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U.S. 50, lonliest highway

SanDiegoCJ

SanDiegoCJ

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I've been watching some videos of this highway from Ely to Fallon. On many of the videos there are antenna arrays visible alongside the road, especially up on top of the passes. Are those cell antennas or something else ? Is there cell service ? Disclaimer: NO, if there's no cell service it won't stop me from going on the hwy. Just curious if there's cell service, especially since the call volume would be low and not profitable.
 
weather control devices.


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xXClamhammer69Xx said:
But seriously, why not check out your provider's coverage map? If they're really big it's probably a microwave tower, but those can have cell antennas stuck on them too.
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I've learned that those maps are basically bullshit. They show solid coverage here in San Diego county and we've found LOTS of holes.
 
trampas said:
terrestrial ptp transceivers
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This. LOS, line of sight. Usually high-speed data, usually for Utilities or the like.

The same thing is present on the Columbia River for the dams. It's strategic: you have to place the antennae where a possible wall of water 540 feet high won't wash them out :laughing: No but seriously they have to be out of any possible flood path.

You'll find the same antennae in big cities too, especially for firms with more than one HQ. NYC uses fiber for data, micro... no, nanoseconds are critical on billion-dollar arbitrage, but they also have data backup on the buildings. 'Slow' data is better than no data.

You'll see LOS antennae on virtually every Western mountain pass now.
 
I drove that highway from great basin national park back to fernley nv. It was creepy and cell signal did travel far,but had lots of spots of no cell service. It is a pretty awesome highway to travel if you can do it. Roughly 347 miles of 2 lane highway, literally NOTHING out there.

Screenshot_20200612-175328_Maps.jpg
 
There's a lot of neat roads going through nowhere in Nevada, it's fun exploring around there :)
 
Poriggity said:
I drove that highway from great basin national park back to fernley nv. It was creepy and cell signal did travel far,but had lots of spots of no cell service. It is a pretty awesome highway to travel if you can do it. Roughly 347 miles of 2 lane highway, literally NOTHING out there.

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Literally nothing out there is what we find attractive. The videos show beautiful scenery. We've driven U.S. Hwy 6 between Ely, NV. and Bishop, Ca. Hard to believe there's still that much open country.
 
Can you post a pic of the antenna arrays you're referring to?
I can help confirm if they are cell or not.
 
Those towers send out beams that detect Californians, so the aliens at Area 51 can be turned loose to abduct them. Highway 6 is good also and with all the mining activity going on now 6 probably has less traffic. We drive 50 every time we go to town.
 
Most of those antenna arrays on the tops of the hills are for the Navy base at Fallon; it’s been a training facility for many, many years, and not only is it where CV Airwings go to train, it’s where the Top Gun school moved (from Miramar).
The antennas are used for telemetry and communications for the different training ranges around the base.

The aviation training ranges are huge!!
 
Sadly, it is no longer remotely lonely. Due to GPS the loneliest highway is packed with hipsters on their worldly adventures. 25 years ago that place was sketchy. But with modern vehicles and GPS the only remnant of old times is expensive fuel in weird little towns.
 
There are a lot of antenna sites in CO that are on high points and a lot of them were inactive for years and now they are active again. They used to be some kind of military/government repeater stations. Not sure what they are now but probably cell. Colorado also has a lot of Cell arrays now that are camoflaged with fake greenery to make them blend into Pine forests. You can spot them in the trees near roads in many places. And in Colorado Verizon kicks all other carriers asses by far for coverage. The easiest way to have good coverage is to get a by the minute trac phone that uses all carriers towers.

Hwy 50 in Colorado is nice too.
 
Looks like radio, but I do not see any cell antenna on that one. You'll expect to see 3-4 sectors on a tower, with each sector having anywhere from 2-4 antenna on it for it to be a cell tower.

Yes, the exception is a stealth tower, as mentioned above. It can be dressed up as a palm or pine. I've even built one that looked like a big rock. CEO of burger king has statues in his backyard, we did one as a statue. Sometimes, we even cut into the side of a building and mount them flush and paint to match. But most places like pictured above would not have the zoning that would make a stealth site. Companies won't do stealth unless needed because it costs a lot more money.
 
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Yota Up said:
Looks like radio, but I do not see any cell antenna on that one. You'll expect to see 3-4 sectors on a tower, with each sector having anywhere from 2-4 antenna on it for it to be a cell tower.

Yes, the exception is a stealth tower, as mentioned above. It can be dressed up as a palm or pine. I've even built one that looked like a big rock. CEO of burger king has statues in his backyard, we did one as a statue. Sometimes, we even cut into the side of a building and mount them flush and paint to match. But most places like pictured above would not have the zoning that would make a stealth site. Companies won't do stealth unless needed because it costs a lot more money.
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We have lots of the stealth towers in the urban areas around here. Local codes won't allow new installations that aren't stealth.
 
SanDiegoCJ said:
Literally nothing out there is what we find attractive. The videos show beautiful scenery. We've driven U.S. Hwy 6 between Ely, NV. and Bishop, Ca. Hard to believe there's still that much open country.
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It is an absolutely beautiful drive. We did a tour of national parks last year, went from Reno to Vegas, through az, nm, co and back up to reno, hitting multiple national parks. I'd have to look back and see which ones. The last leg of our trip was from great basin national park home to Reno. All on highway 50. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
 
I lived in Eureka NV from 2010-2012. Yes there's towers on most of the passes and the roads up to most of the towers are open to the public with great views. Lots and lots of good explorining. The pony express trail is easy to follow from east of Austin to the Utah border and drivable in a stock 4x4. There's a pretty complete mill on the south side of 40 between Eureaka and Ely that's not too far of a side trip. Owl club in Eureak had decent food, cold springs station had great food. Old tanks in middlegate were pretty cool to crawl around.
 
Poriggity said:
I drove that highway from great basin national park back to fernley nv. It was creepy and cell signal did travel far,but had lots of spots of no cell service. It is a pretty awesome highway to travel if you can do it. Roughly 347 miles of 2 lane highway, literally NOTHING out there.

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I did the drive once, was awesome. Not many cars..just driving. Much better than the crowded highways in Cali.
 
Weather station and webcam for seeing the road conditions. google the pass name and weather and you can see it.
 
What I recall from that drive is the Public Meth Kills sign at the beginning of the empty space before you leave the last little scrub of white trash and head out east into the void. The drive is spectacular if you appreciate nature and solitude. Not so if you rely on constant stimulation and room service noise.
 

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Have no idea what the antennas are, but drove that about 20 years ago. By alone and had an eerie The hills have eyes" feeling the entire time. First town I found(on the east side) stopped to get gas and the people at the gas station look pissed they had to ring me up. The whole, get off my lawn look:laughing:
 
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