--- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> Looking at the maps, I see that the Russian Embassy in DC is located
directly
> on the Garden City-Beltsville (aka Greenbelt) radio route, and about
0.2 mi.
> off the Garden City-Gambrills route.
>
> A 1970 Garden City route map is at:
>
>
http://www19.addr.com/~longline/places-routes/Garden_City/map-70.html
>
> I believe Beltsville was associated with NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center,
> and linked to an earth station there.  Gambrills appears to have
been a
> junction, with other routes going to Annapolis and to Randallstown,
MD.  The
> latter, in turn, is linked to other northeast routes.
>
> Whether all of this means anything, I don't know.
>
> Albert


AT&T had a central office/testboard at Greenbelt/NASA &  a radio
terminal so your assumption is correct.

While an embassy afforded more privacy, commercial offices and/or
hotels near an antenna would have been perfect for portable gear & I
suspect this was done;perhaps recorded for signal analysis/monitoring
later in a lab.

On Wednesday, I visitied the following former AT&T sites in
southern Pennsylvania:

Waggoner's Gap
Dillsburg
Hanover 2
Hallam

Waggoner's Gap and Hallam are square concrete silos and are
pretty intersting buildings.  I hadn't realized before that AT&T used
these in Pennsylvania also.  They are both in out of the way sites.

I guess Clark's Knob is a silo also.  Johnstown also is, as I have
been there, but had a dead camera battery, so no pics.

It looks like the original AT&T microwave route through
Pennsylvania was

Buckingham**
Wyndmoor#
Thomas Hill*#
New Holland*#
Hallam*
Waggoner's Gap*
Clark's Knob*#
Sideling Hill#
Bald Knob*#
Johnstown*
Salina#
Troy Hill*#
Fairview*#

The ones with the *'s are known silos.  The one's with the # I
haven't visited yet.  I believe Wyndmoor is a tower.  Is there a silo
there also? or was it always a tower?  I'll be checking out the rest
of the route this summer.  Photos are posted at:

http://radio.ee.psu.edu/td-th/hallam
http://radio.ee.psu.edu/td-th/dillsburg
http://radio.ee.psu.edu/td-th/waggoners_gap

Up a level, http://radio.ee.psu.edu/td-th shows all the microwave
only sites that I have pictures of.  I'll be working on getting some
html in there to index everything.




Mike Jacobs, N3MJ
Antenna and RF Engineering Laboratory
Penn State University
State College, PA

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., "Jim Burks" <jburks2@m...> wrote:
> --- In coldwarcomms@egroups.com, Mark Foster <mfoster@c...> wrote:
>
> > It also occurred to me that Camp David must have a AT&T
> > switchboard.  Anyone have any clues as
> > what it might be.
>
> Camp David is close to the ANMCC, which has the 'Blue Ridge Summit
#1'
> switch colocated.
>
> I wonder if it is served off that switch, at least for
> secure/survivable communications. I had also wondered if there were
> a 'Blue Ridge Summit #2' around somewhere, but it's not on your
list..
>
> Also intriguing were the 'custom services' sites at:
> Parkersburg, WV
> Roanoke, VA
> Charlottesville, VA
> Lynchburg, VA
>
> There hasn't been any mention of significant defense operations at
> those sites....



Custom Services was the old "private line service",and now known as
"Special Services", both commercial & gov't..Charlottesville had some
defense contractors like Sperry around; Lynchburg was the Serving
Test
Center for Sage circuits to Bedford AFS and Roanoke was the STC
for Radford Army Arsenal circuits.

Lynchburg, along with Richmond, did have a critical role in the
COPAN/JCSAN circuits to CINCLANT, SACLANT & CINCTAC in Norfolk &
Hampton,Va.; they both had "Y" switches(A-B switch) that provided
alternate paths from Site R to these commands if the Pentagon link
failed;the DC control path to operate them was a seperate telegraph
grade circuits(GC).

In addition to the switching relays at these offices,there were
strings of delay & amplitude  equalizers to provide C2 conditioning
for secure voice(KY9 & later at that time).They were operational at
least into 1985.


Naturally this alternate switching arrangement was to be found in
other offices on the COPAN/JCSAN network serving the various CINC's.

