In the mid 70's this system carried about 70 percent of the telephone traffic across the United States as well as television from the big 3 networks coast to coast. It was truly amazing.
Microwave was used extensively until fiber optic cables were laid in the late 1980 and 1990s. There are some places that still use microwave but it has come a long ways with QAM allowing for much more data in the same bandwidth. I worked on one that had an OC-3 Sonet output right from the radio cabinet from each transceiver.
The Bell System started building this massive microwave radio relay network in 1951. It was truly the largest, most amazingly complex long distance telephone network in the world! And reliable! My dad worked for Pacific Telephone and later AT&T in the 60's, 70's and 80's, and he worked in radio. I got to go with him one day in1978 to Turquoise main switching microwave repeater station in the Mojave desert near Baker, CA. It was filled with TD-2 and TH terminal equipment, TH operated on the same horn-reflector antennas as the TD-2. Those round horn-reflectors were added later for AR6 digital radio. It makes me sad to see all of it shut down and abandoned after less than 40 years of dependable service. By 1992 it was all replaced by fiber optic cables. And these sites were quietly and unceremoniously shut down, and forgotten! Along with the L carrier on transcontinental coaxial cables, it was the workhorse of the Bell toll telephone network! I'm surprised that this repeater is still in tact! Those are TD-2 microwave amplifiers and this station is just a relay repeater with no switching. And there it sits, retired in place. So Sad!
Oh, I forgot to mention, there were 2 horn-reflector antennas used for the signal coming and going, one for each direction of transmission. And the SHF frequency used was between 3.7 GHZ to 4.2 GHz.
Just watched the video from the link below and then this one to find your comment here. Was wondering what was inside this Turquoise building and you're speaking about it. Would be so cool to visit and keep at least this central location as museum. Preserving this old technology that has been on the top even if only less than 50 years. It's an heritage. But unfortunately lot of them are or have been dismantled to get the precious metals and then left alone. th-cam.com/video/QfHyy-4W5X0/w-d-xo.html
You'll notice the Horns are at different angles between coming and going. The towers were built in zig zag formation, as apposed to a straight line, to prevent the signals from bypassing a tower.
My father was a "telephone pioneer" that maintained these station. It was a treat for me to go to work with him as a kid. Of course that was breaking the rules. Those racks of equipment 0:37 are the repeaters. The crew called them transmitters although they are really repeaters. The signal would be received and then retransmitted to the next tower. They look like the TD-2 model. Those copper square pipes are wave guides. They act like a wire for the microwave signal. They operated at a frequency around 2ghz. There should have been a room for a backup generator and a room for a air compressor that kept the waveguides slightly pressurized to prevent water from getting in it. When these things first came on line, they where so cutting edge that they couldn't find anyone to work on them so they had to train people from scratch. Even then, they had to figure out how to diagnose and fix problems on the job because no one had any experience with them.
I can’t believe AT&T forgot to remove the COPPER waveguide. That was the normal procedure after a microwave station was de-commissioned. All that copper brought in a significant amount of money‼️ Great video 👍
because this tower wasn't De-commissioned so much as turned off.. its probably still there for high bandwidth emergency communication in the event of nuclear attack
@@deepspacecow2644 Well, ther are fiberoptics between cities, now, and since they're underground, they should be immune to nukes. But they are digital, so vulnerable to cyberattacks. The microwaves are analog, so ... well I dunno, My argument might of made sense 10-20 years ago. but its fading ....
I worked at 3 or 4 of these stations on the same route in the late 60’s and early 70’s. In addition to the TD-2 radio we had TH radio which operated in the 6 Ghz band and had a larger capacity per channel. It used traveling wave tubes for amplification and the same antennas as the TD-2.
@@WillNJ this is actually precisely why. I've also heard rumors that they (AT&T, per a government contract) keep these stations at a minimum level of capability and readiness. Why you ask? Because even from the get-go their purpose was first as a transcontinental large bandwidth telecommutions relay, though perhaps even more importantly their secondary mission was to serve as a high reliability emergency backup transcontinental communications system in the case of some catastrophic event (or) nuclear attack, and so forth. I HIGHLY doubt that they suddenly became useless just because satellites and cell towers. In fact because we rely SO much on those relatively fragile and easily attacked public infrastructure, these old, obscure, and relatively hidden-in-plain-sight installations are more important than ever before. I don't buy the claim that it'd be "cheaper to just leave them in place." Like nah, now way homie. You have to run that aircraft strobe, power the site, and keep the structure and building safe to occupy, as well as pay taxes on a non-revenue-generating site. I'm sure there are TONS of other costs involved too. And that station looked WAY too clean and ready to relay signals to be truly forgotten and "abandoned." Yeah there was a bird nest, so what? You think you won't find those at any old cell tower / radio tower? Come on. These sites are critical infrastructure.
@@bobweiss8682 I'd imagine it costs to keep those transformers energized. Seems like a couple of charges would bring the tower down were it could be cut up and hauled away. They're going to need to do a much better job of securing the building if they want to keep it in a state of readiness.
@@scenicdepictionsofchicagolife There is truth to this. These old analog systems are reliable. Though most sites are gutted. They can easily be brought back into service. The tech would look different, but the infrastructure would be turn key.
I hope bird mom comes back to feed her babies! Even in this state of decay, you can see the workmanship. Much better than the cell sites that get slapped up around here.
Those baby birds looked like robins. Certainly, correct me if I'm wrong. As a kid in the '60s and 70s, that was the most common bird nest we would come across (in Maine, in those days).
This is amazing, this is how phone calls AND network broadcast reached everywhere in the nation. I had no idea how this worked until a few years ago. They should keep these towers intact for historic purposes. The building looks like it's also equipped with A/C and I'm sure heat in the winter, where it's needed.
