Comm Tower Photos

[DPD1]

The cell site post made me remember some old photos, so I dug them up. These are two different tower locations in SoCal. There's actually different sites within the locations.

http://www.dpdproductions.com/temp/towers1/

http://www.dpdproductions.com/temp/towers2/


Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist

 

[jb872033]

now those are what you call towers..get high dude!!! thanks for the pics...

JB

 

[Twister_2]

I thought we had alot here on blue mountain just north of Harrisburg, Pa.

 

[KC0QNB]

I call your towers and raise you a really big antenna, I really like antenna installation site images.
hope you like this one a lot of history on the roots of our hobby.
http://www.navycthistory.com/images2/CIMG0949-CIMG0950big.jpg

 

[Shortwavewave]

Sweet! Makes nice desktops, if you dont mind?

 

[DPD1]

Wow... Elephant cage. Is that a USN facility, or a SW station?

Years ago there use to be a lot more of the cold war antenna farms still around. People would rediscover them every once in a while, abandoned. I think they've probably torn down most of them though.

Never mind, I just noticed the link address. Looks like they were in the middle of tearing it down maybe.

Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist

 

[zz0468]

The cell site post made me remember some old photos, so I dug them up. These are two different tower locations in SoCal. There's actually different sites within the locations.

Let's see, I recognize Mt. Wilson in the first set of pictures. It's lovely there this time of year. The second set looks like Frost Peak, aka Blueridge.

 

[KC0QNB]

Wow... Elephant cage. Is that a USN facility, or a SW station?

Years ago there use to be a lot more of the cold war antenna farms still around. People would rediscover them every once in a while, abandoned. I think they've probably torn down most of them though.

Never mind, I just noticed the link address. Looks like they were in the middle of tearing it down maybe.

Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist

As you figured it is a USN station, an end of an era you might say, I have never seen one of these up close, but it would be an amazing sight.

 

[eorange]

What in the heck is the black curly-Q?

http://www.dpdproductions.com/temp/towers1/pages/P0003651.html

 

[zz0468]

What in the heck is the black curly-Q?

http://www.dpdproductions.com/temp/towers1/pages/P0003651.html

Circularly polarized FM broadcast antenna.

 

[chrismol1]

what do most of those antenna do?
I suppose if I put a bag of popcorn and suspend it on a wire between all the microwaves dished that I could get some popcorn

 

[DPD1]

what do most of those antenna do?

Everything from TV, to broadcast radio, to air traffic control, to city services. The largest towers are usually TV, but you will also have some towers where they lease out space to separate customers on the same tower. Then you can also have the smaller operators like that little shack where they lease space to companies. Those would typically be your small guys like taxi, construction, ham radio or whatever. They typically don't post what belongs to who, so unless you can actually get inside, it's hard to know.

Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist

 

[Gbcue]

What in the heck is the black curly-Q?

http://www.dpdproductions.com/temp/towers1/pages/P0003651.html

That's the strangest antenna I've ever seen.

 

[zz0468]

I suppose if I put a bag of popcorn and suspend it on a wire between all the microwaves dished that I could get some popcorn

Nope. Point to point microwave radios typically run from 100 milliwatts to maybe 5 watts. Not nearly enough to to get popcorn going.

 

[n2mdk]

That's the strangest antenna I've ever seen.

I'm not 100% sure but if you look at some of the other pictures it's actually 4 seperate antennas. It might be used as an array. You can see it more clearly in this picture
http://www.dpdproductions.com/temp/towers1/pages/P0003646.html if you look to the left and below in that photo you can see more of them.

 

[eorange]

Good catch! (Still slightly weird looking, but at least it's not a big RF fusilli.)

 

[KC0QNB]

Ok here is my question, most of these seem to be the same style of antenna, I would guess a vhf radome type, beings they are that close to each other, don't they interfere with each other?
http://www.dpdproductions.com/temp/towers1/pages/P0003634.html
I really like the circularly polarized fm broadcast antenna, I have seen something similar but not up close.

 

[DPD1]

Ok here is my question, most of these seem to be the same style of antenna, I would guess a vhf radome type, beings they are that close to each other, don't they interfere with each other?

Believe it or not, modern commercial equipment can handle that if it's done right. But there can still be noise and receiver desense issues, which then has to be taken care of using filters or other tactics.

That particular installation is pretty well maintained and seems to be using similar equipment. If I had to guess, I'd say it was probably a local government system, maybe county.

Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist

 

[chrismol1]

dang really wanted some popcorn
I've seen the X shapped antennas are all over for FM broadcast
heres numerous radio towers in the albany captial region in Upstate NY
They are called ERI 3 Bay in Radomes is what the X's are called, the picture on the left

http://www.necrat.com/alb-pix.html

 

[zz0468]

Ok here is my question, most of these seem to be the same style of antenna, I would guess a vhf radome type, beings they are that close to each other, don't they interfere with each other?

If these systems are engineered correctly, all the receivers on these antennas are completely oblivious to the fact that they're sitting next to a bunch of transmitters.