Those radios and multiplexers are newer than the 70's, look like last generation long lines form the 80's. However the farinon equip is from the old days, may not have been in use even at time of shut down. Those pressure transducers on the wall absolutely did maintain a certain pressure in the waveguide. The air was dehydrated before being pumped in, you want as little moisture as possible in the waveguide. The entire waveguide including the horn was pressurized. Have a look around other old sites for pictures of the earlier WE radios used to drive the horns, in the early days the equip was hybrid tube, technology progressed to solid state and beyond and it allowed for more signal bandwidth per path. Today microwave links are still used but the whole unit(transceiver) literally mounts on the tower/mast and the frequency is much higher than a few ghz like long lines was. Thanks for the look inside! Not many stations are untouched for the most part like this! Even spares and test equip still there!
I love old tech and think it should be preserved, but I can't help but wonder how many grams of gold are present on-site in inert card-edges and coaxial connectors. Not enough for Ma' Bell to care about, but I'm sure it's not insignificant.
a friend worked in the glass tower building in Downtown Los Angeles from 1960 to 1990. when they were designing the arco towers . ATT/ITT told them. they would need several floors in their buildings to put in a repeater for the microwaves going to Santa monica.. so they did a redesign and moved the buildings farther apart by 11 feet so the microwave signal could go between the gap.. my friend worked the graveyard shift.. calibrated the frequencies all night long along with other techs across the country.
Reminds me of the equipment racks in an old Douglas DC-8 airplane, often referred to as the "radio shrine" as the doors had see-thru plexiglass framed in metal, as well and mostly located in the rear walls of the cockpit.
2 x T3 digital links 90Mbps typically over 30Mhz RF channel the wave guide size suggests 6Ghz band, Western Electric was changed to Lucent Technologies in 1994 so its mid to late 1980s tech
I always chuckle when I remember us dreaming of having access to a dedicated T1 and realize today that I have 2Gb connection for (inflation adjusted) likely less than what a dial-up connection cost at the time.
Unless torn down in the past 6 months, there is a microwave tower and windowless blockhouse like this next to state hwy 68 north of Wilmington Ohio. All surrounded by chain link fence and farmland. Never seen any vehicles people etc. driving by it weekly for decades. There is a road off the two lane hwy near to it called RAYCON. Unusual name there and I wondered if it was related. No sign of changes ever noticed for the decades I drove past. Now I have some idea what cool RF gear is inside, maybe.
Fiber and coax can be broken or cut. This stuff could back it up in a serious crisis unless maintenance is considered too much for a faint possibility.
You know what happens. Contractors come to demolish. All that gear ends up in dumpsters. Makes dumpster diving a fairly respectable pursuit in some places.
Those radios and multiplexers are newer than the 70's, look like last generation long lines form the 80's. However the farinon equip is from the old days, may not have been in use even at time of shut down. Those pressure transducers on the wall absolutely did maintain a certain pressure in the waveguide. The air was dehydrated before being pumped in, you want as little moisture as possible in the waveguide. The entire waveguide including the horn was pressurized. Have a look around other old sites for pictures of the earlier WE radios used to drive the horns, in the early days the equip was hybrid tube, technology progressed to solid state and beyond and it allowed for more signal bandwidth per path. Today microwave links are still used but the whole unit(transceiver) literally mounts on the tower/mast and the frequency is much higher than a few ghz like long lines was. Thanks for the look inside! Not many stations are untouched for the most part like this! Even spares and test equip still there!
Found some references to DR6-135 radios via a Google search, showing some sites had those installed in 1988 and were decommissioned in 1999.
Based only upon the style and colors of the equipment, I was guessing 80's as well.
I love old tech and think it should be preserved, but I can't help but wonder how many grams of gold are present on-site in inert card-edges and coaxial connectors. Not enough for Ma' Bell to care about, but I'm sure it's not insignificant.
a friend worked in the glass tower building in Downtown Los Angeles from 1960 to 1990. when they were designing the arco towers . ATT/ITT told them. they would need several floors in their buildings to put in a repeater for the microwaves going to Santa monica.. so they did a redesign and moved the buildings farther apart by 11 feet so the microwave signal could go between the gap.. my friend worked the graveyard shift.. calibrated the frequencies all night long along with other techs across the country.
Curious Mark would love to get his hands on this setup.
Reminds me of the equipment racks in an old Douglas DC-8 airplane, often referred to as the "radio shrine" as the doors had see-thru plexiglass framed in metal, as well and mostly located in the rear walls of the cockpit.
2 x T3 digital links 90Mbps typically over 30Mhz RF channel the wave guide size suggests 6Ghz band, Western Electric was changed to Lucent Technologies in 1994 so its mid to late 1980s tech
I always chuckle when I remember us dreaming of having access to a dedicated T1 and realize today that I have 2Gb connection for (inflation adjusted) likely less than what a dial-up connection cost at the time.
Some of that high powered microwave stuff needs to wind up in the hands of styropyro
It's not very high powered though, 5-10 watts only. The extremely high gain directional antennas made using high power transmitters unnecessary.
Unless torn down in the past 6 months, there is a microwave tower and windowless blockhouse like this next to state hwy 68 north of Wilmington Ohio. All surrounded by chain link fence and farmland. Never seen any vehicles people etc. driving by it weekly for decades. There is a road off the two lane hwy near to it called RAYCON. Unusual name there and I wondered if it was related. No sign of changes ever noticed for the decades I drove past. Now I have some idea what cool RF gear is inside, maybe.
Marvelous technical insight from a seasoned RF engineer.
That test equipment can still be used to test the microwave systems that are used today.
Fiber and coax can be broken or cut. This stuff could back it up in a serious crisis unless maintenance is considered too much for a faint possibility.
That's the back of a flux capacitor at 5:50
Donate some of this equipment to the Connections Museum!
Wondering what it's used for now... everything still powered up... looks like an excellent radio repeater site!
Might be shocked at the amount of outdated equipment left on just out of fear that turning it off will break something.
You may want to brush up on the subject before making a video about it.
Do you have ANY clue his much precious metals are sitting in those electronics? Id pay $10k for everything in that room all day long
dont destroy history man
You know what happens. Contractors come to demolish. All that gear ends up in dumpsters. Makes dumpster diving a fairly respectable pursuit in some places.
My dog smells like Fritos.
does this site have an electric toilet?
for fun, they routed one power rf output into the guest toilet. it cauterizes the orifice. no need to p**p again.
No, but it may have an electric chair. 😂
I maintained a site in Woodside, CA in the early '70s. It had a burner potty but smelled so bad, they just put a porta-potty outside. Great memories.