Looks to be in pretty good repair -- I've got a station near me in Ashby MA that's now a Crown site that the interior is full of mold, the turbine room (had twin turbine generators @ 1MW each) is just a shell of its' self, etc -- and the roof is failing -- most of the carriers still operating cellular on the site have moved to either outside the building or put outdoor equipment cabinets INSIDE the building! Pretty sketchy!
Thanks for documenting this! Equipment seems to be in pristine condition. Amazing the scrappers didn’t break ii and go to town and all that metal work.
Far enough off the beaten path and these places are not obvious value to your average tweaker which is a good thing, some scrappers raiding an active site would do incredible serious damage.😮
you can call this old school and out dated but what you are looking at is a rock solid reliable system to communicate. doing away with microwave and land lines (hard wire) system is the biggest mistake ma bell ever did. even if the enemy is not from this earth , (and don't laugh) we can be totally in the dark in seconds . the old systems were hardened and would run if any one part was destroyed the calls could be rerouted another way. great video , thanks. as an old western electric equipment installer it warms my heart to see those beautiful gray equipment bays. i would give any thing to have one receive and one transmit bay. most of the equipment is still there but almost all the wave guides to the horns are gone . i hope they have that place locked up and guarded. back in the day a small station that did not have a radio man full time had alarms that went off in the central office switch room showing that some one was at the sight.
Most all of the wave guides inside the building are intact. Unless copper thieves have paid a visit lately. This site is so remote it has been undisturbed for perhaps 20 years.
@wayneheigl5549, my dad worked for PT&T and later AT&T in the 60's, 70's and 80s. He would take me to work with him often, I loved to watch you WECO guys do your work! It was a beautiful work of art ! And it was always exactly the same no matter what office you were in . I have great respect and admiration for you guys. WECO kept the Bell System running good ! What a great system it was!
The internet has grown in a similar fashion, BGP allows it to grow and change with failures, rerouting as much as possible. Still mainly at the whims of T1s tho
The KS horns at the top appear to have the nuclear blast hardening kit installed, and the lower pair may as well, but it's tough to tell from the video. The lower pair has the side lobe reduction "wings" installed. That's absolutely amazing that the TD-2 gear is still there.
@@drozcompany4132 It's the frame around the outside of the microwave horns, I do believe. If you look at pictures of other sites, the horns are not always covered in those structure.
I was a young microwave. Installer technician for GTELenkurt in 1972 and had to climb inside of those Rohr horns to tighten the nuts for those “wings” being installed to increase the front to back ratio the opposing direction. Gives you an idea how big those suckers were…I was given the job because I was skinny and could fit through the square hole made when we dropped the feedhorn.
The frames have nothing to do with blast hardening, usually. (usually the frames/top grate are ice protection, odd here but whatever) The way to tell is that the horns are smooth-sided like the upper pair. Regular horns you'll see the sheet metal seams where they're bolted together. @@drozcompany4132
Looks like it's still operational, that everything is still in place. Wonder if there's still diesel in the tanks for the generator, that looks exactly like the long line site that we took over in Washington state and turned into a television transmitter. We actually repurposed one of the microwave antennas and the waveguide, as the studio to transmitter link for the station. But it was sad that we had to remove probably 90% of it to make room for the new equipment. Also removing the loading from the tower so that it would not ice up as bad in the winter the company didn't want to be responsible for that kind of a risk. But we ended up scrapping over two and a half tons of copper and brass, from the waveguides and grounding system. But still leaving enough waveguide and the complete lightning ground system for the tower and most of the facility intact.
Was the site you took over on Wymer Mountain, in Kittitas County, between Selah and Ellensburg in the W. T. Murray State Wildlife Park? I used to work in that site.
Dude. You are right about the strength of the buildings. I am a meteorological enthusiast and I went to observe a building because I was getting in them and I found one that got hit by the Washington IL EF (it actually struck 9 years ago exactly when I’m writing this). The building got hit direct on by the EF4 and it survived. Every thing loose ease banged up and the tower was gone but the building was is great condition. I wish to visit more and add to my catalogue of sites I’m researching.
Most of these sites were purchased from AT&T by American Towers. They lease space on the towers for microwave, cellular etc…. AT&T still owns a few which have working equipment in them.
There is a guy that used to own a communications company and was a tower climber/repairperson that retired from climbing towers at 77 years old after falling from a tree at his home trying to get a cat out of a tree. He was hospitalized for almost a year and spent quite a few months recovering further at home. His company is in Middle TN and bought one of the old Long Lines towers in TN or KY and he and a crew removed the old Long Lines horns off the tower. His name is John Hettish and he has a channel here on TH-cam, but he hasn't posted any new videos in over two years. I believe there is a video on his TH-cam channel showing the horn removal. Checking a post I made on his site about a year ago, he was talking about selling his company and by now, has probably sold his company and retired.
From what I am understanding these were left standing because they would cost to much to tear down.This one is in some pretty awesome shape. I rare find indeed.
Bell system was already broken up by the time the TD-2 network was deactivated. The shell of what was Long Lines no longer could afford to properly decommission the stations.
@@stevesekel9540 Yeah but RIP (retire in place) was a long tradition in the Bell System. Turn it off, walk away, don't worry about it until the space is needed.
Great video, thanks for sharing, much appreciated. The scenes were much easier to watch with the sound turned down low (music was bearable but too loud). Thanks again, it's great to see a site with so much equipment still in situ.