Another interesting arrangement was the "residence lines"; the
CINC Admirals & Generals  had extensions from the command post to
their residences, and occasionally a family member(youngsters) would
get on the circuit causing a trouble report.



I believe the conferencing & calling system was the Bell SC2
Selective
Control;using 2600/2400 Single Frequency signalling.Routine role
calls
were "White Express" while "Yellow & Red " were Defcon alerts.

Mike,

This might be of interest relative to the original PA route.  It's from a
1967 AT&T report, and shows the PA portion of the route used for a
coast-to-coast TV transmission test.  It corresponds to the list you
developed, with the single exception of Mt. Wheeler vs. Fairview as the next
hop west of Troy Hill.

http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/td2_test/td2_test_channel_assign_3.j

pg

To look at other pages from the TV test report, including the remaining
segments of the route, go to my Documents page:

http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/index.html

and scroll down to "The Coast-to-Coast Radio Channel Evaluation Test".

Albert

In a message dated 6/1/2001 4:18:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mwj116@...
writes:

> It looks like the original AT&T microwave route through
>  Pennsylvania was
>
>  Buckingham**
>  Wyndmoor#
>  Thomas Hill*#
>  New Holland*#
>  Hallam*
>  Waggoner's Gap*
>  Clark's Knob*#
>  Sideling Hill#
>  Bald Knob*#
>  Johnstown*
>  Salina#
>  Troy Hill*#
>  Fairview*#

Al,

There was a hop from Troy Hill to Mt Wheeler.  I don't have
anything on Mt. Wheeler, since it's not on American Tower's list.
I'll have to check it this summer.  Fairview is listed as a silo, so I
presumed it was the next station west of Troy Hill.  Its possible
that there was an early split of the line into a northern route across
Ohio to Chicago at Troy Hill and a southern route, which was used
for this TV linkup.


Mike Jacobs, N3MJ
Antenna and RF Engineering Laboratory
Penn State University
State College, PA

Continuing the summary of the AT&T Long Lines self-instructional course
"Microwave Radio - Overall Systems" (OJT-60), from 1971:

Unit 5 - TD Automatic Switching

Covers 100A and TDAS switching equipment.  Both operate in a very similar
manner.

With a 12-channel TD system, 10 channels are assigned to either message or
television, and two channels are for protection.

TD systems are divided into switching sections so that only the failed
portion of the route will switch to protection.  A switching section usually
consists of approx. 6-7 auxiliary stations covering a distance of approx. 200
mi.

The TDAS is the earlier system.  It uses tubes, and has relays to perform the
switching.  It switches one protection channel for any of five working
channels, so two TDAS units are needed for a full 12-channel TD system.  It
uses the regular numerical channel designations.  Channels are divided into
two groups: 1 through 6, and 7 through 12.  Channels 1, 6, 7 or 12 can be
protection channels.

The 100A is solid-state, and switches either of two protection channels for
any of the 10 working channels.  The working channels are designated A
through J, and the protection channels are X and Y.

Switching is done at IF: between the FM transmitter output and the TD
transmitter input on the transmit end of the link, and between the TD
receiver output and the FM receiver input on the receive end.

The Transmit and Receive protection switch controls in a section are linked
by VF lines, transmitting in the opposite direction from the microwave link.
There's a separate VF line for each protection channel.  The receive side of
the switching section controls the section.  Control tones to perform the
switching functions are transmitted over the VF lines.  Both TDAS and 100A
can be operated manually.

For either manual or automatic operation, the switch control on the receive
end sends control tones over the VF line to the switch control on the
transmit end.  This causes the transmit IF switch to "bridge"; that is, to
feed the IF signal into both the the working channel and the protection
channel.  Once this has occurred, the IF switch on the receive end
disconnects the FM receiver from the working channel and connects it to the
protection channel.

