Long Lines abandoned microwave relay site TD-2 AT&T 

I'm dying to know what the ominous, incessant 'clicking' sound in the equipment room was...

@@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.

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. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QfHyy-4W5X0.html

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

Normal for microwave frequencies - coax is too lossy.

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).

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.

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

Let alone power!!

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

It was! And it worked great. The hight of technology in its day....Until something better came along. Alas!

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.😮

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.

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 RU-vid, but he hasn't posted any new videos in over two years. I believe there is a video on his RU-vid 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.

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.

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.

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!

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?

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

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.

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

EXACTLY! I hate seeing that crap.

see the AT&T Tech Channel on YT

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.

Tower light maybe?

It's a relay operating, possibly part of the equipment alarm system trying to reset.

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.

Those relays are for the blinking tower lights.

It's a relay operating, possibly part of the equipment alarm system that's trying to reset.

It's a relay operating, possibly part of the equipment alarm system that's trying to reset.

I know bro that scared me lmao

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.

Back in the 60's.

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.

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!

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

The terrain looks like west Texas, to me. And the channel's owner goes by "@Txsoundman".

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.

It's a relay operating, possibly part of the equipment alarm system trying to reset.

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.

Has to be power so that the beacon on top of the tower can be functional and visible to aircraft (mostly at night).