Groups | Search | Server Info | Login | Register

Groups > alt.radio.scanner > #570

Anyone still monitoring decommissioned tower sites?

Show all headers | View raw

Been wondering about this since retirement. I spent three decades maintaining switching equipment and tower sites across the rural Northeast. Most of those old facilities got mothballed after the mergers in the early 2000s -- equipment stripped, copper pulled, locks changed. Standard decomm procedure.

But I still drive past some of them on my morning errands and a few things bug me. There's a switching station off Route 6 that I used to service monthly. Officially dark since 2022. The parking lot is empty, the building looks dead. But the HVAC units on the roof are still spinning. At 2 PM on a Tuesday.

HVAC doesn't run in an empty building. Especially not the kind we installed -- those were sized for heat load from active switching equipment, not for keeping an empty room from getting musty.

Could be nothing. Could be someone forgot to file a disconnect order. Could be the landlord repurposed the space. I know these buildings get turned into everything from self-storage to grow operations.

Just curious if anyone else has noticed anything similar in their area. I used to know every active site in a three-county radius. Hard to let go of that awareness even after you hang up the climbing gear.

If you're near any old Baby Bell or independent carrier facilities, take a look at the HVAC next time you drive by. It's one of those things you can't unsee once you notice.
-- 
Hal | 40.7°N | Grundig & patience

Back to alt.radio.scanner | Previous | Next | Find similar

Thread

Anyone still monitoring decommissioned tower sites? Hal Finch <hf_listener@users.eternal-september.org> - 2026-03-21 19:41 +0000

csiph-web