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> Continuing the summary of the AT&T Long Lines self-instructional
course
> "Microwave Radio - Overall Systems" (OJT-60), from 1971:
>
> Unit 5 - TD Automatic Switching
>
> Covers 100A and TDAS switching equipment.  Both operate in a very
similar
> manner.
>
> With a 12-channel TD system, 10 channels are assigned to either
message or
> television, and two channels are for protection.
>
> TD systems are divided into switching sections so that only the
failed
> portion of the route will switch to protection.  A switching section
usually
> consists of approx. 6-7 auxiliary stations covering a distance of
approx. 200
> mi.
>
> The TDAS is the earlier system.  It uses tubes, and has relays to
perform the
> switching.  It switches one protection channel for any of five
working
> channels, so two TDAS units are needed for a full 12-channel TD
system.  It
> uses the regular numerical channel designations.  Channels are
divided into
> two groups: 1 through 6, and 7 through 12.  Channels 1, 6, 7 or 12
can be
> protection channels.
>
> The 100A is solid-state, and switches either of two protection
channels for
> any of the 10 working channels.  The working channels are designated
A
> through J, and the protection channels are X and Y.
>
> Switching is done at IF: between the FM transmitter output and the
TD
> transmitter input on the transmit end of the link, and between the
TD
> receiver output and the FM receiver input on the receive end.
>
> The Transmit and Receive protection switch controls in a section are
linked
> by VF lines, transmitting in the opposite direction from the
microwave link.
> There's a separate VF line for each protection channel.  The receive
side of
> the switching section controls the section.  Control tones to
perform the
> switching functions are transmitted over the VF lines.  Both TDAS
and 100A
> can be operated manually.
>
> For either manual or automatic operation, the switch control on the
receive
> end sends control tones over the VF line to the switch control on
the
> transmit end.  This causes the transmit IF switch to "bridge"; that
is, to
> feed the IF signal into both the the working channel and the
protection
> channel.  Once this has occurred, the IF switch on the receive end
> disconnects the FM receiver from the working channel and connects it
to the
> protection channel.


There was a "simplified" TDAS version for single channel shots, 1
working & 1 protection.

I've posted photos of the exterior of this station from 1947 and 2001,
showing how the small 1947 building has been surrounded by a much larger
structure, but leaving the original rooftop antenna platform visible above
the new building's roof.

http://www19.addr.com/~longline/places-routes/Jackie_Jones/index.html

Albert

Good, solid info on some fascinating installations:

http://www.serve.com/mahood/RCS/rcs-main.htm

Albert

Easy answer.  "Mt. Wheeler" is probably the American Tower site
listed as "Fairview-Beaver".  "Mt. Wheeler" could also be one of two
others.  The Troy Hill tower also has a southbound path on it.  By
rough bearing, I think it points to AT# 88268 (Washington, PA) but
may point to 88210 (Eldersville).  I see the Troy Hill tower every
day, as I live about 2/3 of a mile away.

Interestingly enough, the Troy Hill tower appears to have a L-carrier
coax connection as well - the L4 or L5 line (L5 IMO, based on finding
repeaters about every mile) coming down into Pittsburgh from
Lillyville goes right through the site - but I'll post more analysis
of that later. (I'm not convinced that the coax connects in the tower
or under it, but I can't figure out why else the cable would go there
and I lose the route and ROW at that point)

From looking at the American Tower website, I found the following in
the chain, in order west to east:

87981 Winona (Salem, OH)
88214 Fairview-Beaver
88265 Troy Hill
88187 Bell Township
88288 Johnstown

All of these are square concrete silos.

Allan

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., "Mike Jacobs" <mwj116@p...> wrote:
> Al,
>
> There was a hop from Troy Hill to Mt Wheeler.  I don't have
> anything on Mt. Wheeler, since it's not on American Tower's list.
> I'll have to check it this summer.  Fairview is listed as a silo,
so I
> presumed it was the next station west of Troy Hill.  Its possible
> that there was an early split of the line into a northern route
across
> Ohio to Chicago at Troy Hill and a southern route, which was used
> for this TV linkup.
>
>
> Mike Jacobs, N3MJ
> Antenna and RF Engineering Laboratory
> Penn State University
> State College, PA

Were those single channel shots used for functions like sidelegs to small
toll centers and for local trunks?

Also, I was wondering if TDAS had automatic supervision (pilot tones or
something like that) to monitor continuity of the VF control lines.

