Finding out what services are on a tower

[bamx2]

I know the location of a tower, and I have found it and its registration in the FCC database. What I can't find is a way to reference who has antennas on that tower. I have tried Lat/Long but they don't all have the same ending coordinates is there any other way to do that?

 

[nd5y]

Do a radius search around the lat/lon coordinates.
go to http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/General_Menu_Reports and click on Site / Market / Frequency.
A small radius like .5 mile should find all the FCC licenses on that tower. If there are other towers real close to it then you might not be able to tell which is which.

Some services don't have site based licesnsing so you won't be able to find them. You won't be able to find federal users either.

 

[jim202]

I know the location of a tower, and I have found it and its registration in the FCC database. What I can't find is a way to reference who has antennas on that tower. I have tried Lat/Long but they don't all have the same ending coordinates is there any other way to do that?

The problem your having is common. It has been there from day one when a license is issued. If the lat. and log. are wrong when they applied for a site, guess what? It stays that way until they move or the FCC comes in and fines them for being at the wrong location.

I have found over the years that towers around the country to be as far off as several miles. This goes back to the original tower owner that did a poor job trying to originally local the tower. With the original error now in place it just continues through the process until some new user brings in a survey crew to find the correct tower position. This then starts a flood of problems for everyone.

With the tower now properly located, new FAA and FCC paperwork needs to be submitted. The FCC has a fit when you relocate a tower. Now all the database information for all users on that tower will have to be changed. That does assume that they do file the new location and get their license updated. Problem is to get the license updated, they now have to go through a new coodination. In some cases the few miles or so it may change, could impact the license being denied. So in most cases, the existing owners of the licenses on the tower just ignore the whole thing.

Now when these foot dragers go to make a change to their license, they find they have a major problem. This brings in the heavy hitters from some law firm. Now the original tower owner get sued for the tower being in the wrong location.

As you can see, this is not just a simple phone call and it's taken care of. Worst thing you can do is to sign a lease on a tower that is not in the right location on paper with both the FAA and the FCC.

Not sure this answers your question, but it may help you understand why some towers are so hard to find who is on them. The real simple way would be to just ask the tower owner. However, that person might think long and hard to just hand over info on his bread and butter he collects each month to anyone who walks in the door.

 

[quarterwave]

I am an administrator for my company's sites, I mostly audit the gear and mechanics of the sites. One issue you may run into is people who have moved their gear and didn't update their licenses.

We leased to a paging company that moved a couple years ago or went off air...but license still comes back to our site. We have Federal too, so yeah, it's hard. Sometimes I have to get out the binoculars and start IDing antennae!

You might also try: http://www.antennasearch.com/ it's not always 100% but it can help.

 

[nd5y]

We should have a contest to find the license with the coordinates that are furthest away from the actual transmitter address or location specified.
This one is 68 miles.
WNNV835 (TEXAS, STATE OF (TPWD)) FCC Callsign Details