Just a FYI to fellow hams and enthusiast, If you plan on going to the Empire State Building and go up to the observation deck, They wont allow you to take your HT along with you. According to them "The antennas interfere with things" but they allow cell phones though... :roll:
Two Way Radios and The Empire State Building
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fineshot1
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With the way ham radios are made these days with the wide open
front ends its doubtful that you'd receive much before your receiver
gets overloaded anyway at that location.
front ends its doubtful that you'd receive much before your receiver
gets overloaded anyway at that location.
That's why I brought a commercial grade radio with me
@ Namhcor that is true I do know Alex, i'll have to remember that for next time. I know these guys had a job to do and rules to follow so that's why I didn't challenge that.
ki4lqu
Member
I took my iCom dual band up there last week with nobody saying a word... With the exception of a slightly raised noise floor, there was no noticeable degradation of reception from overload on the 86th floor. I'd imagine it could be a problem on the 102nd floor in the very near field of all those thousands of watts up there!
Hmm strange, when they said I couldn't bring them I really didn't argue with them. Next time I'll just try bringing one and not two radios lol.
coolrich55
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Has anyone brought a scanner up there before? I wonder what the reception is like as far as distant towns.
ki4lqu
Member
I wouldn't try hauling a mobile rig and lead acid battery through security, but I don't see why they should protest a small HT. Most of those screeners would assume that it was a cell phone.
1-5W is more than enough to work most stations simplex from that high up
--Another reason why I may have gotten through was that it was cleared by X-ray while in my coat pocket. I guess that someone may have said something if I had it out while going through security. I also never had any trouble a couple of years ago "mountaintopping" the 70th floor of the Rockefeller Center.
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phillydjdan
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I've taken my Yeasu up to the 86th floor a few years back. Hit my local repeater located in Bucks County, PA (just north of Philadelphia) full signal. Talked to a buddy who was in south Jersey.
scanner
I walking in with my bc396 scanner thay was ok with it i just told tham i work for the city
I walking in with my bc396 scanner thay was ok with it i just told tham i work for the city
ASTRO2001
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Radio
I went up to the Empire state building and the Rock at NBC with my Radio I had a Motorola XTS5000R they had no problem with that all. They did ask me if I was armed I was in plain cloths at the time I said no. I even talked on the radio from the top of both tower heck of a RANGE too.
I went up to the Empire state building and the Rock at NBC with my Radio I had a Motorola XTS5000R they had no problem with that all. They did ask me if I was armed I was in plain cloths at the time I said no. I even talked on the radio from the top of both tower heck of a RANGE too.
Another good spot even though it is not in the City, is the observation tower at Bear Mtn State Park
K14lqu- ha I wonder if some one has tried that. All I had was two HT's my VX-800V and my HYT-TC780U. Next time I'll just trying bringing one. That day was just one weird day. The conductor on the train was being a real jerk because I had the rail road freqs in my VX-800, he didn't like my response "because I can" when he asked me why I had railroad freqs in my radio.
K14lqu- ha I wonder if some one has tried that. All I had was two HT's my VX-800V and my HYT-TC780U. Next time I'll just trying bringing one. That day was just one weird day. The conductor on the train was being a real jerk because I had the rail road freqs in my VX-800, he didn't like my response "because I can" when he asked me why I had railroad freqs in my radio.
emcomm
Member
I stand on the front stoop and can talk to 2 avenues away, we are real Brooklyn! And if I need more power, I screw on the bigger antenna baby!
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emcomm
Member
I just heard a couple of hams on a local UHF repeater talking about how they have already secured a place for a repeater on the roof of the new WTC via a friend with the Port Authority Police who had someone allocate roof space. Not sure if it's true or not, just overheard a conversation.
They say cell phones mess up airliners also, yet virgin is now letting people use them.
Virgin Atlantic to let passengers on some flights use cellphones - Los Angeles Times
Federal regulators in the U.S. prohibit cellphone use on airborne planes, saying the calls may interfere with an aircraft's navigation systems.
Mythbusters tested this and said, BUSTED
Myth: Cell Phones Interfere with Plane Instruments : Discovery Channel
Basically you have security guards that have large ego issues...
Mythbusters on tested with one single cell phone turned on and the problem with cellphones on planes is not that there could be one phone on tbut what happens if you have numerous people with their phones transmitting at the same time.
I like to compare this to an elementary school lunch room, with 2 kids in the room talking back and forth it's not a problem but try it with 200 grade schoolers yelling back and forth and you can't understand a thing, the background noise comes up by an order of magnitude if not more.
The cumulative noise floor with numerous phones on at the same time is noticeable and it does have the potential to interfere with avionics.
I like to compare this to an elementary school lunch room, with 2 kids in the room talking back and forth it's not a problem but try it with 200 grade schoolers yelling back and forth and you can't understand a thing, the background noise comes up by an order of magnitude if not more.
The cumulative noise floor with numerous phones on at the same time is noticeable and it does have the potential to interfere with avionics.
W8RMH
Feed Provider Since 2012
The security guards don't make policy, management does. They are just doing their jobs.
I have spoken to aircraft avionics technicians and been told that cell phones do not interfere with Nav systems nor aircraft two-way radio.
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The only thing cell phones interfere with is a quiet plane ride for the passengers.
Out of being curious why no two ways or scanners in the freedom tower? I mean if it causes interference then how does the Port Authority and NYPD, FDNY, and others plan to communicate. Im sure this building like the older ones will have its own repeater etc. So there fore it would be amplified signals on those frequencies. This air space junk is garbage. Your not in a plane and what do they have to hide? For all they know your FBI, DHS, or some other agency and if you were they would have no means to find out who you are per say. I mean come on. I recall when I went to the old tower on a tour I seen idk how many workers or officials carrying some sort of half arse two way running on building repeaters. Whether they sucked or not for TX/RX Idk. But I took my HT with me and not one person said a word, not the Port Authority, Security, even a NYPD officer was eating lunch up top and he didnt say one word or even take notice or care. So they saying now the boogie man carries radios?
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