Greater Bridgeport Amateur Radio Club indeed, if I owned that property I would put razor wire and about a dozen security cameras to scare away any thiefs
You can tell this is way out in BFE because it's all mostly still intact with no graffiti. Remote location might also be why it's still powered and just in a "decommissioned" state versus having all the equipment removed like they did with a lot of the other sites. Maybe for some kind of redundancy that's never been needed? There's one in Maupin, OR that's right off 97 and up until sometime in 2018 it still had the horns, drove by it in 2017 and it was all intact, drove by again in 2018 almost exactly a year later and the horns were gone and there was a for sale sign on the fence.
That shit freaks me out but I’m super interested in it. I couldn’t be in there alone, something about huge electric devices coming to life is the stuff of nightmares
I work for ATT and there's still a ton of big old central offices that house the small spaced fiber optic equipment. Those buildings are near shuttered and are definitely spooky to walk through. You can almost feel the decades of operators walking the old marble hallways that are now devoid of life and half lit
What's that clicking sound in there? I initially thought it might be the relays controlling the anti-collision lights, but they don't appear to be on in the clip and it's a weird pattern anyway.
The anti-collision lights run 24 hours a day when they are working properly, although for the ones I am familiar with, the intensity does change between day and night hours.
Those surplus TD-2 rigs were like gold in the early 1980s when C band satellite video was not encrypted. If you could get your hands on one, you had most of what was needed for a broadcast quality C band receiver.
I am wondering the same thing. It sounded like a contactor stuck on a loop running high power because it would be click buzz click buzz click over and over.
Guys get real. There is less than ZERO chance this site is "in case" of anything. The reason for power is the obstruction lights. Somewhere, there are some radio amateurs would LOVE to have the use of those towers.
looks like most of the heliax was removed. cool to see one of these with the horns still up i was just at a former long lines site on fremont peak outside of mariposa yesterday. the only thing remaining on the outside is the taller part of the tower. the lower platform that had the horns has been removed. not sure if there is any transceiver equipment left in the com building as i didnt have access to that. I was there for a different customer
…and cue the ominous music. On a more serious note, I work in the alarm industry and have for the past 25 years. When I started the method of communication was typically good old copper wire phone lines. Over the years most alarm communications are handled by cellular transmission, high frequency radio and network communicators. Each method had it’s advantages and disadvantages. I still service a few systems that have conventional phone lines or POTS lines, but the vast majority is cellular. I can say that cellular communicators have proved to be problematic. Reliable reception is the biggest issue that I’ve had to deal with. I’ve seen high frequency radio networks collapse into a nightmare to troubleshoot and restore. So far I’ve had the best luck with a network communicator that uses cellular as a back up. The phone company has said that eventually all the copper lines will go.
May anyone tell me what that clicking, kinda thunking sound was that I heard in the video? I don’t know much about this kind of stuff but I want to know more. Thank you! 😊
This was an amazing system. I remember driving around my area in New Hampshire taking pictures of the towers and antennas. Never had the opportunity to go inside a center. Where is this tower/building? Thanks for posting.
How many calls could these long line facilities handle at any one time? (Thinking back to the days of rapid busy signals.) It's also nostalgic to think about all the communications that went through there for decades - people receiving calls from friends, family, lovers, and business associates. Calls that were much-anticipated, and surely some that delivered bad news.
Each repeater station had 6 channels in each direction. 5 were operating and the 6th, with its own TD-2 bay, would automatically switch in if one of the 5 went down. Each microwave channel could carry 6000 voice channels with no television feed, considerably less if TV is also being carried.
There is a concrete Long Lines tower in a city in northeast Kansas...I can't remember the name of the city, though. I believe it was built in the 1950s.
Maybe as a functional museum piece, but that would be it. Inefficiency is it's biggest weakness - space, power, and spectral. All of that equipment would probably fit into one or two modern microwave racks which probably would even handle more capacity. Someone like Connections Museum should try to get hold of this and see if they can integrate it into their systems somehow.
For being abandoned they sure don't seem to mind paying for electrical service, as the lights and at least some equipment (click click click) are running!
I was NOT expecting that bird nest to be occupied. lol Also I'm surprised this place hasn't been tagged to hell with graffiti, or at least had the copper stripped. Some serious history here. How on earth did you find this, let alone get in here?
if all this is shut down and ppl talk fiber replaced it ...i can see that for the basic stuff but radio is radio ..what did we replace it with ...its not like plains have fiber falling out the back
I've often wondered this too, and the funny part is : Almost nobody that had anything to do with the installation of this gear actually knew what it cost. I'm guessing that information was intentionally kept from installers, just so they didn't have any idea what it would be worth should someone decide to have it grow legs. It had to be widly expensive, but the thing is : The Bell System had *so much freaking money* coming in from all the different services they provided (and to a large extent services with no actual competitors), that you'd see massively overbuilt infrastructure like this be the norm with almost everything they did. Also with no competitors, they had *YEARS* to perfect a lot of the stuff they designed before it ever saw any production use. That whole mindset resulted in the ultimate downfall of the organization, but resulted in carrier equipment with build quality that even today is often unmatched in reliability. Just look at the last huge piece of hardware that was developed by the AT&T/Bell System before the breakup : The 5ESS. Even after AT&T was broken up, that switch was manufactured from 1982 until 2003, and there are still hundreds of them providing telephone service today It also doesn't surprise me that the power is still on in that place, and honestly... a power bill probably hasn't been paid for the site in years either. A lot of time you'll see reuse of those systems by cellular and/or LMR providers... but it doesn't look like much else is sitting on the tower. Of course, I want to say I saw a reference to fiberoptic cabling on one of those hung sheets of paper on the racks, so it's very possible that space is also a very overbuilt fiber cross-connect The Bell System was a very flawed animal, but I don't think anybody would argue that the hardware they made both for themselves and the end-user was pretty damn impressive
$20 to $40 million USD each in 1960's money, for the nuclear hardened sites, according to another video on YT. I'm not sure for the smaller facilities like this one, but probably still a small fortune.