Albert

In a message dated 6/1/2001 10:17:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
ozob99@... writes:

> There was a "simplified" TDAS version for single channel shots, 1
>  working & 1 protection.
>

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> Were those single channel shots used for functions like sidelegs to
small
> toll centers and for local trunks?
>
> Also, I was wondering if TDAS had automatic supervision (pilot tones
or
> something like that) to monitor continuity of the VF control lines.
>
> Albert


Yes....sidelegs like a tv channel or single MUR(message unit radio) to
a small office, or to a large military customer site; e.g.
Richmond-Petersburg, and Mt. Pleasant,Va(east of Richmond) TD2 Main
station to Petersburg 50,Va Sage Direction Center at Ft Lee.

I recall the loss of tones on the TDAS did give an alarm in either
direction for an open in the VF path.

Manual switching & control functions were sequential(resonant vf
reeds)signals(much like the "sel call" used by mobile radio & airline
communications) from the C1 Alarm Center over the ROC(Radio Order
Circuit)transmit path.The return VF line for alarms & status was
seperate from the ROC.



>
> In a message dated 6/1/2001 10:17:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> ozob99@y... writes:
>
> > There was a "simplified" TDAS version for single channel shots, 1
> >  working & 1 protection.
> >

I've seen some TD-2s where the top-most unit in the lower portion of the bay
(the  Receiver Control Unit) has been replaced by a chassis holding a number
of modern-looking, white, plug-in modules.  Is that the DOV/DUV equipment?

Albert

In a message dated 4/21/2001 1:10:13 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
ozob99@... writes:

> The overbuilds on some routes were TD3,TH3;then the SSB AR6A; then DR6
>  & DR 11/12 digital.The TD2 was also upgraded over the years from 600
>  voice channels to 1800,and from tube to solid state; and  were further
>  modified to piggy back  some T1's as DOV/DUV(data over/under voice).

Wyndmoor currently has a tower, but I'm not sure what might have been there
before.

Albert

In a message dated 6/1/2001 4:18:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mwj116@...
writes:

> The ones with the *'s are known silos.  The one's with the # I
>  haven't visited yet.  I believe Wyndmoor is a tower.  Is there a silo
>  there also? or was it always a tower?  I'll be checking out the rest
>  of the route this summer.  Photos are posted at:

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> I've seen some TD-2s where the top-most unit in the lower portion of
the bay
> (the  Receiver Control Unit) has been replaced by a chassis holding
a number
> of modern-looking, white, plug-in modules.  Is that the DOV/DUV
equipment?
>
> Albert


I don't recall what that might have been,perhaps part of the solid
state conversion;but i know the DUV/T1DM equipment was behind the
FM/WLEL, not in the MW bays.



>
> In a message dated 4/21/2001 1:10:13 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> ozob99@y... writes:
>
> > The overbuilds on some routes were TD3,TH3;then the SSB AR6A; then
DR6
> >  & DR 11/12 digital.The TD2 was also upgraded over the years from
600
> >  voice channels to 1800,and from tube to solid state; and  were
further
> >  modified to piggy back  some T1's as DOV/DUV(data over/under
voice).

Allan,

According to a March 1979 map, you're correct about there being coax into
Troy Hill.  Actually, the cable configuration in the area is relatively
complex.  There are two cables between Pittsburgh and Troy Hill - one coax
and one wire-pair carrier.  They're named Pittsburgh - Troy Hill Tie No. 1
and No. 2.

In addition, there are two coaxial cables between Lillyville and Pittsburgh.
But according to the list of cables on the map, only one of the cables
terminates at Lillyville; it's called the Lillyville #2 - Pittsburgh "A"
cable.  The other coax passes through Lillyville but apparently continues
north to New Castle, and is named the Pittsburgh - New Castle "D" cable.

Albert

In a message dated 6/2/2001 11:40:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
allanbourdius@... writes:

> Interestingly enough, the Troy Hill tower appears to have a L-carrier
>  coax connection as well - the L4 or L5 line (L5 IMO, based on finding
>  repeaters about every mile) coming down into Pittsburgh from
>  Lillyville goes right through the site - but I'll post more analysis
>  of that later. (I'm not convinced that the coax connects in the tower
>  or under it, but I can't figure out why else the cable would go there
>  and I lose the route and ROW at that point)

The introduction to a March 1968 Bell System publication titled "TD2 DC-DC
Converter, Instructor Outline" contains this scenario to help the instructor
impresses on his students the importance of being able to fix the converters,
which supplied 250 volt DC power for the vacuum-tube transmitter amplifiers
in the TD-2 (4 GHz) microwave radio equipment:

BEGIN QUOTE from pp. G1-5 to G1-7, my comments in [brackets]:

General ...

