Questions about those tallll broadcast antennas!

[Airdorn]

Hey there all.

I just had a few questions about those tall antennas we see on the horizon all the time.

1. Is that entire thing itself the radiator, or is it just a structure where smaller antennas are mounted for height?

2. Generally, who owns those things? I mean the structure itself.

3. How tall are the tallest ones I see out there? I'm guessing something like 1000ft.

4. They all seem to have approximately 100' sections that alternate red and white in color. Is there a practical reason for that, or is the paint job just for aesthetics?

Thanks for any info.

 

[RFBOSS]

It depends.

If the tower is used for the AM radio broadcast band, the entire tower is part of the antenna system.

For TV and FM radio broadcast use, the tower is the supporting structure for the antennas.

The red and white color is typically aviation red and white.

 

[marksmith]

Agree with all above. Ownership varies. Sometimes public service will rent space on a private tower if it's cheaper than building one.

Some towers have a lot of different stuff on them.

AM (amplitude modulation) does use the whole tower as the radiating source. Used to climb them to change blinking aviation light bulbs.

They are different heights.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

 

[KC4RAF]

#1. In the AM broadcast frequencies, the tower is part of the radiating element. Higher freqs, just the support for smaller antennas.
#2. Who owns the property, tower etc. can be any body. Lots of times it's all leased, rented, etc.
#3. Google and you'll find the tallest and probably the shortest.
#4. Generally the are in 10 foot sections on up. The paint has several purposes: Identify sections for height, and I think(?) because some locations' it's code. Not sure about the last.

 

[nd5y]

If you have Google Earth you can use this to display the FCC ASR database.
FCCInfo - Now on Google Earth!

It shows tower height, other technical data and ownership.

The FCC and FAA limit tower height to 2000 feet above ground level. Many times way less than that depending on how close the tower is to an airport.

You can estimate how high a tower is by the paint/light pattern. See https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/FCC_and_FAA_Tower_Marking_and_Lighting_Requirements

 

[SteveSimpkin]

Here are a few sites that can help identify the antenna and its use:

https://radio-locator.com
AntennaSearch - Search for Cell Towers, Cell Reception, Hidden Antennas and more.
FCCInfo Search

 

[Airdorn]

Man, all y'all are so awesome!

I especially love the Google Earth visualization.

Thanks for all the interesting info.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[krokus]

Sometimes, there are FM/TV/LMR/ham antennas located on an AM broadcast antenna.

My first duty station had a ham repeater on a tower. The tower was 1270 feet tall, and the repeater antenna was mounted on the upper safety rail.

Sent via Tapatalk

 

[lmrtek]

AM broadcast towers ARE the antenna

TV and radio station towers only radiate from the antenna on top of the tower

The towers are generally owned by the broadcasting company

The FAA requires the aviation ORANGE and white paint for maximum visibilty

And I've worked at several broadcast towers over 2,000 ft high