All the equipment in those days were installed by Western Electric which was part of the Bell System. So the cost of installation was immaterial. It was one amazingly reliable telephone network, and the biggest in the world! Until it was all broken apart in 1984! And it's never been the same since. I miss those wondrous days!
Why this damn thing is still powered ! They bored me with the internet power consuption, but I know dozen of thing like this (abandoned tech equipment) still on from decade for no use ! And not a simple light bulb but some transmitter with the antenna cut at the rear fault light on AND still "on"
If Starlink and Oneweb are successful in their goal of getting us away from cell/POTS front and fiber/copper backhaul..all our infrastructure for communication for commercial use may wind up in LEO...there will be tons of abandoned cell towers and structures like this to explore for generations...the history of technology infrastructure is cool...good job...
@@michaelriecher5632 Early TD-2 transmitters used a WE 416 tube at 2-5 watts, later versions had a transistorized final amplifier that also ran the same power. At C band, those KS15676 horn antennas had around 40db gain and just a few watts with stations 30 miles apart still presented a received signal in the -30 to -40dbm range - plenty 'loud enough' for the simple receiver which had no LNA, signal went right into a diode mixer! Unless the relay station was also a pick-off point, the received signal was downconverted to a 70 MHz IF, amplified and then upconverted back to C band to go out to the next relay station.
I've seen those WE 416 triode tubes! A special tool was used to install or remove them from a cavity in the waveguide. The reflex-klystron was used as an oscillator in the transmitting and receiving terminal equipment.
BTW, the TH microwave system that operated on a higher frequency band than TD-2, over the same antennas, used TWT amplifiers in its terminal equipment.
If the power is still on, it is not "abandoned". Also after this video those copper busbars won't be there much longer. That site must really be way out in the middle not nowhere making the site useless for cellular.
In the mid 70's this system carried about 70 percent of the telephone traffic across the United States as well as television from the big 3 networks coast to coast. It was truly amazing.
@@Piano_Castle probably line finders
@@mepperganfortas No line finders in a microwave repeater station!
@@Piano_Castle Probably the timer and relay for the light at the top of the tower.
Microwave was used extensively until fiber optic cables were laid in the late 1980 and 1990s. There are some places that still use microwave but it has come a long ways with QAM allowing for much more data in the same bandwidth. I worked on one that had an OC-3 Sonet output right from the radio cabinet from each transceiver.
@@Chris_at_Home is SONET still a thing? I figure Ethernet would have replaced it by now.
The Bell System started building this massive microwave radio relay network in 1951. It was truly the largest, most amazingly complex long distance telephone network in the world! And reliable! My dad worked for Pacific Telephone and later AT&T in the 60's, 70's and 80's, and he worked in radio. I got to go with him one day in1978 to Turquoise main switching microwave repeater station in the Mojave desert near Baker, CA. It was filled with TD-2 and TH terminal equipment, TH operated on the same horn-reflector antennas as the TD-2. Those round horn-reflectors were added later for AR6 digital radio. It makes me sad to see all of it shut down and abandoned after less than 40 years of dependable service. By 1992 it was all replaced by fiber optic cables. And these sites were quietly and unceremoniously shut down, and forgotten! Along with the L carrier on transcontinental coaxial cables, it was the workhorse of the Bell toll telephone network! I'm surprised that this repeater is still in tact! Those are TD-2 microwave amplifiers and this station is just a relay repeater with no switching. And there it sits, retired in place. So Sad!
Oh, I forgot to mention, there were 2 horn-reflector antennas used for the signal coming and going, one for each direction of transmission. And the SHF frequency used was between 3.7 GHZ to 4.2 GHz.
Just watched the video from the link below and then this one to find your comment here. Was wondering what was inside this Turquoise building and you're speaking about it. Would be so cool to visit and keep at least this central location as museum. Preserving this old technology that has been on the top even if only less than 50 years. It's an heritage. But unfortunately lot of them are or have been dismantled to get the precious metals and then left alone.
th-cam.com/video/QfHyy-4W5X0/w-d-xo.html
The bird nest was a plus
You'll notice the Horns are at different angles between coming and going. The towers were built in zig zag formation, as apposed to a straight line, to prevent the signals from bypassing a tower.
My father was a "telephone pioneer" that maintained these station. It was a treat for me to go to work with him as a kid. Of course that was breaking the rules.
Those racks of equipment 0:37 are the repeaters. The crew called them transmitters although they are really repeaters. The signal would be received and then retransmitted to the next tower. They look like the TD-2 model. Those copper square pipes are wave guides. They act like a wire for the microwave signal. They operated at a frequency around 2ghz. There should have been a room for a backup generator and a room for a air compressor that kept the waveguides slightly pressurized to prevent water from getting in it.
When these things first came on line, they where so cutting edge that they couldn't find anyone to work on them so they had to train people from scratch. Even then, they had to figure out how to diagnose and fix problems on the job because no one had any experience with them.
wow, they are running microwave Waveguide instead of coax all the way to the antennas, so cool!! Thanks for sharing this man
Normal for microwave frequencies - coax is too lossy.
I can’t believe AT&T forgot to remove the COPPER waveguide. That was the normal procedure after a microwave station was de-commissioned. All that copper brought in a significant amount of money‼️
Great video 👍
I'd like to know the location so I may remove said copper and put it back into service as a drain pipe or electrical wire lol
because this tower wasn't De-commissioned so much as turned off.. its probably still there for high bandwidth emergency communication in the event of nuclear attack
@@westtell4 aren't there better microwave systems now?
@@deepspacecow2644 Well, ther are fiberoptics between cities, now, and since they're underground, they should be immune to nukes. But they are digital, so vulnerable to cyberattacks. The microwaves are analog, so ... well I dunno, My argument might of made sense 10-20 years ago. but its fading ....
