Radiowiz wrote:

markow202 wrote:

Ive also noticed, for years there is nothing actually on this tower (next to CKVR on Beacon rd) so whats the point of it?

What kind of a view would one get? Is it for the view? 

The whole city of barrie as its on a hill. 

markow202 wrote:

Interesting.  Hopefully not an unfortunate suicide attempt?  Bell should put security measures in place/lock up at such towers.  Ive also noticed, for years there is nothing actually on this tower (next to CKVR on Beacon rd) so whats the point of it?

https://www.barrietoday.com/police-beat/first-responders-spring-into-action-for-tower-rescue-in-south-end-barrie-3940198

The tower base is fenced off. Typically, the climbing ladder on the tower does not start at ground level, but at 12' and higher. To access the tower climbing ladder, you would need a extension ladder at the base, and use this to get to the tower ladder.

Bell has kept some of the microwave horns on these relay towers in some areas, either they are still being used for short hops as the traffic load/capacity does not warrant new construction on fibre trunks. Or, Bell is just really cheap, and can't be bothered to spent the money to strip the remaining towers.

You can see some of the towers with the horns still perched on them as you drive north on Hwy. 11 towards North Bay, look to the east side of the highway, the towers and horns are visible above the tree line.  Also, there were still Towers/horns visible between Port Hope and Napanee south of Hwy. 401 east last time I was out that way...

The Bell Barrie tower had a microwave ENG rotor installed on it in late 1999. This was used to extend the transmission foot print/range of Global's News Chopper, and later CFTO's chopper.  Bell had earlier installed ENG rotors on the towers at Ronald Ave. and Pharmacy Ave.  The "rotor" had a white fibreglass cover over the working inerds... so they are often referred to as "birthday cakes"  These were for analog microwave transmission, but all have been replaced with COFDM digital.
 

Jody Thornton wrote:

Radiowiz wrote:

What kind of a view would one get? Is it for the view? 

An aerial view of course

 

And I hear on a clear day, you can see Stayner!

The tower at Pinnacle Hill in Kitchener was part of the CNR Microwave network...  It was the second hop in the CN network installed to carry CBC network programming. The first hop was in Milton on Kelso Summit.
From Pinnacle Hill, the service split...  North to CKCO-TV, south east to CHCH-TV, and the main feed carried south west to Woodstock, and then to London, with a drop off to CFPL-TV...  eventually the CN network was extended to Windsor.

The Bell "Skyway" was inaugurated on July 1st, 1958, and CBC moved their main network feeds to Bell. The CN network was then later used for the majority of CTV network feeds, and later in the 70s for the Global transmitter relay network.

What im actually wondering, if anyone knows is what in all the years, is the large self supported tower and Jane and Eglinton for in Toronto?  

https://www.emporis.com/buildings/1260309/eglinton-flats-telecommunications-tower-toronto-canada

Last edited by markow202 (July 26, 2021 10:31 am)

markow202 wrote:

Very interesting info as yes a few of these towers still linger around.  A few things I know that use these self supporting structures

CKDX Jewel 88.5  - one of them atop king township in Snowball Ont.  (im guessing this was a CBC hop tower for CKVR back in the 60s?)

CHCJ DT 35 - repeater of CKVR Barrie in Hamilton uses one at their Bell facility 

There is also one left in Toronto at Dufferin and Eglinton area 

The Snowball hill tower was a Bell relay, built in the 60s. The microwave horns have been stripped, and Evanov leases space for the antenna and transmitter from Bell for CKDX.

The original feed to Barrie for CKVR-TV was thru the Bell Tower at Uxbridge (Durham Forest area).
CHCJ originally wanted to located their Hamilton repeater on the CHCH tower at Stoney Creek..  whatever transpired (engineering, terms, money ???) Bell Media ended up re-purposing the Bell tower on Upper Wellington for the side mounted antenna. The Bell micro site in Fonthill was similarly used for the CKVP repeater of CKVR.

The Fonthill site was one of the relay interconnects between Canada and the US.  Fonthill was the relay between AT&T Long Lines located off the Downtown Buffalo phone company roof (I think it was NYNEX ?) relayed phone traffic and TV network channel feed(s) and the old Bell tower in downtown Toronto at Adelaide W and Sheppard St.
It was principally a clear shot across western Lake Ontario. (This was also the Bell site for the Toronto TOC - Television Operations Centre).

Due to the planned office skyscraper construction in the mid 60s, Bell Telephone had to decommission the downtown tower at TOC.  It was replaced with two new facilities at Ronald Ave, (Toronto West) and Pharmacy Ave. (Toronto East).

The tower that you mention at Dufferin / Eglinton is actually the Ronald Ave, tower.  Ronald Ave. was also the operations base for Bell's Toronto Broadcast Services group.  Any time a TV remote was originating from some obscure location, Bell crews would install the portable radio links from site to the Bell network and then onto TOC.

I always enjoyed working with the Bell broadcast techs... Rick Holder and his team... all good guys... 


 

Glen Warren wrote:

In Phase wrote:

markow202 wrote:

What im actually wondering, if anyone knows is what in all the years, is the large self supported tower and Jane and Eglinton for in Toronto?

That was (still is?) a Metro Toronto Police communications tower
 

Yes, and there are two others...  one around Yonge St. / York Mills (Seaton ??)  and the third out in Scarborough somewhere.

I was also told that Metro Ambulance, Metro Works, and the various Fire Services were also on those towers...
 

Such neat info Glen thank you!  Kind of nice to see how its all put together seeing these towers are all still existing.

It makes sense that the Jane/Eglinton Flats tower is for communication of such.  Definately isnt any radio/FM elements on it from what I seen.. I used to live in that area in the 90s and always wondered as its quite a massive tower (looks like the one in the WKRP in Cinncinati opening credits)