Pics of Repeater Shacks/Sites?

[KJ6HCB]

Hey everyone - I have my eye set on a few repeater sites to purchase in the area, some unimproved and some already with existing (mostly old/outdated) shacks on them. Looking to revamp the area with a new prefab enclosure on a concrete pad, fenced area. The site would have electricity with a battery bank backup topped off by solar. Inside would be rackmount equipment for the electronics - 2 repeaters planned to start with.

The site will more than likely be located on the hihgest ridgeline in the county so a tall tower will not be required - probably a 30-40' at tallest, guyed.

This is really about all I have planned out - heres where RR members come in! I want to see pics of shacks, tower sites, ideas, things you wish you would have done, things that worked out great, etc etc.

Thanks!

 

[KJ6HCB]

200 views and not a reply! Cmon guys, we aren't talking rocket science or huge multi-agency sites here, like this one I was at today! Any ideas?

 

[hfxChris]

It may not be rocket science, but if nobody has those pictures then they're not going to post...

However, I love tower site photos, so here are a couple I can post from my local area. No interior shots in the shelters, I don't have access. Click on the thumbnails for the larger versions.

First is a local tower site hosting our provincial trunked radio system, fire paging, wireless broadband internet and cellular.
Location: Chaswood, Nova Scotia







Next one hosts one of the provincial VHF fire repeaters, some other local business repeaters, cellular and a whole bunch of microwave relay dishes.
Location: Willow Hill / Ardoise, Nova Scotia



This site is cool because the square tower on the left is a former fire watch tower


Old concrete shelter at its' base, no longer in use




New tower replacing the old fire tower, a few hundred feet away - the fence isn't even up yet!

 

[ShawnInPaso]

Well I can post a couple of pics. As fate has it, I'm also in SLO county. It would be interesting to know what part of the county you are referring to as the actual high point in SLO county is BLM land and off limits for any improvements (Caliente Peak).
.
Anyway, I have a couple of remote bases, one is on a small peaklet above the Cambria area and the other is in the southwest corner of SLO county.


Above Cambria

S/E SLO County

Here's a little video describing my system, perhaps it'll create some ideas for you:
WB6JWB REMOTE BASE SYSTEM - YouTube

Let me know if I can help with anything, be happy to share what I've learned over the course of time.

 

[MtnBiker2005]

View American Tower sites photos on this page.
http://www.americantower.com/sitelocator/default.aspx

Site Name: Tassajera Peak CA 2 Atascadero, California
http://www.americantower.com/SiteLocator/Photos.aspx?lngSiteId=28851&country=united states

Site Name: Mt. Picacho Arroyo Grande, California
http://www.americantower.com/SiteLocator/Photos.aspx?lngSiteId=25952&country=united states

Site Name: OTAY MOUNTAIN T1 San Diego, California
http://www.americantower.com/SiteLocator/Photos.aspx?lngSiteId=7633&country=united states
_______________________________

[Local site in San Diego County]

 

[kf4lhp]

When you talk about a prefab shelter, are you talking about one of the precast concrete shelters? If so, I'd strongly advise you to consider some kind of option to be able to ventilate the building in case of AC failure. These things heat up in a hurry.

Don't skimp on grounding. Ground EVERYTHING back to a common point, install a ground halo inside the shelter to ground the equipment and racks to, ground the door frames... if it's metal, ground it. Use a heavy gauge cable (at least #6) and bond EVERYTHING back to a copper bus bar.

And, everyone seems to try to do this, but it doesn't work - use no stranded shield coax for antenna runs for repeaters (things like RG-8, LMR-400), just use hardline.

Document everything. Makes troubleshooting later a lot easier. Digital photos are free, take a lot.

Label everything. Helps later avoid those "what did this ever go to" questions when you find some old cable wire-tied down. On that topic, don't use wire ties, use velcro.

My boss, and my boss from a job past will both argue that neatness counts. And it does.

 

[nd5y]

This is "Welcome Mountain" in Mineral Wells, TX.
Bing Maps - driving directions, routes, and traffic
The tower with the sign under it is a Pinnacle Towers cell site.
The red & white guyed tower was taken down about 5 years ago.
The water tank is the city's site.

If you move north (drag the picture to the left) a little ways you see the double guyed tower that belongs to the cable TV company.

 

[gewecke]

200 views and not a reply! Cmon guys, we aren't talking rocket science or huge multi-agency sites here, like this one I was at today! Any ideas?

This looks like my back yard! :lol:

Sweet!

73,
n9zas

 

[wuzafuzz]

Aerial Photos of My Site

I recently installed my own 440 repeater at the site pictured below. It became a target for an aerial photography practice session. My antenna is the one mounted low on the single tower (second photo), below the 10k watt FM broadcast antenna and directional link antenna.

I forgot to snap a photo of the machine mounted in the rack. Next time I visit the site I'll grap a few pics.

 

[KX5MOT]

Nothing special about this tower, but this is where my Quantar repeater will be going.

 

[n5ims]

Here's a link that may be of interest - http://www.qsl.net/w5uk/tower.htm - with pictures of both a 2 meter and a 440 ham repeater site. While it's not exactly a prefab concrete site at the base of a tower (it's a housing on the 500' level of the tower), it's a great way to have your repeater's antenna at 500 feet up on a tower and only use about ten feet of coax to feed it. They not only have very low loss due to the short coax run, but redundant power sources, complete with generator backup, an elevator to get to the antenna mounts, air conditioned and fully waterproof cabinets, and a great view! This site even made it through Huricane Katrina (the tower's just across the river from New Orleans) without damage or power loss.

 

[kb2crk]

KI4CCZ Repeater Pictures ----- 444.7+ PL118.8 ----- Elberton, GA

Here are some pictures of a repeater set up on an old ATT longlines tower in Elberton GA.

 

[KD6RRR]

When you go to order up your shack, if you get a new one, order the prefab OUTHOUSE enclosure instead of the communication vault. They are the exact same product except for the part number stamped on them and the couple extra zeros added to the cost on your bill!

Had a ham group in Oregon buy 3 of the remote bathroom models for almost half the cost of 1 comm vault. Ouch.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums

 

[Rt169Radio]

Cool pictures!

 

[SCPD]

I'll play...

Here's some I took on a recent walk at Kenneth Hahn Recreation Area in Los Angeles. Not sure what's on all this; haven't looked it up. My guess is, though, is a lot. As you can see by the last pic, the site affords a wide view.

Sorry for the Android photos...

The site is here if anyone is interested in figuring out what's here:
Google Maps