W4UVV
Member
Answer
139.6500 mhz. is one of several DOD high band frequencies used for environmental control of physical facility assets. In central Va. and Tidewater Ft. Lee, Ft. Eustis, Ft. Monroe and Langley AFB use 139.6500 mhz. In NOVA Andrews AFB uses this frequency and I suspect so does Ft. Belvoir. Each building on post/base that has heating and/or air conditioning or hot water heaters. etc. will have a gallon paint can size receiver located in a secure location to keep workers from disabling it so they can't change the building themostat. I know as I planned to disable it for my building after the Post Engineer guy finished his installation. I got a close look at the crappy paint can size receiver during his installation and had a plan in mind. My plan didn't work because the Post Engineer guy locked the closet door and only Post Engineers had a key to the lock. But we had other work around options we didn't tell Post Engineers about. These "deaf" controller type receivers always are located internally in the structure.
If driving on Ft. Lee or other aforementioned facilities you will see vhf high band ground plane antennas mounted on the selected buildings/structures. The ground plane antenna usually is mounted at ground or roof level with a noticeable 5/8 vertical element. As a worker in a building you no longer can individually change a heating or air conditioning setting like in the good old days. Post Engineers decide when warm and cold weather are the norm and they turn the air conditioning on typically on a particular date predetermined months earlier and entered in the computer controlled system and you get air conditioning on that date regardless of whether or not on that date it still is cold outside and conversely the heat is turned on a specificed date regardless of whether or not is still is hot outside. It makes for some fun work days if you are in a building where you cannot open a window.I believe all post/base housing heating/air conditioning and hot water now is controlled by this system. I would not want to be working in customer service at base/post housing and deal with probably daily complaints. Post/base Engineers can override a specified building/structure settings and change whatever so it is a good idea to have a post/base engineer friend with access to the environmental control system.
The transmissions goes 24/7 with occasional silent periods of a few seconds while it cycles again to begin a subsequent start cycle. System installations began in the early 90s. Living literally across the street from Ft. Lee it causes me RFI intermod grief but I've learned to live with it. The transmissions are one way simplex..like a paging system..no half duplex..no full duplex..no feedback to the main control location. The software is Motorola proprietary using digital/tone controls, etc. and you cannot decode it.
kg4ivt said:
139.6500 mhz. is one of several DOD high band frequencies used for environmental control of physical facility assets. In central Va. and Tidewater Ft. Lee, Ft. Eustis, Ft. Monroe and Langley AFB use 139.6500 mhz. In NOVA Andrews AFB uses this frequency and I suspect so does Ft. Belvoir. Each building on post/base that has heating and/or air conditioning or hot water heaters. etc. will have a gallon paint can size receiver located in a secure location to keep workers from disabling it so they can't change the building themostat. I know as I planned to disable it for my building after the Post Engineer guy finished his installation. I got a close look at the crappy paint can size receiver during his installation and had a plan in mind. My plan didn't work because the Post Engineer guy locked the closet door and only Post Engineers had a key to the lock. But we had other work around options we didn't tell Post Engineers about. These "deaf" controller type receivers always are located internally in the structure.
If driving on Ft. Lee or other aforementioned facilities you will see vhf high band ground plane antennas mounted on the selected buildings/structures. The ground plane antenna usually is mounted at ground or roof level with a noticeable 5/8 vertical element. As a worker in a building you no longer can individually change a heating or air conditioning setting like in the good old days. Post Engineers decide when warm and cold weather are the norm and they turn the air conditioning on typically on a particular date predetermined months earlier and entered in the computer controlled system and you get air conditioning on that date regardless of whether or not on that date it still is cold outside and conversely the heat is turned on a specificed date regardless of whether or not is still is hot outside. It makes for some fun work days if you are in a building where you cannot open a window.I believe all post/base housing heating/air conditioning and hot water now is controlled by this system. I would not want to be working in customer service at base/post housing and deal with probably daily complaints. Post/base Engineers can override a specified building/structure settings and change whatever so it is a good idea to have a post/base engineer friend with access to the environmental control system.
The transmissions goes 24/7 with occasional silent periods of a few seconds while it cycles again to begin a subsequent start cycle. System installations began in the early 90s. Living literally across the street from Ft. Lee it causes me RFI intermod grief but I've learned to live with it. The transmissions are one way simplex..like a paging system..no half duplex..no full duplex..no feedback to the main control location. The software is Motorola proprietary using digital/tone controls, etc. and you cannot decode it.
