Batboard

The awesome power of nature.

Other than being too busy with restoration work, I've wondered why there haven't been more posts to the batboard about telecom tower damage and related stories from Katrina?

RF Dude

my guess is most the people who are working on the stuff is either too busy to take photo's or just no internet where they are - and might not be home yet...

-Alex

Here in SE Texas we lost three towers that I know of...(not counting the Rohn 25G/ homemade looking self support towers that were poorly put up or overloaded)....
Time Warner Cable lost their 500ft tower in Port Neches TX...I am trying to get pics of it...no TV antennas were on it anymore...everything brought in via fiber or sat now...but their two way and some PCS stuff were on the tower.
Global/Pinncale lost a 375ft self supporter in Groves, TX..it was originally the old Port Arthur marine operator (VHF Marine Ch 26/27) tower from the 60s! There were few tennants on it now...and I bet it wont be replaced.
A radio station (KOLE/KRCM) lost their STL tower (350') in Beaumont...was used by NOAA until 4 years ago...only thing on it was the STL dish now...

Nothing else was lost that I have seen yet....but trying to get pictures and post them to the web page above as soon as I can...
(I STILL dont have power yet....thank goodness for that gen set I bought!)

The tower crews that I have talked with are out straight trying to make repairs. The number of tower failures have been surprisingly low. Most of the failed towers have been old ones that have had unknown damage done over the years from rusting and the likes. Many of the tower owners have overloaded them way beyond what they should have.

One of the towers in the photos, looks like an old guyed tower near a sugar cane processing plant that I use to go to. It was old then and had questionable guy wires back then. I remember the old wooden radio shed and the 2 sat dishes near the base of the tower. The pond at the back of the shed where the tower fell was used as a water source for the processing plant.

On another note, the Jefferson Parish 340 foot self support tower by the Gretna courthouse came down. It fell to the south and landed on a warehouse across the street.

In Slidell, I am told that the city self support tower came down. It supported the 800 conventional repeater and the VHF fire radio antennas.

Other than these 2, I haven't heard of any others coming down in the New Orleans region.

Jim

alex wrote:my guess is most the people who are working on the stuff is either too busy to take photo's or just no internet where they are - and might not be home yet...

-Alex