas across the US. That cost DirecTV somewhere in the Billions of $$ to comply with more satellites and ground stations plus a mega fiber ring around the US. Then people complained they had to pay a little for local channels.

Cue the world's smallest violin playing for the cable companies. What starts out as "paying a little" creeps up into a larger and larger monthly bill, especially as cable co's charge existing subscribers more to compensate for their dwindling subscriber base.

 

[IC-R20]

Cue the world's smallest violin playing for the cable companies. What starts out as "paying a little" creeps up into a larger and larger monthly bill, especially as cable co's charge existing subscribers more to compensate for their dwindling subscriber base.

A certain nipple rubbing South Park episode comes to mind about that.

That is one of the head ends for Allo. They are picking up the OTA tv off the Hualapai Mountains with upper and lower antenna. The middle antenna is indeed shooting towards Oatman for KMOH. No RF originates from that site so no need for a license, they are simply picking it up and shoving it into their system to charge customers for it. County residents already pay taxes to upkeep the translators but being charged again by Allo to have it into their homes by fiber.

There’s others? Do you know where at? Would be nice if I could manage to bribe them into letting me stash my PCR-1500 in one with a wide band whip on the tower. It‘s in a decent spot to get all that low power business simplex I’m always listening to.

 

[redbeard]

Just wanted to point out those aren't GPS antennas up there, it's one tower top amplifier per antenna. So RX only which lines up with what everyone is saying. My guess was going to be water/sewer SCADA until I saw the RX preamps.

 

[ladn]

The big question is do they charge a fair price?

"A fair price" is relative to the perceived value of the product received. I dropped DISH about six months ago because of poor service and signal quality and the high price compared to what I got.

I intensely resent the current pricing models where the cable / satellite companies bundle channels together. I have no interest in the shopping, sports, religious, foreign language or most of the niche channels. Consumers shouldn't have to subsidize channels they don't watch. I stream the premium channels with my Amazon Fire Stick. The only channels I'm really interested in are my local channels and CNN but not so interested that I'm willing to pay nearly $150 for the privilege of watching them.

 

[IC-R20]

Just wanted to point out those aren't GPS antennas up there, it's one tower top amplifier per antenna. So RX only which lines up with what everyone is saying. My guess was going to be water/sewer SCADA until I saw the RX preamps.

Thread already solved. No need for anything.

 

[redbeard]

Thread already solved. No need for anything.

Oh did someone else already identify the tower top preamps?

 

[nokones]

I believe Towers are supposed to have a sign with a FCC or FAA Tower Registration Number posted on the Tower, or is that just for Towers near an airport facility? Don't remember what are the requirements these days.

 

[mmckenna]

I believe Towers are supposed to have a sign with a FCC or FAA Tower Registration Number posted on the Tower, or is that just for Towers near an airport facility? Don't remember what are the requirements these days.

Only towers over 200 feet tall, or if they may interfere with flights require registration.

Those little towers are not likely to be either.

 

[paulears]

Forgive me, but did the USA not pioneer cable? Why are you all so angry about this? We live in a pay to view age now and have huge choice. Youngsters accept it as a standard. Want something? Pay for it monthly? This building and ewuipment cost a lot, so clearly their is anticipated demand? Don’t like it? Don’t sign up! Why is seen in such a bad light? You charge people to use ambulances and have babies? This is OK and acceptable, but you complain about cable prices? The UK never had cable as a ‘thing’, bit we now complain because we have pay for BBC, even if we do not watch their channels?

 

[ladn]

Why is seen in such a bad light?

I can't speak for the rest of my Yankee countrymen, but my disdain for cable (and satellite tv) companies comes from the entitlement and greed they display.

I don't mind for paying for content, but I draw the line at paying for content that I don't want. Our cable and satellite providers like to "bundle" channel packages. Many of these bundles include (for instance) ESPN channels. I have no interest in sports, so I never watch ESPN, even though I'm paying for it. By bundling, the providers spread the cost of a service across the entire client base rather than just charge those who want a particular service which would increase the cost substantially.

The cable and satellite companies I've dealt with raise rates without justification. The also have abysmal customer service--usually with offshore call takers who just read from a trouble tree. I dropped my Dish Network subscription earlier this year partly because I was tired of paying for a lot of channels I never watch (ESPN, for example), but also because of poor service.

I was having problems with the signal frequently freezing. I rebooted boxes, checked connections, ran onboard diagnostics. My conclusion was this was caused by a problem with the LNBs, but it was intermittent so I couldn't run the diagnostics while the on screen picture was frozen. I called the Dish service desk and spoke with an offshore representative reading a script, but with no technical knowledge.

After he ran his diagnostics which showed everything normal, I explained my suspicion that the problem was probably at the LNBs and a technician needs to make a house call. He was unconvinced so I dropped the service.

Originally, I got premium services (HBO, Netflix) via the Dish box, but changed over to a FireTV stick several years ago. The picture quality is far better. The only thing I was really watching on Dish was my local channels (my home isn't line of sight to the tv transmitters' location, so OTA tv isn't an option). The minimum channel package I could get from Dish that included my local channels was about $100 a month.

Part of my anger is directed at the content providers. The local tv channels are available free OTA, but they charge cable companies "carriage fees" to rebroadcast their signals. They also reap the benefits of having cable subscribers viewing habits counted in viewership surveys.

It costs broadcasters far less to maintain a streaming app than to maintain mountaintop transmitter facilities so why not stream all content (which many AM/FM broadcast stations already do) and benefit from the increased viewership?

 

[kc2asb]

(snip)
Part of my anger is directed at the content providers. The local tv channels are available free OTA, but they charge cable companies "carriage fees" to rebroadcast their signals. They also reap the benefits of having cable subscribers viewing habits counted in viewership surveys.

(snip)

I agree with everything you wrote above. All I can add here is that OTA reception is problematic at best for many due to the switch to digital broadcasting. The signal is either there, or it's not. Analog was much more forgiving. Sure, digital allowed for more channels to be added and that is a plus. But, having to pay to receive otherwise free OTA channels is not.

 

[cavmedic]

Forgive me, but did the USA not pioneer cable?

Yes, There are two stories behind that. When I worked for Comcast, they said it was them who created the first cable plant in Philly and formed Comcast. When I worked for Service Electric Cablevision , they said they invented cable tv in Mahanoy City PA. I believe SECV was the first and started in 1948 and documented as such. In case you were wondering...

 

[gmclam]

I agree with everything you wrote above. All I can add here is that OTA reception is problematic at best for many due to the switch to digital broadcasting. The signal is either there, or it's not. Analog was much more forgiving. Sure, digital allowed for more channels to be added and that is a plus. But, having to pay to receive otherwise free OTA channels is not.

I disagree with "The signal is either there, or it's not". I've been watching OTA ATSC 1.0 since they began broadcasting in it (long before the June 9, 2009 death of NTSC). You can have pixelation or other conditions where you are not (yet) at the "cliff". If you are going to watch OTA, you must be serious about it. Unless near the transmitter, no "rabbit ears" or phony antennas. Put up a real antenna outside, suited for the job, and point it down the throat of what you want to receive.

Yeah I know some people are in apartments, or bound by HOA rules, or have other limitations. But don't blame that on OTA. I guess "Problematic" is in the situation of the beholder.