Most of that is silver plated
I worked at 3 or 4 of these stations on the same route in the late 60’s and early 70’s. In addition to the TD-2 radio we had TH radio which operated in the 6 Ghz band and had a larger capacity per channel. It used traveling wave tubes for amplification and the same antennas as the TD-2.
The burning question on my mind is how this place still has power after being abandoned for so long!
My guess is to keep the aircraft/ obstruction lighting turned on, mounted atop the microwave tower structure.
@@WillNJ this is actually precisely why. I've also heard rumors that they (AT&T, per a government contract) keep these stations at a minimum level of capability and readiness. Why you ask? Because even from the get-go their purpose was first as a transcontinental large bandwidth telecommutions relay, though perhaps even more importantly their secondary mission was to serve as a high reliability emergency backup transcontinental communications system in the case of some catastrophic event (or) nuclear attack, and so forth. I HIGHLY doubt that they suddenly became useless just because satellites and cell towers. In fact because we rely SO much on those relatively fragile and easily attacked public infrastructure, these old, obscure, and relatively hidden-in-plain-sight installations are more important than ever before. I don't buy the claim that it'd be "cheaper to just leave them in place." Like nah, now way homie. You have to run that aircraft strobe, power the site, and keep the structure and building safe to occupy, as well as pay taxes on a non-revenue-generating site. I'm sure there are TONS of other costs involved too. And that station looked WAY too clean and ready to relay signals to be truly forgotten and "abandoned." Yeah there was a bird nest, so what? You think you won't find those at any old cell tower / radio tower? Come on.
These sites are critical infrastructure.
They have to maintain the tower lighting per FAA regulations. Cheaper to pay the electrical bill than knock the tower down....
@@bobweiss8682 I'd imagine it costs to keep those transformers energized. Seems like a couple of charges would bring the tower down were it could be cut up and hauled away. They're going to need to do a much better job of securing the building if they want to keep it in a state of readiness.
@@scenicdepictionsofchicagolife There is truth to this. These old analog systems are reliable. Though most sites are gutted. They can easily be brought back into service. The tech would look different, but the infrastructure would be turn key.
I hope bird mom comes back to feed her babies!
Even in this state of decay, you can see the workmanship. Much better than the cell sites that get slapped up around here.
I mean, each one was literally meant to withstand a nuke.
The cell industry and internet infrastructure is utter crap when compared to the level of engineering and workmanship that went into the Bell system.
Well, I think everyone has figured out that whatever cell tech there is, it will be obsolete in ten years, anyway, so why build to last?
Those baby birds looked like robins. Certainly, correct me if I'm wrong. As a kid in the '60s and 70s, that was the most common bird nest we would come across (in Maine, in those days).
What a rare view! Hard to find a site with gear still inside it. Great video! Thanks!
Let alone power!!
This is amazing, this is how phone calls AND network broadcast reached everywhere in the nation. I had no idea how this worked until a few years ago. They should keep these towers intact for historic purposes. The building looks like it's also equipped with A/C and I'm sure heat in the winter, where it's needed.
Looks to be in pretty good repair -- I've got a station near me in Ashby MA that's now a Crown site that the interior is full of mold, the turbine room (had twin turbine generators @ 1MW each) is just a shell of its' self, etc -- and the roof is failing -- most of the carriers still operating cellular on the site have moved to either outside the building or put outdoor equipment cabinets INSIDE the building! Pretty sketchy!
n3lee is kid I would even put a cabinet on a building if roof was falling in, it would be hard to access if the roof fell all the way
Thanks for documenting this! Equipment seems to be in pristine condition. Amazing the scrappers didn’t break ii and go to town and all that metal work.
Far enough off the beaten path and these places are not obvious value to your average tweaker which is a good thing, some scrappers raiding an active site would do incredible serious damage.😮
An incredibly beautiful system it was.
It was! And it worked great. The hight of technology in its day....Until something better came along. Alas!
you can call this old school and out dated but what you are looking at is a rock solid reliable system to communicate. doing away with microwave and land lines (hard wire) system is the biggest mistake ma bell ever did. even if the enemy is not from this earth , (and don't laugh) we can be totally in the dark in seconds . the old systems were hardened and would run if any one part was destroyed the calls could be rerouted another way. great video , thanks. as an old western electric equipment installer it warms my heart to see those beautiful gray equipment bays. i would give any thing to have one receive and one transmit bay. most of the equipment is still there but almost all the wave guides to the horns are gone . i hope they have that place locked up and guarded. back in the day a small station that did not have a radio man full time had alarms that went off in the central office switch room showing that some one was at the sight.
Most all of the wave guides inside the building are intact. Unless copper thieves have paid a visit lately. This site is so remote it has been undisturbed for perhaps 20 years.
@wayneheigl5549, my dad worked for PT&T and later AT&T in the 60's, 70's and 80s. He would take me to work with him often, I loved to watch you WECO guys do your work! It was a beautiful work of art ! And it was always exactly the same no matter what office you were in . I have great respect and admiration for you guys. WECO kept the Bell System running good ! What a great system it was!
The internet has grown in a similar fashion, BGP allows it to grow and change with failures, rerouting as much as possible. Still mainly at the whims of T1s tho
The KS horns at the top appear to have the nuclear blast hardening kit installed, and the lower pair may as well, but it's tough to tell from the video. The lower pair has the side lobe reduction "wings" installed. That's absolutely amazing that the TD-2 gear is still there.
Can you elaborate on this? I've seen other people mention blast hardening kits on these antennas but not sure how to identify that. Thanks!
@@drozcompany4132 It's the frame around the outside of the microwave horns, I do believe. If you look at pictures of other sites, the horns are not always covered in those structure.
