General – Page 3 – Engineering Radio

Special Equipment

This year, winter in the Northeast has been relatively tame (so far). As I type this today, the temperature is 60 degrees F. The average high temperature this time of the year is around 40 F. This is an anomaly due to the strong El Nino currently going on in the Pacific Ocean. Next year will likely be closer to normal.

To that end, one of the problems in winter time is access to mountaintop transmitter sites. Several of the sites we maintain can only be accessed with special equipment such as a snowcat, track machine, or snowmobile. We have two or three sites that are cut off from regular vehicular access for 2-4 months per year. One site in particular has water flowing down the access road from a reservoir creating a 200-foot sheet of ice that is not even walkable.

For many years, I have been on the lookout for some special equipment that will allow us to get there safely and back.

Meet the special equipment:

The wheels were replaced with tracks and we added this stud kit for ice

Like other such items, there is a cost associated with owning this. In the past, we have paid a two-way radio company that has a larger snow machine for rides to the top of various mountains. That can get pricey if several trips are needed. We will have to figure out a reasonable fuel surcharge for the operation of this track machine.

TV sweeps

We have been really busy this fall working on multiple projects plus the day-to-day tasks. One thing that is always fun; sweeping antennas with a VNA.

In this case, WVIT Hartford, CT needed to repair a leaking transmission line section just below the antenna. To ensure that there would be no problems with return to the air at full power, we did a before sweep and after sweep.

~~WVIT is the ATSC 3.0 lighthouse station for the Hartford Market.~~ FCCinfo.com has the station listed as ATSC 3.0.

The WVIT tower is 1,100 feet tall and is located on Rattlesnake Mountain near Farmington, CT. Most of the other Hartford TV stations are on the same hill.

It is always interesting to see new places and meet new people. This site has an auxiliary TV studio, which they were using during COVID.

Watching the weather

The weather affects many things. When the weather improves, outdoor projects like tower work can be completed. When the weather is terrible, we may need to do extra work restoring broadcast signals. Today, I am looking at Hurricane Lee, in the North Atlantic basin. Historically speaking, September is the month when we get Hurricanes in the Northeast.

As of this writing, it is too early to be concerned about Lee. Hurricanes can be very unpredictable and there is a good chance the forecast will change many times over the next week or so. That being said, this time of year is a good time to call the fuel companies and top off the generator tanks since winter is coming in a few months anyway. As the situation develops, I may need to dust off the pre-storm checklist.

The basic pre-storm checklist looks something like this:

96 hours or more before the storm: Schedule fuel deliveries for generators, and top off oil and water as needed. Test generators under load if possible. Check UPS batteries. Make an off-site data backup if it does not already exist.
72 hours before the storm: Coordinate with programming to have backup programs available in the event that the satellite dish is damaged, the internet goes down, etc. Inventory and restock PPE, emergency food, water, blankets, first aid supplies, batteries, etc.
48 hours before the storm: Procure supplies needed to secure buildings and sites (plywood, tarps, sandbags, rope, nails, screws, etc). Work out backups for internet STL systems if possible. Work on access plans to remote sites. Make sure that you have the proper tools available.
24 hours before the storm: Secure your personal dwelling, and make sure you have a plan for pets and loved ones. Secure proper shelter for everyone. Fill vehicle gas tanks, and fill portable gas tanks. Update off-site data backup and secure in a safe location.
12 hours before the storm: Secure buildings, park vehicles in areas where they will not be damaged by flooding or blowing debris, and make any last-minute supply runs for emergency food and water. Have a set or two of dry clothes and shoes in your vehicle (almost nothing is worse than spending 12-24 hours in wet and cold clothes). Coordinate response with other station personnel, prioritize the order of restoration, and coordinate with local authorities on their needs.

A few years ago, I purchased one of these LiPo battery chain saws:

These are great units because you do not have to carry cans of 2-cycle gas around. This model will cut trees 12-14 inches in diameter and I get about 25-35 minutes of cutting time per battery depending on the motor load. I have used it several times to cut small trees from access roads to tower sites.

Above all else, during and after the storm, be safe. Do not take any risks involving downed wires, damaged towers, satellite dishes, etc.

Salvaged classic equipment

During the early days of COVID, we were engaged to move a studio out of an old location in a hurry. There had been a long-simmering dispute with the landlord, who finally changed the locks (illegally), but then gave 30 days’ notice, and so on. Regardless, we were building a new studio a few blocks away and were told to take anything usable, which we did.

I noticed the old RCA on-air light for one of the studios and the owner said he’d like to have that installed at the new place. There were two other ones that were not working. In total, we ended up with three of these:

As far as I can tell, they dated from around 1960 and were filthy. Sixty years of dust, dirt, cigarette smoke, etc needed to be scrubbed off of them.

The original light bulb was a bi-pin 110-volt incandescent lamp. Over the years, the sockets became brittle and fell apart.

Rather than trying to source replacements for the lamp holder, I figured it was easier to install a 12 VDC LED module. That way this would become a low-voltage device and the LED module should last for as long as the studio is in use.

I took the two best units and installed them in the new studio. One of those units needed minor touchups to the black paint. The third unit’s paint was in bad shape. I opted to strip off all the black paint and repaint it, this time with red.