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Antenna identification

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yv3s

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Help all,

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what kind of antenna this is or what it is used for. Any ideas?

Thank you in advance!
 

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gewecke

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Judging from the photo, they look to be horizontal yagis, maybe uhf or 900 mhz. but the photo needs to be taken from below them to tell for sure.

73,
n9zas
 

F-CYYZ2

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It's hard to say what they are, or if they are even antennas, but there is a box on the wall behind the antennas so that might contain some type of radio equipment. Maybe the guys shooting a signal across the road and sharing his WiFi ?
 

yv3s

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Thank you all for the replies. I've attached two more pictures if that helps clarify. Do they still look like yagis?

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yv3s

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usygu4es.jpg
8yry2epe.jpg


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N8IAA

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Definitely yagi antennas. Both antennas appear to be going to the box on the side of the house. Do you know what the box is for? Where is your location? Maybe an answer to your question can be accurately given.
Larry
 

yv3s

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Question solved. The leasing office said they were installed by the water company to be used as meter readers. Could a ham radio user use them too?

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F-CYYZ2

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OK if that was installed by the water company, and in most cities the water company is the city... it's probably motoring and even controlling something more then a homes water meter.

RTU - Remote Terminal Unit

The city I live in has been installing stuff like this to monitor the storm sewers for water levels, and rates of flow. They can even have temperature, dangerous gasses sensors, possibly even a camera down there. It's all possible with these radio linked RTU's
 

F-CYYZ2

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Question solved. The leasing office said they were installed by the water company to be used as meter readers. Could a ham radio user use them too?

No, it's not a HAM antenna. Don't touch it... it's part of public safety, and anyone caught tampering with it will find them self in a serious state.
 

yv3s

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Thank you for replying. I was curious because there are high levels of emf that occur in intervals in my apartment. Sometimes the level will be 20u and then suddenly spike to around 200u for a short time, which makes me feel ill. I was hoping it could've come from those antennas.

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F-CYYZ2

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Are you living in that house in the room right behind those antennas? If you are well that vinyl siding, fiberglass insulation, and drywall that make up the wall will not block any of the 400MHz signal that's spilling over from those antennas when they transmit. Also there are 2 of them pointing in different directions, meaning it's also acting as a relay point or 'hop through' to another system. So you now have not one but 2 of them transmitting, plus the other systems, that it's antennas are pointed at, will likely have the same directional antennas beaming their signal directly at your location. So you're getting hit from multiple transmitters.

20 u tesla is natural background noise... but 200 u's is something man made.. and the fact you see it on and off really suggests it is coming from the RTU, because this is just how they operate, sending data in bursts every so often... they do not transmit all of the time.
 

yv3s

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Thanks again for replying. I actually live across and a little to the left of those antennas. But I thought i read that utility meter antennas aren't supposed to be harmful.

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yv3s

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What does it mean that they act like a relay to another system? The emf spikes happen only in the evening and at night.

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F-CYYZ2

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What does it mean that they act like a relay to another system? The emf spikes happen only in the evening and at night.

A relay is like a repeater... it's just part of an interconnecting chain of network points.
 

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yv3s

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Oh. I'm not sure what is going on with the high emf ratings. I did a rf tracker and found a bunch of rf centered on my apartment. Apparently its just mine, I checked around and it's just my apartment. I've attached pictures, somehow it's connected to cell tower 435. I can't find any information on that tower. The cell id says it's in Denmark.
7avyqe9u.jpg
ema2e8u5.jpg


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kb4mdz

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Are there other antennas around the complex? Note where they are, and where they point to. Plot your points & directions on a map.
 

WB4CS

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Thanks again for replying. I actually live across and a little to the left of those antennas. But I thought i read that utility meter antennas aren't supposed to be harmful.

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Unless those antennas are pushing 300+ Watts of power (on UHF), they are perfectly safe. Although, I wouldn't touch them while they are transmitting, that could get you a nasty RF burn.
 
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