I was a young microwave. Installer technician for GTELenkurt in 1972 and had to climb inside of those Rohr horns to tighten the nuts for those “wings” being installed to increase the front to back ratio the opposing direction. Gives you an idea how big those suckers were…I was given the job because I was skinny and could fit through the square hole made when we dropped the feedhorn.
The frames have nothing to do with blast hardening, usually. (usually the frames/top grate are ice protection, odd here but whatever) The way to tell is that the horns are smooth-sided like the upper pair. Regular horns you'll see the sheet metal seams where they're bolted together. @@drozcompany4132
Looks like it's still operational, that everything is still in place. Wonder if there's still diesel in the tanks for the generator, that looks exactly like the long line site that we took over in Washington state and turned into a television transmitter. We actually repurposed one of the microwave antennas and the waveguide, as the studio to transmitter link for the station. But it was sad that we had to remove probably 90% of it to make room for the new equipment. Also removing the loading from the tower so that it would not ice up as bad in the winter the company didn't want to be responsible for that kind of a risk. But we ended up scrapping over two and a half tons of copper and brass, from the waveguides and grounding system. But still leaving enough waveguide and the complete lightning ground system for the tower and most of the facility intact.
Was the site you took over on Wymer Mountain, in Kittitas County, between Selah and Ellensburg in the W. T. Murray State Wildlife Park? I used to work in that site.
Those birds terrified me. Best jump scare I've had in a while.
Dude. You are right about the strength of the buildings. I am a meteorological enthusiast and I went to observe a building because I was getting in them and I found one that got hit by the Washington IL EF (it actually struck 9 years ago exactly when I’m writing this). The building got hit direct on by the EF4 and it survived. Every thing loose ease banged up and the tower was gone but the building was is great condition. I wish to visit more and add to my catalogue of sites I’m researching.
Most of these sites were purchased from AT&T by American Towers. They lease space on the towers for microwave, cellular etc…. AT&T still owns a few which have working equipment in them.
There is a guy that used to own a communications company and was a tower climber/repairperson that retired from climbing towers at 77 years old after falling from a tree at his home trying to get a cat out of a tree. He was hospitalized for almost a year and spent quite a few months recovering further at home. His company is in Middle TN and bought one of the old Long Lines towers in TN or KY and he and a crew removed the old Long Lines horns off the tower. His name is John Hettish and he has a channel here on TH-cam, but he hasn't posted any new videos in over two years. I believe there is a video on his TH-cam channel showing the horn removal. Checking a post I made on his site about a year ago, he was talking about selling his company and by now, has probably sold his company and retired.
From what I am understanding these were left standing because they would cost to much to tear down.This one is in some pretty awesome shape. I rare find indeed.
Bell system was already broken up by the time the TD-2 network was deactivated. The shell of what was Long Lines no longer could afford to properly decommission the stations.
@@stevesekel9540 Yeah but RIP (retire in place) was a long tradition in the Bell System. Turn it off, walk away, don't worry about it until the space is needed.
Great video, thanks for sharing, much appreciated. The scenes were much easier to watch with the sound turned down low (music was bearable but too loud). Thanks again, it's great to see a site with so much equipment still in situ.
Amazing that the copper has not been looted from that site.
Wow, lots of cool transmitters and waveguide!
Greater Bridgeport Amateur Radio Club indeed, if I owned that property I would put razor wire and about a dozen security cameras to scare away any thiefs
You can tell this is way out in BFE because it's all mostly still intact with no graffiti. Remote location might also be why it's still powered and just in a "decommissioned" state versus having all the equipment removed like they did with a lot of the other sites. Maybe for some kind of redundancy that's never been needed? There's one in Maupin, OR that's right off 97 and up until sometime in 2018 it still had the horns, drove by it in 2017 and it was all intact, drove by again in 2018 almost exactly a year later and the horns were gone and there was a for sale sign on the fence.
AT&T sent a lot of their old telephone equipment to Mexico and South America, to be installed there. So not all of it got scrapped, thankfully.
The electricity stays on to keep the creepy music playing.
I worked for a company that removed the waveguides on an ATT tower in Maine and we were told they were being re-purposed in a 3rd world country
That shit freaks me out but I’m super interested in it. I couldn’t be in there alone, something about huge electric devices coming to life is the stuff of nightmares
Yep. For me its 100x worse if the huge devices are underwater. Also just antennas. Idk what it is but I think I'm broken lmfao
I work for ATT and there's still a ton of big old central offices that house the small spaced fiber optic equipment. Those buildings are near shuttered and are definitely spooky to walk through. You can almost feel the decades of operators walking the old marble hallways that are now devoid of life and half lit
@@scottburns2600 What position are you?
What's that clicking sound in there? I initially thought it might be the relays controlling the anti-collision lights, but they don't appear to be on in the clip and it's a weird pattern anyway.
The anti-collision lights run 24 hours a day when they are working properly, although for the ones I am familiar with, the intensity does change between day and night hours.
I'm not sure what's going on with that relay that's operating. Possibly it's part of the equipment alarm system and it keeps trying to reset..?
Almost sounds like a fire alarm panel with the NAC fuses pulled - sounds like code 3!
Those surplus TD-2 rigs were like gold in the early 1980s when C band satellite video was not encrypted. If you could get your hands on one, you had most of what was needed for a broadcast quality C band receiver.
a ham or group of hams need to buy these sites and put up private or club stations... some sites have bunkers too
What is that clicking sound?something trying to connect to something else that is no longer there or on anymore?
I am wondering the same thing. It sounded like a contactor stuck on a loop running high power because it would be click buzz click buzz click over and over.
