I recently noticed the attached setup on a pole in my in-laws neighborhood in South Philadelphia. Any idea what it is?
Philadelphia street pole with YAGI and other antennas
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mmckenna
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I'm not from Philadelphia, but we have similar installations out here.
Around here:
The vertical antennas are 900MHz and talk to utility meters.
The Yagi is pointed back at a cell site.
The box gathers data from the utility meters in it's coverage area, then sends the data back via cellular to the utility company.
That may be something different, but probably along the same general idea.
Around here:
The vertical antennas are 900MHz and talk to utility meters.
The Yagi is pointed back at a cell site.
The box gathers data from the utility meters in it's coverage area, then sends the data back via cellular to the utility company.
That may be something different, but probably along the same general idea.
Great topic question because I've also started seeing stuff like this, or more likely just becoming more aware, everywhere. I can't drive anywhere without rubbernecking any antennas I see and pondering it's application and transmission usage. It's becoming quite the nerdy distraction...
He's spot on.
I've got a friend who works for PECO, and he said the boxes are telemetry repeaters. Exactly as mmckenna described.
Easier and less man hours then other utilities (Like mine, for example) which the meter-readers drive routes with vehicles equipped with receivers:
mmckenna
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Yeah, we've had them for years out here.
There was the standard group of uneducated whackos that were convinced the utility company was spying on them, that they were trying to kill people with high RF levels out of a gas meter with a radio running off a small battery, and a ton of other idiotic claims.
Been about 10 years now, and the earth is still turning. I have one of their flyers framed in my office at work.
There was the standard group of uneducated whackos that were convinced the utility company was spying on them, that they were trying to kill people with high RF levels out of a gas meter with a radio running off a small battery, and a ton of other idiotic claims.
Been about 10 years now, and the earth is still turning. I have one of their flyers framed in my office at work.
Here in Town we just went through the "wacko mode" public meeting proposal attempting to erect a small discrete antenna on a tall flagpole in the Town-fringe well-heeled "active seniors" retirement community to tie their residential electric utility meters into the in-Town data receiver. The claims of trying to kill Seniors with bombardments of radio waves brought out the tin foil hat crowd in droves...people with nothing more to do than parrot every internet fringe claim, and it's always the same small group of people that complain about everything. I told the Public Works Director he should he awarded for the his handling of nonsensical and personal attacks thrown his direction I mean, it was the most dramatic display of community-driven idiocy I've ever witnessed.
mmckenna
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I had to sit through a few of those meetings.
There was this one lady that was very vocal, very concerned and absolutely bat s**t crazy. She would show up at all the meetings. She had this cheap little box she bought off e-bay that had a meter, flashing light, and would make noises when it was in a strong enough RF field. (Yeah, totally accurate/aligned/calibrated - not).
Anyway, my boss at the time was running the meeting. A coworker and I were sitting in the back row enjoying the s**t show. We were right behind Ms. BatS**tCrazy. During the middle of the meeting, I reached over and keyed up my coworkers 800MHz radio.
Ms. Crazy's box started beeping and flashing. She jumped part way out of her seat and started yelling.
I just sat there and smiled.
My manager figured it out and had a bit of a grin on his face.
That lady made the rounds for a few years, but haven't seen/heard of her in a while. No doubt our voodoo evil radio waves got her.
Honestly, though. I really wonder about people that are so scared of things they obviously have zero understanding of. They purposely go searching for the scary stuff and ignore anything that is science based. Willful ignorance at its best. Unfortunately that stuff either spreads really well, or they just yell loud enough to drown out everyone else.
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