Place yourself in this condition...
3:30 PM - Friday

Out of a crew of 10 craftsmen...
6 are out on the road
2 are on day offs
1 is routining FM terminals [performing routine maintenance on the equipment
which converts baseband multiplexed voice circuits to/from the TD-2 radio's
70-MHz intermediate frequency input/output.]
The other is on the test bench

You are preparing your weekly summary

A major failure alarm comes in...
Power room alarms
TD-2 bay alarms

The loud speaker comes on from the order wire
TD-2 system failures

Phones start ringing

You send your man to report on 0001 [the Official Message Network,
Teletypewriter Circuit 0001 - a company network for reporting major outages]

You and the craftsman go to the power room

All DC-DC converters are down...
Other supervisors arrive on the scene
The Plant Manager wants to know what happened

DC-DC converts down...

What should be done?...
Stop...
Has this happened to you?
What was your reaction?
What did you do?
If this hasn't happened to you...
Don't think it cannot

In the Midwestern Area we have had several failures to date.

The last failure was very severe...
30 terminal MUR's [Message Unit Radio - a single one-way radio channel
between two terminal stations]...
Interrupted from 84 minutes to 107 minutes
8 through MUR's and 1 wideband data channel...
Interrupted for 1 minute and then degraded service during the restoration
process

Knowledge and confidence is required...
To handle the above situation...
As a professional

END QUOTE

Hmmm.  All very interesting.  Where can I get a copy of that map, or
at least the Pittsburgh region portion?

I was aware of the Lillyville-New Castle coax, and I found that ROW
as well when I was up around Lillyville, but I wasn't aware that
there was a second cable down to Pittsburgh.  Any idea if they
followed the same ROW?

Allan

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> Allan,
>
> According to a March 1979 map, you're correct about there being
coax into
> Troy Hill.  Actually, the cable configuration in the area is
relatively
> complex.  There are two cables between Pittsburgh and Troy Hill -
one coax
> and one wire-pair carrier.  They're named Pittsburgh - Troy Hill
Tie No. 1
> and No. 2.
>
> In addition, there are two coaxial cables between Lillyville and
Pittsburgh.
> But according to the list of cables on the map, only one of the
cables
> terminates at Lillyville; it's called the Lillyville #2 -
Pittsburgh "A"
> cable.  The other coax passes through Lillyville but apparently
continues
> north to New Castle, and is named the Pittsburgh - New Castle "D"
cable.
>
> Albert
>
> In a message dated 6/2/2001 11:40:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> allanbourdius@h... writes:
>
> > Interestingly enough, the Troy Hill tower appears to have a L-
carrier
> >  coax connection as well - the L4 or L5 line (L5 IMO, based on
finding
> >  repeaters about every mile) coming down into Pittsburgh from
> >  Lillyville goes right through the site - but I'll post more
analysis
> >  of that later. (I'm not convinced that the coax connects in the
tower
> >  or under it, but I can't figure out why else the cable would go
there
> >  and I lose the route and ROW at that point)

