AT&T Long Lines "Oak Hill" Tower, San Jose, CA, 2021.
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this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2024
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Captured with the Rodenstock 50mm/4.0 HR Digaron-W lens (@ f/4.5) on a Cambo WRS-1600 camera (with about 15mm of vertical shift to preserve the geometry), the Phase One IQ4-150 back (@ ISO 50) in dual exposure mode (which preserves a couple stops of additional dynamic range into the shadows).
The tower's shape is irregular; it tapers slightly.
The wide angle and panoramic orientation give a bit of context, alone on a hill (which is being rapidly encroached by adjacent residential development).
For much of the 20th century, the backbone of the AT&T "Long Lines" long distance telephone network consisted primarily of terrestrial microwave links (rather than copper or fiber cables). Towers with distinctive KS-15676 "horn" antennas could be seen on hilltops and atop switching center buildings across the US; they were simply part of the American landscape.
Most of the relay towers were simple steel structures. This brutalist concrete platform in San Jose was, I believe, of a unique design.
@[email protected] Many years ago there was, I guess, some kind of microwave link atop a hill above San Rafael (Marin County, north of San Francisco). It wasn’t a concrete tower like this but was some kind of metal frame supporting four horn antennas pointing in the four cardinal directions. From a distance it looked like a conference table surrounded by four chairs. I’ve looked for a picture in vain. I think it’s gone now.
@mattblaze Oh wait they might be visible on Google Maps satellite view if you zoom in all the way. It looks like the four horns are still there but not pointing in cardinal directions.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZvZb7URSSDQNW3QU9?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy
@stuartmarks Yep. That's a pretty typical installation, once commonplace across the country. The only reason any survive is that the horns are so bulky and heavy that removing them is often expensive and dangerous.
@[email protected] @[email protected] They had to remove the horns from the microwave tower in the centre of London because they'd become dangerous, doesn't look quite the same now https://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/gallerypage.php?txid=1424&pageid=1000