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I'm no genius when it comes to antennas and hunting for stuff....but i'll give my 2 cents....for what it's worth.

Question #1 - are there any other tennants in the building besides Sound Transit?

Question #2 - is it possible that the antennas are not longer being used? Since they're so long, I'd have to say that they're low band something. And since low band is somewhat old, maybe they're just up for looks now?

I always try to think out of the box. Think about everything that has to do with transit that is wireless. AVL of cars or any reason that data would need to be sent between cars and the base etc.. Taco, what is in the cars? How about the old cars? Any computers, radios etc...anything electrical that would need to be sent back to base wirelessly? I'm sure there's a system out there where the car sends realtime diagnostics back to base (engine temp, speed etc...)

My uncle lived in Everett and was a ham and because he had a tower and lived on a hill, the garbage company approached him and asked if they could put their radio repeater in his ham shack and an antenna on his tower in exchange for free garbage pick-up. Could be the same thing here -- any other govt. agencies using the height of this building as an advantage? Where's the King Co. radio tech when you need him....

Or could you just be an ass and cut the wires and see what happends, or get your ladder out and take the lid off that box and see what's inside. As long as you kept Barney the guard busy with something as earth shattering as a box of donuts and coffee...you'd probably be ok.

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Interoperability is an attitude, not a technology.

1) A few. Don't remember who and Street View is incomplete.
2) The garage was completed in 2003. It's possible that they're no longer in use, but 6 years isn't that long.

I'm 99% sure it's not AVLs for the busses. They wouldn't gain much from putting them way up high, and if anything it'd give them false positives due to the increased range. I couldn't figure out how to word this link in that last sentence, so I'll just put it here: signpost system.

By "car" do you mean train car or transit vehicle (bus)? Metro doesn't send much besides location back to base. They did a pilot project where two buses did, but that's been discontinued but is planned to be integrated in the system wide radio upgrade. That's their whole 700 MHz project, which won't be completed until after 2011.

And Sound Transit's buses aren't any different, as they're ordered and built to Metro's specifications. Sound Transit's buses are operated by Community Transit, KC Metro, and Pierce Transit. The individual agencies do all the maintanence, storage, and operation (which is why you'll occasionally see a Metro coach doing a ST route or vice versa) but ST pays for it all. So a ST bus operated by Metro has all the same radios and stuff.

And Sean won't say what they are because he can't (or he doesn't know).


I guess it could be an AVL-type system for the trains, but why they need 5 antennas is beyond me. And if it was for the trains I'd think they'd be a bit closer to the platform.

Ya....I wasnt sure...I dont spend a lot of time in the Seattle area. They're just weird...like nothing I've ever seen...

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Interoperability is an attitude, not a technology.

Also, keep in mind this is a relatively high point covering Auburn and south...Someone could be renting space.

I'll see if I can get my Scout working.

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President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

And if not, there's always this cheap one or this slightly more expensive one or this one they call a scanner.

No time, next opening I have will be Tuesday the 21st. :chaingun:

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

Spent about half an hour loitering near the array today, including following the pipe a little ways. Scout was working, and running. All it picked up was buses on 457.xxx sending data. The housings on the antennas and the wiring all look shoddy and old....rust and spiderwebs abound.

Maybe better luck next time.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives