Sad shape of antennas

[TrooperBruceMichaels]

Always remember - the contractor you have working on equipment is the LOWEST BIDDER!

 

[dlwtrunked]

I am thinking most of that UHF link stuff is not used as they use microwave site to site now. I have seen many agency owned towers with lots of "old" stuff on them as no one ever wants to pay to take the old stuff off. Its even worse on some of the SMR towers.

The UHF link stuff is what is being used (their frequencies are continuously active there but not decodable). That site links to each remote site as the central point. The microwave antennas there are not being maintained and are almost certainly out of use.
I reported this and other issues to the NPS managers at Luray in person with a letter to the park supervisor and will check soon to see if fixed.

Active (some sites are outside the park to cover the sides of the mountains):
Hogback Mountain (atop Hogback Mountain peak)-control point
171.7000 repeater output
406.9125 to Blue Mountain
408.2250 to Loft Mountain
408.2750 to Skyland
408.4625 to Fork Mountain
408.5250 to Massanutten Mountain
408.6250 to Bucks Elbow Mountain

Loft Mountain (near water tanks in camping area-actually atop "Big Flat Mtn.")
166.9000 repeater output
417.2250 to Hogback Mountain

Blue Mountain (near Linden, VA)
172.4625 repeater output
415.9125 to Hoback Mountain

Skyland ("Bushtop" along Millers Head Trail)
173.6750 repeater output
417.2750 to Hogback Mountain

Fork Mountain (near Banco, VA)
172.6750 repeater output
417.4625 to Hogback Mountain

Massanutten Mountain ("Big Mountain" near Newport, VA)
173.7625 repeater output
417.5250 to Hogback Mountain

Bucks Elbow Mountain (near Crozet, VA) ~3
172.6500 repeater output
417.6250 to Hoback Mountain

Note that the C&O Canal NP and Fredericksburg area NP Battlefields use the same sort of 400 MHz links to central points.

I reported this and other issues to the NPS managers at Luray and will check soon to see if fixed.

 

[DeoVindice]

Always remember - the contractor you have working on equipment is the LOWEST BIDDER!

Not necessarily. I'm not a government agency - I'm willing to pay a bit more to have something done right.

 

[StoliRaz]

The culprit is rime ice. It forms when the air is quite cold and very humid. It builds up on everything and is most prominent on ridge tops and mountain summits. It often forms ice that looks like a fin, with the largest portion of the ice being on the lee side of a stationary object. We see it from time to time here in the west, but in the more humid east, I think it is more of a factor. I've looked at winter photos taken at the top of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire where the build up is incredible. The weight is hard on everything, vertical antennas, horizontal antennas, guy wire, towers, buildings and anything else in those zones. Water is supercooled and can remain in liquid form several degrees below freezing. Here is a picture of rime ice formation on a sign at the summit of Mt. Adams, also in New Hampshire:

View attachment 100014

Add in the wicked winds up there and it's even worse! I drove to the top of Mt Washington about 4 years ago, it was early summer, but at the summit it was 45, foggy and drizzling. Gorgeous views just 500 feet down from the summit though, could see 100+ miles. The dirt road portion of the auto road was really fun, 1 and a half lanes wide and when you're coming down there's a sheer cliff out your passenger door. My wife was ready to have a heart attack 😂

 

[dlwtrunked]

Add in the wicked winds up there and it's even worse! I drove to the top of Mt Washington about 4 years ago, it was early summer, but at the summit it was 45, foggy and drizzling. Gorgeous views just 500 feet down from the summit though, could see 100+ miles. The dirt road portion of the auto road was really fun, 1 and a half lanes wide and when you're coming down there's a sheer cliff out your passenger door. My wife was ready to have a heart attack 😂

Been up there twice. My kids cried the first time when they looked out the window. Also, my Escort gas tank boiled out gas due to altitude and heat conveyed back to it. I have seen ice up there stick out a foot downwind from poles like a flag. Yes, we had rime ice in Ohio at times but never enough to damage my antenna. I will give a report back on the antennas on Hogback Mtn. in a day or two after checking if they acting on my visit to the park HQ to give both a verbal and typed list of problems up there. They listened when I mentioned an insurance risk as well as a fire danger that I noted.

 

[dlwtrunked]

I was back up on Hogback yesterday (22 APR). The link antenna have not been repaired. In fact, the one that was pointed downwards is not hanging downwards only supported by the coax cable. Even if they have instituted a repair plan, it may be too soon for that to have gotten done after someone would need to look over what was needed. I had also reported 2 other problems at the site. One is that a steel cable holding coax going to an antenna atop a pole had broke free from the small wood cabin on the other end and is now laying on the ground. That also has not been fixed. I told NPS about it but it is likely not theirs. The 3rd problem was that the old power company transformer has hissing and occasional arcing around it even after several days of dry weather. I could not determine where atop the power pole that sound was originating. The NPS must have forwarded my report on that as that has been fixed with new equipment, including a new larger transformer. (It was mostly clear and 55 F when I left left home about 50 miles away, but up there I found very very light snow flurries and it was 36 F.)

 

[KB2GOM]

We do get it periodically here in Central California:

But unlikely that much damage is from rime ice. Usually those Yagi's have solid elements, and many of them look like they are bent. This is failure to install ice protection above the antenna.

On the other hand, sloppy techs have been known to 'drop test' things off towers. A big microwave dish being lowered could do a lot of damage.

Time to display my ignorance: what are those loop antennas?

 

[mmckenna]

Time to display my ignorance: what are those loop antennas?

Folded dipoles. Very handy antennas. You can stack multiple dipoles to increase gain, or point the in different directions to control pattern. Really durable, and DC grounded. I have a few of them on a remote ridge top that sees hurricane force winds during the winter months.

https://mk0telewaveqj6kh55q4.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TWDS-7045.pdf

That's a CalFire repeater antenna.