reply to post by robertfenix
Those are power poles. Guy wires bases may stick up a bit, but are not poles. If a pole were used, it would act as a moment arm, causing a horizontal
force component on the anchor.
In any event, I've seen the structure via telescope a few times and never saw any cables. Granted maybe they can't be seen.
In any event, if you are transmitting ELF, you are no longer very secretive. Before they shut them down, I used to listen to the TTR and Groom Lake
NDBs from 300 miles away. The basecamp beacon was still working last time I checked, though no AWOS.
www.lazygranch.com...
If you really want to figure out what this tower is for, I suggest a different mindset In an area surrounded by hills. you don't need big towers.
Just place your gear on the hill and use a radio relay. They already have sites on Bald Mountain and Papoose. The trouble with really high altitude
radio facilities is the signals leak. You can hear Groom Tower from places easily out of the line of site of the tower because the transmitter is
probably not on the tower. So this new structure, if used for radio at all, is designed to keep the signal within the Groom Lake valley.
Consider the large dishes near the tower
www.lazygranch.com...
In the lower photograph, the dish antennas are pointing straight up, which could interfere with communications in a few areas of the valley. [This
photo of similar dishes at the Blue Cube shows the dishes are as tall as a multi- story building
www.lazygranch.com... ]
The signal blockage is not significant for land mobile use. Most land mobile radio systems have a few dead spots. You live with it. But say you are
trying to get telemetry and/or two way datafrom a plane under test? It might be nice to be able to "see" the plane at all times, but not have your
signal be detected. In the dark ages, spectrum analyzers were hundred pound beasts that needed amps of current. Nowadays, there are portable battery
powered spectrum analyzers that are handheld. If wouldn't be that hard for some really motivated snoop to take a portable spectrum analyzer and sniff
out the Groom spectrum. However, if the signals were blocked by the mountains, it would take more work to "see" them.
Of course, that is just one guess. The tower could be used for observation. The only flight test I saw at Groom Lake was flown on the deck. The 150ft
or so of this tower would be eye level.