[GreenKeys] AT&T microwave tower

[Blake Bowers]

Actually, no...

There were 7 RBOC's in 1984, by court order under
divestiture.

US West was acquired by Qwest.
SWBT, PACTEL, BELLSOUTH, and Ameritech have all come
back under AT&T,

Bell Atlantic and NYNEX are part of what is now known as
Verizon.

Although Qwest does have the high operating costs, there are a
variety of reasons why it has not been absorbed by either AT&T or
Verizon.

AT&T Still has microwave links in places other than the Rockys,
such as the link between Stillwater OK and Oklahoma City OK,
three hops on long lines sites.



Don't take your organs to heaven,
heaven knows we need them down here!
Be an organ donor, sign your donor card today.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Robert House" <Packard42 at gmail.com>
To: "Larry Tighe" <larryradio at worldnet.att.net>
Cc: <Greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 7:52 PM
Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] AT&T microwave tower


>I communicated with a man in California that bought an ATT microwave
> tower and turned it into a museum.
> The older links that are still used (mostly for backup and alternate
> routing) are across the Rocky Mountains.
> You will notice that the only large RBOC that little at&t (aka SBC)
> has not bought is Qwest.  The former Mountain Bell.
> That is because Qwest has the highest facility maintenance costs in
> the nation.
>
> Don
>
>
> On 8 Jan 2009, at 12:02 PM, Larry Tighe wrote:
>
> Go here for ATT towers.
>
> http://www.drgibson.com/towers/
>
> I recently sold mine....5000 sq ft bldg, 1 ft thick walls and atomic
> bomb "proof" built in the '60s to resist Russian attacks on the NYC
> and Phila. area...tower was 250 feet tall with 4 horns.  Generator was
> 150 KW !!!
>
> Last surviving ATT microwave links I've heard of were out west and
> survived a massive forest fire.
>
> lar
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: amourdutigre
> To: Greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
> Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 12:56 PM
> Subject: [GreenKeys] AT&T microwave tower
>
> The microwave tube on e-bay stirred a question in my mind that would
> go nicely here...
>
> When I was a young boy, I remember seeing along the country highways
> these relatively low, broad for their height unguyed towers that had
> giant microwave horns shooting in opposite directions. They were fed
> with what I assume was wave guide. There was always a huge red
> aviation warning light on top even though the towers were relatively
> short, and there was always a late forties early fifties vintage brick
> and masonry building at the base of the tower with fence around it and
> a locked gate. I remember seeing these from the mid sixties to the mid
> seventies, and I assume that they were around a lot longer before.
> They were usually along the old (non-interstate...most of those had
> not been completed at the time) country highways. I have not seen one
> in many years.
>
> Along the same lines, many of the old telephone buildings had a
> rectangular enclosed tower on their roofs that had the same type of
> horn array. Now, only one telephone building any where around where I
> live has one left, probably because it has not been dismantled. The
> telephone building in Kansas City, MO had one on it for years before
> it was removed, and it used to be a prominent part of the skyline. Now
> it is gone.
>
> Are there anymore of these microwave links left? Just before I started
> noticing that they were disappearing, I noticed that the horns were
> being replaced with passive reflectors that were themselves being
> illuminated by dishes at the base of the tower shooting straight up.
>
> I would love to hear more about these facilities, and any of the
> history surrounding them. Though I have never worked in the telecom
> industry, I have always had a great fascination with it, and have
> collected many artifacts associated with it.
>
> Best and 73,
>
> Joe KB0TXC
>
>
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