Saw this while driving into Cabelas

[sjl127]

What is this device? Obviously there's solar panels on one side, but why are there antennas pointing to all incoming traffic on the only road driving into the store?

Thanks.

 

[Thayne]

Kinda looks like something I have seen used at POE's and truck scales to detect vehicles or maybe used to communicate with those Fastpass systems used on trucks and tollroads--just a guess

 

[n0nhp]

There are devices that can detect the Intermediate Frequency of the car radio and use that to determine the radio station the radio is tuned to. This can be used by the advertising directors to decide where to spend advertising dollars.
Other possibilities are security systems of some sort or driveway detectors. I built something like this for a remote gate at a ranch, buried a magnetic detector in the road and used the radio to alert the ranch hands when someone drove through.
Grab your SpecAn and see if it is transmitting and where ;-)

Bruce

 

[SCPD]

Where's the antennas

I could be wrong, but all I see three solar panels and two junction boxes. I think the two boxes on the left are simply weatherproof electrical boxes. Maybe there are some chargers and/or rechargeable batteries in the boxes, maybe not. Something off screen is on battery power.

 

[mg5555]

Just another pole of Government waste.........8>)

 

[sjl127]

Here's the whole picture.

 

[WayneH]

Here's the whole picture.

I can't say for sure from the photo but those look like PTZ cameras underneath the faux street light shrouds? The solar panels would be for power and only a video feed (via CAT-5) would be run out from the pole.

From any Walmart I have seen they're pretty obsessive about video recording their whole property.

 

[Thunderknight]

Might not even be a cat5 cable, it could be wifi from the pole. No trenching required.

 

[LIScanner101]

Those look like NEMA enclosures.

 

[Thayne]

Those look like NEMA enclosures.

I agree, I looked too fast the first time--panel antennas don't look like that

 

[mg5555]

Wow! Nothing like taking a "Antiqued" designed pole and outfitting with bunch of 21st Century hardware.
Seems as if the poles in the background have been tweaked as well.

 

[radioman2001]

They have been popping up around here too. It looks like an EZ pass(toll pass) reader or similar. The plastic NEMA box allows RF signals but remains waterproof, we use them for our cell phone data links for our signs at the train stations. They could be being used for traffic management such as average speed between poles, and where EZ pass drivers are actually going, and it looks like 2 receiver antenna's looking at the 2 traffic lanes.
Even if you are not on a toll road your basically sign your privacy rights away when you sign up for the pass. That's why when a former company car I had was equipped with one I would remove it from the window and sit on the pass preventing any data to be transponded. Looking more closely it appears to be only 2 solar panels and some sort of flat panel antenna on top, could be 2.4g wireless or even meteor scatter
BTW eventually all cars will be equipped with transponders from the factory, there has been a ongoing lawsuit from the ACLU since they come from the factory opted on not off. In California concessions have been made to prevent toll pass info from being used by the government (for now)

 

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

The Cabelas in Glendale, AZ, has a military surplus surveillance tower on a type of scissor lift. And there was a local PD car parked below it. I don't know how often it's actually manned, or if the car was just a "Delta car" (aka dummy car) for looks.

 

[radiomankc]

These are PTZ security cameras with a 2.4GHz link for both cameras.

 

[SCPD]

That setup looks like something from Airaya.
https://secure.airaya.com/categories.asp

The antennas appear to be mounted on the junction boxes with the cameras mounted in the faux street light shrouds.

The wireless public safety networks operate in the licensed pubic safety band - 4.94-4.99GHz,
and the unlicensed ISM bands - 5.25-5.35 GHz, 5.47-5.72 GHz, and 5.725-5.850 GHz.

To find the 4.9 GHz licensees in your area, visit the FCC advanced License search page:
License Search - Advanced License Search

Go to > Call Sign & Radio Services > Match only the following radio service(s):
Search for PA - Public Safety 4940- 4990 MHz band

The public safety 4940- 4990 MHz band is governed by FCC Rules Part § 90.1201.

The Airaya WirelessGRID radios use hardware-based 128-bit AES encryption.