Those waveguides are worth a lot of money! They could pay for demolition if they auctioned all those waveguides on eBay.
Guys get real. There is less than ZERO chance this site is "in case" of anything. The reason for power is the obstruction lights. Somewhere, there are some radio amateurs would LOVE to have the use of those towers.
would be awesome to bring those back to life, what a shame to see such good tech left to rot, cause for the most part they still look ready to rock
If nothing else it might be able to serve as a backup/emergency coms
@@pmmp855 yes in fact it was made to even withstand a nuclear blast a tornado wont even scratch the system
Site was recently active and used for microwave relays of some sort. At least 2 of the horns have been repurposed.
looks like most of the heliax was removed.
cool to see one of these with the horns still up
i was just at a former long lines site on fremont peak outside of mariposa yesterday.
the only thing remaining on the outside is the taller part of the tower. the lower platform that had the horns has been removed. not sure if there is any transceiver equipment left in the com building as i didnt have access to that. I was there for a different customer
…and cue the ominous music.
On a more serious note, I work in the alarm industry and have for the past 25 years. When I started the method of communication was typically good old copper wire phone lines. Over the years most alarm communications are handled by cellular transmission, high frequency radio and network communicators. Each method had it’s advantages and disadvantages. I still service a few systems that have conventional phone lines or POTS lines, but the vast majority is cellular. I can say that cellular communicators have proved to be problematic. Reliable reception is the biggest issue that I’ve had to deal with. I’ve seen high frequency radio networks collapse into a nightmare to troubleshoot and restore. So far I’ve had the best luck with a network communicator that uses cellular as a back up. The phone company has said that eventually all the copper lines will go.
Did that station still have power? What was with all the noise? Sounded like running machinery.
Station still has power. Clicking sound was tower lights relay.
I am guessing it can’t totally be abandoned, perhaps seriously neglected but not abandoned.
It's cool to see the vandals didn't get their grubby hands on the place.
EXACTLY! I hate seeing that crap.
May anyone tell me what that clicking, kinda thunking sound was that I heard in the video? I don’t know much about this kind of stuff but I want to know more. Thank you! 😊
I bet those waveguides built up with moisture pretty quick.
I hope you called the office to tell them you were there!
Well done. Good drone shot. I was wondering about the leftovers.
A lot of my tax money there. And all replaced by a "plastic-wire". 🧐
This was an amazing system. I remember driving around my area in New Hampshire taking pictures of the towers and antennas. Never had the opportunity to go inside a center. Where is this tower/building? Thanks for posting.
The drone footage at the end looks like it was shot on 35mm, it looks beautiful
The birds are hungry, so cute.
I worked the micro wave towers for Western Electric,, wish I could find one for sale, the basement are a bomb shelter to keep at least 10 people alive
Im surprised that the copper wave-guides are all still there.
Wow how come there isn't a scary birds nest like that in any computer games? Devil is in the detail.
What is that clicking? Some sort of alarm? Power still on? Clicking reminds me of C.O. alarm timing.
Tower light maybe?
It's a relay operating, possibly part of the equipment alarm system trying to reset.
How many calls could these long line facilities handle at any one time? (Thinking back to the days of rapid busy signals.)
It's also nostalgic to think about all the communications that went through there for decades - people receiving calls from friends, family, lovers, and business associates. Calls that were much-anticipated, and surely some that delivered bad news.
Look up SAGE - calls that included the one that never came - LAUNCH!
Each repeater station had 6 channels in each direction. 5 were operating and the 6th, with its own TD-2 bay, would automatically switch in if one of the 5 went down. Each microwave channel could carry 6000 voice channels with no television feed, considerably less if TV is also being carried.
There is a concrete Long Lines tower in a city in northeast Kansas...I can't remember the name of the city, though. I believe it was built in the 1950s.
What is the realys clicking for the audible clicking heard?
Those relays are for the blinking tower lights.
That was very moving. Thanks
Those birds in the nest looked almost animatronic!
What was the clicking sound coming from?
OldGrizzlyGamer that’s someone waiting on hold for AT&T customer service.
Sounded like code-3 from a fire alarm panel in alarm
tower light
Definitely the tower light
@@alexlansaw4469 too fast for a tower light, prob an alarm panel that still has power
Wow these are some delightfully creepy ass vibes. I love it.
Awesome technology which fewer and fewer people know about anymore. Love the cello music, what is it called?
I'm surprised all those waveguides are still there. That's a lot of copper
0:07. Lil Frank Barone & friends all shouting, “MARIE!! FOOD!!”
0:37 that equipment is still useful if it was upgraded
Maybe as a functional museum piece, but that would be it. Inefficiency is it's biggest weakness - space, power, and spectral. All of that equipment would probably fit into one or two modern microwave racks which probably would even handle more capacity.
Someone like Connections Museum should try to get hold of this and see if they can integrate it into their systems somehow.
Do you know why the site had power? Is there some cellular or other active infrastructure on that tower?
So what was the equipment clicking on and off before the weird music started?
It's a relay operating, possibly part of the equipment alarm system that's trying to reset.
Amazing piece of history
is that 3-click in the main room the fire alarm?
It's a relay operating, possibly part of the equipment alarm system that's trying to reset.
For being abandoned they sure don't seem to mind paying for electrical service, as the lights and at least some equipment (click click click) are running!
The music was totally unnecessary, but otherwise nice to see that old stuff.
look at those copper Bus Bars- a lot of $$$$$$ there
I was NOT expecting that bird nest to be occupied. lol
Also I'm surprised this place hasn't been tagged to hell with graffiti, or at least had the copper stripped. Some serious history here. How on earth did you find this, let alone get in here?
I know bro that scared me lmao
Just think that shortwave frequency just pinging back and forth inside them Square tubes
Saw some mercoid switches on the wall
Almost looks like with some hard work they could fire these beasts up again - kind of a work of art how "built for serious use" this was.
