WNSC Tower Site in Edgemore SC ?

[k4gps]

Does anyone know what other agencies, if any, are on the ETV Tower site in the Rock Hill/Edgemore SC right along I-77 ? I have tracked down a low band frequency for Emergency Management on 45.48 and a DNR frequency of 159.540 but there seems to be much more than just that and the TV transmitter on that tower.

I live just up the road and I am tracking down everything that is on the 2 nearby towers.

 

[bpalmer]

Tower site

Gee, I just happen to work for ETV. I do not know much about that tower but you should also find your local ETV radio/NPR antenna/transmitter and a NOAA weather radio on that tower.

I know on other towers there are federal goverment antennas possibly another state agency. There is a slight possiblty with digital converstion there could be for a short time two TV antennas, though not likely. ETV has some HAM repeater on some of its tower sites. At the WJWJ-TV tower in Whitehall in Colleton County there are three Ham repeaters and several federal agencies that I am aware of.

You may have noticed that at many schools there are some short towers with a dish type antenna. THis is a service that ETV provides for many schools in transmitting education material and sometimes in school TV stations. That antenna might also be there, but where I live it is on a seperate tower

If no one else posts better info you might call ETV engineering in Columbia and ask. I only have the main number 843-737-3200. You may bounce around a bit, but someone should know. You might also ask for the engineer at the WNSC station and Jim may know, but do not be surprised if he doesn't.

Hap, our Engineering VP is a Ham.

Hope this helps some.

Billy
KE4CEV

 

[Caesar]

don't they have a ham antenna on it too? i know the etv tower in columbia does...

 

[jeffmulter]

>> don't they have a ham antenna on it too?

Not according to the FCC.

Based on the ULS database, Emergency Management, DNR and State of S.C. microwave are the only FCC licensees on the tower, along with SC ETV.

The FCC ULS will not reflect licenses for federal agencies, although we know NOAA has their 162.425 transmitter on the tower. Dedicated wireline is now the primary link to NOAA sites, but they might also have a 410-413 secondary radio link at the site.

The correct DNR frequencies for the site are:

- 151.370 (100.0) ... DNR channel 14 repeater
- 159.435 (100.0) ... DNR channel 14 repeater input
- 151.250 ( csq ) ... DNR simplex tac

Emergency Management has a repeater on 45.480 (203.5) at the site (45.08 input).

If you expand the database search out to 1 mile from the WNSC site, the only additions are a couple of SMRs, including Nextel.

 

[k4gps]

>> don't they have a ham antenna on it too?

Not according to the FCC.

SNIP>>

Amateur Radio Operators do not need to register individual stations with the FCC. We do have frequency coordinators that have a thank less job trying to keep some sanity on frequency pairs but it is not a LEGAL requirement. The only time the FCC would get involved is if there is a frequency dispute and one station is coordinated while the other is not. If the council can not work the problem out and there is harmful interference they will then forward the complaint to the FCC for further action.

There are several web pages that list amateur repeaters but most of them do not provide coordinates. All coordinated repeaters are also listed in a yearly publication by the ARRL called the "Repeater Directory" which costs about $10 for a small paperback edition. The local coordinating agency is www.sera.org but listings are only available to members.

I have several repeaters I kept (and several I gave away!) when I moved up here from Florida. If I ever find some good and free locations for them I'll try to get them back on the air. It would be cool to get at least one back up and put a VoIP link between it and one I left back home on the air with some friends. I have a possible site in Heath Springs and another one in Fort Mill even though the Fort Mill one is not very high up. I am keeping my eyes open in Union Co and possibly Kings Mtn.

>>>- 151.370 (100.0) ... DNR channel 14 repeater

I heard some traffic there today, quite strong even in Charlotte but not very much traffic.

>>Emergency Management has a repeater on 45.480 (203.5) at the site (45.08 input).

Not a squeak from that, not surprising

>> If you expand the database search out to 1 mile from the WNSC site, the only additions are a couple of SMRs, including Nextel.

That site is just SW of the TV tower along I-77 on a 15 acre ranch. Global Signal is the tower owner and I need to head by there in the near future and check it out. That may be a good location for us to place another cell site and I'll need to see if it can handle it.

 

[qball]

GPS, Jeff is correct on the repeaters located on the ETV tower. DNR 151.370, EMD 45.48, and Weather transmitter at 1kw on 162.425 are located at that site. You won't hear EMD but on Monday mornings when they do their statewide radio checks on 45.48...then Pal 800...then satellite phone. DNR doesn't talk a whole lot. They generally only have a couple of officers on duty within a few county area at any given time.

