CN Tower, Behind the Scenes (2014)
site.roadwolf.ca63 points by ianpenney 2 days ago
63 points by ianpenney 2 days ago
A community member recently got meshtastic nodes CNT1 and CNT2 installed! Here’s a bit of old lore about the environment they’re located in.
From someone who knows nothing about this, they got some approval (presumably) to install some LoRa transmitter radios in the CN tower?
It’s above board.
1RG? I was just over there the other day with Boris Mann and they were discussing this I think? (https://1rg.space/)
TIL
> Meshtastic is a project that enables you to use inexpensive LoRa radios as a long range off-grid communication platform in areas without existing or reliable communications infrastructure. This project is 100% community driven and open source!
I was here today and had no idea there was radio transmitter stuff around. I even poked my head in a few out-of-the-way doors. Well-isolated, I suppose.
Many moons ago, I went to the Space Deck level on the CN tower, carrying an analog Hi8 Sony Handycam.
The amount of RF is (understandably) so intense at that level that it was able to induce visual static in the LCD viewfinder. The static came and went, depending on where you were standing, but did not record to tape.
Am the OP of the blog. Was for sure a fun time working there - I can maybe answer any questions?
Oh thank you for showing up. I reckoned you’d probably see a referrer in your logs or something and clue in on this!
Ever have any crazy RF interference stories on your personal gear up there!? I heard from someone that their camera LCD went wild. Tape was fine though.
And, also, those BNC connectors on the combiner… are they spicy?
That being said, at the AM site - you could see the flouescent light tubes glow while they are OFF, like a VU meter and bounce back and forth to the power of the audio being broadcast. Was always cool. The general EMF there was about 140 volts per meter.
No, not inside the transmitter rooms. They were well shielded. The copper pipes you see in some of my photos are actually huge coaxial interconnects, which are brazed and well sealed to prevent loss. I have for sure experienced that on the roof of First Canadian Place however, which also has some massive TV transmitters on it as well. I've even noticed instant slight ocular headaches when looking at such antennas at close proximity while they are in operation.
It is however interesting being up there in a lightening storm. The building rumbles whenever it is struck.
If by spicy you mean will they shock you if you disconnect one, no I haven't had that happen. But then again I never tried disconnecting them with the transmitter operating. I recall they input about 200 Watts each into the combiner which does seem like a lot for a BNC. But that power would be traveling along the surface of the center conductor.
I love stuff like this. I had a behind the scenes album from inside a turbine that was down for maintenance at the Hoover dam, but my laptop was stolen right around that time and I had no backups (before the cloud). Very spooky watching water drip into the turbine housing (which you could nearly stand up in) knowing an enormous lake was directly above you.