Shack in progress

[ohiodesperado]

Working on building out the shack.

Still working the bugs out of a few things and getting antennas in place.


Started with this three years ago


Now its like this


It's been a ton of work and a ton of money.

Common questions.

Tower is 240 feet
There is a generator, actually two.
As of posting, there is a major packet switch, including everything from HF to 440 frequencies.
The only current repeaters are GMRS, but there are plans for ham stuff both analog and DMR / P25
We have taken up doing the AREDN (amateur radio emergency data network). There are sectors on all four corners covering 900 2.4 and 5.8.
We have links to nodes in Franklin, Knox, Delaware, and soon Fairfield counties in AREDN.
The AREDN system has chat, email, and FTP available currently and we are looking to add VOiP phone support as well.
For those familiar with AREDN you understand it is a MESH system, and is highly resistant to failure if nodes are close enough together.
We have the unique ability to look into several counties directly due to our height and the surrounding topography so we have been linking all the small city nodes and such.
Future Plans.

Repeaters, more HF antennas, a couple small towers to string antennas between.
Wind and solar power generation hopefully to the point the site is self sustaining. Part of a battery plant is already in place. But it needs to be a bit bigger.

 

[KB4MSZ]

Where is the refrigerator?

 

[radio3353]

What was in this building before you got a hold of it given the tower you presumably inherited?

 

[mmckenna]

Looks sort of like an old AT&T long lines site.

I agree, fridge, coffee maker and kegerator should go in next.

 

[ohiodesperado]

Refrigerators are there... off to the right in the pictures. Site was purchased in the condition as seen in the third photo. Owner was in process of razing the site when we got it. I am gonna get a microwave for the site in the spring. Neither of us drink coffee so the coffee pot would be sort of useless.

The site WAS an AT&T Long Lines Microwave site. According to the documentation at the site it's the second tower erected there. First was removed between 59 and 69. No other info seems to exist that indicates when that happened, but the old concrete bases are still in the ground.

Current project is getting the old Centracom Elite dispatch console running and connected to the control station radios shown in the photos.
Some of those are for specific repeaters while others are going to be setup for 16 channel tone remote for user selection on the fly.
Once the main console is working the channel banks will be programmed and installed to allow remote access for myself and the site owner to access the console system from home via Microwave links we currently have in place.

 

[mmckenna]

Neither of us drink coffee so the coffee pot would be sort of useless.

WTH you mean about not drinking coffee?

The site WAS an AT&T Long Lines Microwave site. According to the documentation at the site it's the second tower erected there. First was removed between 59 and 69. No other info seems to exist that indicates when that happened, but the old concrete bases are still in the ground.

There's a few good websites that cover the history of the Long Line system, including a lot of historical info and photos.

 

[ohiodesperado]

Very familiar with the Long Lines history web sites as well as the site owners group on Facebook.

Far as the coffee,,,, yeah, no coffee. But the fridge is stocked with Coke and Water.

 

[MDScanFan]

Jaw drops. Very impressive!

And to think, I was sitting here today debating whether or not I should buy another external speaker. I need real hobby problems, like what to put on a 200'+ tower.

 

[KB4MSZ]

A true half wave vertical at 160 meters.
Wow.

I need a cup of coffee.

 

[PACNWDude]

Very nice.....reminds me of some of the refurbished former ICBM sites that people converted into data centers and storage facilities. Looks like a lot of fun, and work. Enjoy, and thank you for sharing.

 

[03msc]

It's not my business but I can't help but wonder what was paid for the site and tower. Great find and buy. Looks like a great setup with countless options.

I'm not even sure what all that stuff in the two interior pics is just by looking at it - some I recognize, some I don't know.

 

[tweiss3]

This is a really cool shack. I see you got one heck of a deal, and your microwave range is pretty incredible. Did the tower come with the microwave dishes, or did you put those up yourself?

More importantly, how do you even find a property like that for sale?

 

[tweiss3]

I have another question, what are those huge trapazoidal boxes near the top? microwave as well?

The huge top platform is a pretty cool feature

 

[mmckenna]

I have another question, what are those huge trapazoidal boxes near the top? microwave as well?

The huge top platform is a pretty cool feature

Those are the classic/iconic AT&T TD-2 reflector microwave antennas. Waveguide feeds in the bottom and reflects off the slanted back of the antenna. Once you recognize them, you'll see them all over the place.

AT&T knew how to build these systems, very robust, very reliable.

 

[mmckenna]

I have another question, what are those huge trapazoidal boxes near the top? microwave as well?

The huge top platform is a pretty cool feature

The Microwave Radio and Coaxial Cable Networks of the Bell System

Bell System microwave radio and coaxial cable networks

long-lines.net

 

[ra7850]

Looks like a great opportunity for remote equipment hosting.

 

[ncarpenter]

Do you have everything you need to get that Centracom off the ground and running? I've heard many a horror stories about trying to get them going...

 

[bharvey2]

Boy, the next time my wife says my radio hobby is taking up too much space.........

 

[ohiodesperado]

Lots to reply to.....
First is price.... 48K was the AS IS cost of the site. The company that owned it, for a short amount of time had a bigwig that thought they needed to divest the ownership of non-performing sites due to the liability of them. The site has had nothing on it since the late 90's according to the station and maintenance logs when AT&T owned it and has seen nothing since.

Yes, figuring out what to put on a tower that has a 40 foot by 40 foot deck on top of if is challenging at times. The bigger issue is HOW to put stuff up there in reality.

As far as the remote hosting..... Yes. that is the reason for the Centracom console. I have the additional gear to remote the consoles via an IP link. We (the site owner and I) both have microwave IP links to the site. His is 3 links where mine is only two but it's a aggregate bandwidth of 200Mbs so it's plenty to create a TDM over IP connection for the needed channel banks to spin that up.

To the Centracom. Yes, I have 4 cages at the site that are all together as one CEB. I have bins of cards, and a second 2 cage CEB with B&L (button and LED) CC2 op positions at the house that I can steal parts from if needed.
What I am looking for is an Ambassador switch and a number of ABE cards. I have this crazy idea of building out a multistate ham radio console system that would allow the folks on it access to resources at multiple locations across the country. These systems allowed for that via T-1 links and since the Internet (really wasn't a thing when this was new) is now fast and mostly stable the T-1 links that are needed can be done across IP with reasonably priced gear.

 

[mmckenna]

Is that an offering to the CEB Gods in hopes that they will look upon you kindly and protect the capacitors from leaking?