Most of the federal folks are on other sites around the county or in Charlotte. The site on the ranch is loaded....at least in terms of adding another cell site. Nextel, Cingular, and USA Mobility already reside on the tower along with a couple of abondoned antennas that had the cable cut way up on the tower. The tower is around a rohn 55g, maybe a little larger.

Hope this helps.

 

[k4gps]

SNIP>> The site on the ranch is loaded....at least in terms of adding another cell site. Nextel, Cingular, and USA Mobility already reside on the tower along with a couple of abondoned antennas that had the cable cut way up on the tower. The tower is around a rohn 55g, maybe a little larger.

Hope this helps.

Yes it does, it means it would be lower on the list, Rohn 55 is kids stuff but we have been known to rebuild a site if it REALLY was worth it. I do not know if that would be an area to justify it. I know further North by the other tower on Firetower and a bit further SE it's so bad we would probably build new but that takes time.

Shame to hear about the cut cables, I know there was at one time a UHF paging transmitter on the ranch site. I'll need to check that one antenna out and see if it is still intact.

 

[jeffmulter]

>> Amateur Radio Operators do not need to register individual stations with the FCC.

I do occasional callsign and vanity lookups in the FCC ULS, and had never given it a thought about the stations - themselves - not being in the database. Thanks.

>> All coordinated repeaters are also listed in a yearly publication by the ARRL called the "Repeater Directory" which costs about $10 for a small paperback edition.

I was going to write that I get a new book - for reference purposes - about every 2 years, but I'm overdue. My "current" copy is 2003-2004, so I guess that will be on the list for acquiring at the Charlotte Hamfest in March.

>> The local coordinating agency is www.sera.org but listings are only available to members.

I was thinking the quarterly publication includes (or used to include) a list of the member repeaters, listed by state. I have kept an old copy of the magazine in the hobby room, but can't find it at the moment (it's probably under the abyss of Christmas presents, other projects, and two of our dogs who use the room for sleeping during the day).

>> Rohn 55 is kids stuff but we have been known to rebuild a site if it REALLY was worth it. I do not know if that would be an area to justify it.

If you do, QBall says he's just the "kid" to take that tower off your hands, and it would look good in the backyard at his home.

 

[k4gps]

In the industrial terms of "kids". Yes 55g is nice tower but it is somewhat on the small side in the cellular industry. It would look good in my back yard also but to tell you the truth after so many years climbing and guy wires (then again here in the Carolinas 55G in small setups would not need guy's) I am over that and am looking forward to a nice crank up tilt over! I may set up 20ft of 45G freestanding for some test and scanner antennas but my days of harnesses, gin poles and ground help are over. I already told my wife when we buy $10K will be set aside for a nice Tri-Ex 80ft HD motorized tower.

I just gave away about 100ft of 25G and 70ft of 45G, it was just not cost effective for me to drag it all up here in the move.

The SERA journal does have listings but most people do not get a copy of it unless they are a member or pick one up at a hamfest in the area. I like the SERA listings, it seems to be a bit more accurate than the Repeater Directory. I visited the Discovery Place Ham Club and someone there was nice enough to give me a older copy when I first moved here. The directory sometimes has older listings that get deleted by SERA but may take several years to delete from the ARRL book. I bought one at the Rock Hill Hamfest just to have it as a keepsake. That is the last directory that will have my FL repeater listings since I changed it to a club callsign when I donated it. I coordinated a repeater back when I was 12 years old in NJ. I found it listed in 98' or so when I was at a HRO store in VA just looking.

Bottom line is that very few if any listings are accurate when it comes to ham repeaters. I have taken the directory, SERA Journal and web listings and made up a spread sheet. When work or play takes me to the towns that a repeater is listed in I'll try keying it up with all 38 CTCSS tones. If I get nothing I delete it from the spread sheet. There are a LOT of backyard repeaters out there that may not even be keyed up from one town over and there are a LOT of paper repeaters also.

If anyone has similar spreadsheets send them along, I can merge them together and post them here or on my web server for everyone to use. Work takes me from the Asheville Airport all the way to Kershaw, sometimes from China Grove to Rockingham also so my list is bound to get large eventually.

Rich

 

[bpalmer]

Flash news for those interested in amateur repeaters on ETV Towers. Word is out that ETV will let amateur raise the height of repeaters on six towers above 1000 feet as part of emergency communications.. The only site I am aware of at this time is Whitehall, in Colleton County, the WJWJ-TV site.

I suspect, Columbia, Rock Hill, Greenville area and Horry County. But with eleven TV towers it could be anywhere.

 

[Grog]

You guys reminded me that I need to renew my sera membership, it's been two years already