It's like Myst!
if all this is shut down and ppl talk fiber replaced it ...i can see that for the basic stuff but radio is radio ..what did we replace it with ...its not like plains have fiber falling out the back
Waiting on my fiber in every home tax refund check....
Awesome video and music
Love watching this while sitting in a Long Lines shelter :)
Geez, I hope you didn't wear those shoes inside your house after that
That tower still has the UHF SAC antennas on it.
Echo fox?
No, it doesn't.
how much would each of these installations set ATT back when they were built ?
Between $12 and $13, depending on how many sticks of gum were included
I've often wondered this too, and the funny part is : Almost nobody that had anything to do with the installation of this gear actually knew what it cost. I'm guessing that information was intentionally kept from installers, just so they didn't have any idea what it would be worth should someone decide to have it grow legs.
It had to be widly expensive, but the thing is : The Bell System had *so much freaking money* coming in from all the different services they provided (and to a large extent services with no actual competitors), that you'd see massively overbuilt infrastructure like this be the norm with almost everything they did. Also with no competitors, they had *YEARS* to perfect a lot of the stuff they designed before it ever saw any production use.
That whole mindset resulted in the ultimate downfall of the organization, but resulted in carrier equipment with build quality that even today is often unmatched in reliability.
Just look at the last huge piece of hardware that was developed by the AT&T/Bell System before the breakup : The 5ESS. Even after AT&T was broken up, that switch was manufactured from 1982 until 2003, and there are still hundreds of them providing telephone service today
It also doesn't surprise me that the power is still on in that place, and honestly... a power bill probably hasn't been paid for the site in years either. A lot of time you'll see reuse of those systems by cellular and/or LMR providers... but it doesn't look like much else is sitting on the tower.
Of course, I want to say I saw a reference to fiberoptic cabling on one of those hung sheets of paper on the racks, so it's very possible that space is also a very overbuilt fiber cross-connect
The Bell System was a very flawed animal, but I don't think anybody would argue that the hardware they made both for themselves and the end-user was pretty damn impressive
$20 to $40 million USD each in 1960's money, for the nuclear hardened sites, according to another video on YT. I'm not sure for the smaller facilities like this one, but probably still a small fortune.
All the equipment in those days were installed by Western Electric which was part of the Bell System. So the cost of installation was immaterial. It was one amazingly reliable telephone network, and the biggest in the world! Until it was all broken apart in 1984! And it's never been the same since. I miss those wondrous days!
amazing vid! Thansk for sharing.
Who pays the electric bill. We do.
Why this damn thing is still powered !
They bored me with the internet power consuption, but I know dozen of thing like this (abandoned tech equipment) still on from decade for no use !
And not a simple light bulb but some transmitter with the antenna cut at the rear fault light on AND still "on"
Yeah that's why you heard that clunk and then a tweet and you're either connected or disconnected. Crank Phones Rule!
Fantastic work! Outstanding editing and soundtrack. How did these microwave transmitters function prior to 1992?
see the AT&T Tech Channel on YT
If Starlink and Oneweb are successful in their goal of getting us away from cell/POTS front and fiber/copper backhaul..all our infrastructure for communication for commercial use may wind up in LEO...there will be tons of abandoned cell towers and structures like this to explore for generations...the history of technology infrastructure is cool...good job...
With everything in LEO, it would be easy for an enemy to jam the signals at best, or a small EMP at worst... and everyone would be cut off.
Nah, I like RTT ping less than 100ms
No it will not lol. Many companies want reliable high speed services. Not high latency best effort low bandwidth satellite.
I find this so sad.
Yes, I agree. It makes me sad too.
amazing.
lol the tower light relay clicking
No, it's more likely part of the equipment alarm system trying to reset.
Cool Technology!
Did it use masers for amplification? I see lots of wave guides, of course at microwave frequencies.
Klystrons, twts, magnetrons?
The TD 2 radio had 3 stage tube type transmitters. The only put out 2 to 5 watts
@@michaelriecher5632 Early TD-2 transmitters used a WE 416 tube at 2-5 watts, later versions had a transistorized final amplifier that also ran the same power. At C band, those KS15676 horn antennas had around 40db gain and just a few watts with stations 30 miles apart still presented a received signal in the -30 to -40dbm range - plenty 'loud enough' for the simple receiver which had no LNA, signal went right into a diode mixer! Unless the relay station was also a pick-off point, the received signal was downconverted to a 70 MHz IF, amplified and then upconverted back to C band to go out to the next relay station.
I've seen those WE 416 triode tubes! A special tool was used to install or remove them from a cavity in the waveguide. The reflex-klystron was used as an oscillator in the transmitting and receiving terminal equipment.
BTW, the TH microwave system that operated on a higher frequency band than TD-2, over the same antennas, used TWT amplifiers in its terminal equipment.
This station is still packed with spare parts including 416 tubes.
What is the repetitive relay clicking?
It's a relay operating, possibly part of the equipment alarm system trying to reset.
Some times the wave guides are gold plated.
Silver works better. I used to work in similar microwave sites in Australia.
What was the clicking?
And any idea if there are other sites that have power, and any idea if they are still monitored?
just a guess, but possibly a fire alarm system in a fault condition ?
Yes I was imagining an alarm sound accompanying those clicks
I believe it was a relay for the blinking aircraft avoidance lights on the tower
It's a relay operating, possibly part of the equipment alarm system trying to reset.
and the electrics are still on !!!!
If the power is still on, it is not "abandoned". Also after this video those copper busbars won't be there much longer. That site must really be way out in the middle not nowhere making the site useless for cellular.
It’s basically in a hibernation state