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> The introduction to a March 1968 Bell System publication titled "TD2
DC-DC
> Converter, Instructor Outline" contains this scenario to help the
instructor
> impresses on his students the importance of being able to fix the
converters,
> which supplied 250 volt DC power for the vacuum-tube transmitter
amplifiers
> in the TD-2 (4 GHz) microwave radio equipment:
>
> BEGIN QUOTE from pp. G1-5 to G1-7, my comments in [brackets]:
>
> General ...
>
> Place yourself in this condition...
> 3:30 PM - Friday
>
> Out of a crew of 10 craftsmen...
> 6 are out on the road
> 2 are on day offs
> 1 is routining FM terminals [performing routine maintenance on the
equipment
> which converts baseband multiplexed voice circuits to/from the TD-2
radio's
> 70-MHz intermediate frequency input/output.]
> The other is on the test bench
>
> You are preparing your weekly summary
>
> A major failure alarm comes in...
> Power room alarms
> TD-2 bay alarms
>
> The loud speaker comes on from the order wire
> TD-2 system failures
>
> Phones start ringing
>
> You send your man to report on 0001 [the Official Message Network,
> Teletypewriter Circuit 0001 - a company network for reporting major
outages]
>
> You and the craftsman go to the power room
>
> All DC-DC converters are down...
> Other supervisors arrive on the scene
> The Plant Manager wants to know what happened
>
> DC-DC converts down...
>
> What should be done?...
> Stop...
> Has this happened to you?
> What was your reaction?
> What did you do?
> If this hasn't happened to you...
> Don't think it cannot
>
> In the Midwestern Area we have had several failures to date.
>
> The last failure was very severe...
> 30 terminal MUR's [Message Unit Radio - a single one-way radio
channel
> between two terminal stations]...
> Interrupted from 84 minutes to 107 minutes
> 8 through MUR's and 1 wideband data channel...
> Interrupted for 1 minute and then degraded service during the
restoration
> process
>
> Knowledge and confidence is required...
> To handle the above situation...
> As a professional
>
> END QUOTE


The TD2 plant i believe was type 425 , usually located in the radio
room in a central office,but not always.A power survey was done at
each station & terminal periodically,putting the plant on battery
discharge to verify normal operation over the few hours of design
time;contactors were used in the 12V feed to cut resisters out &
maintain filament voltage during discharge.The tube cooling
blower(turbine)had a DC motor for  backup during emergency AC
power failures,and was checked at this time.The emergency engines at
radio stations  were test run(remotely) weekly.

Here's a detailed description of the 20-tube AT&T coaxial cable:

http://www19.addr.com/~longline/tech-equip/coaxial/coax-desc.html

Note in particular the weight and diameter of the cable!

Albert

A few questions arise from the overall "mass"  of the cable:
1.  How was it buried?   (was it "knifed" in as fiber optic cable is today,
or was a trench dug?)
2.  How was the cable transported to the worksite? (large reels on truck
etc).
3.  How was the cable spliced?  (or did a reel contain enough cable to get
from a repeater pit to the next one without a splice?)

Any documentation/photos that can illustrate/answer these questions would be
of great interest!

Thanks,

Michael Schwiebert
----- Original Message -----
From: <albertjlafrance@...>
To: <hfeinstein@...>; <lrkn@...>;
<coldwarcomms@yahoogroups.com>; <MSP23@...>; <RGPlante@...>;
<dlwilson@...>
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2001 7:51 PM
Subject: [coldwarcomms] AT&T coaxial cable description


> Here's a detailed description of the 20-tube AT&T coaxial cable:
>
> http://www19.addr.com/~longline/tech-equip/coaxial/coax-desc.html
>
> Note in particular the weight and diameter of the cable!
>
> Albert
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

> A few questions arise from the overall "mass"  of the cable:
>  1.  How was it buried?   (was it "knifed" in as fiber optic cable is today,
>  or was a trench dug?)

Both open trenching and plowing were used, but I don't know when and where.
No doubt soil conditions affected the choice of method.

"A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System: Transmission
Technology" contains a photo (on p. 132) of a simple plowing system being
used to install the first L-1 cable in 1939.

This page from a Nov. 1947 magazine article shows a more elaborate
cable-plowing system installing an L-1 cable:

http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/Radio_News_1147/p041.jpg

A later ad (mid-60s, I'd guess) shows a cable being laid in a trench.  The
uniformity of the trench and adjacent spoil pile suggests it was dug with a
wheel-type trenching machine.  BTW, I hadn't seen one of those machines for a
long time, but recently I saw one being used to install a bundle of ducts for
fiber-optic cables.

I've neglected to post that ad but will do so ASAP.

>  2.  How was the cable transported to the worksite? (large reels on truck
>  etc).

Yes - they looked like the same type of reels (wood or radially-ribbed metal)
as were used to transport wire-pair telephone cables.

>  3.  How was the cable spliced?  (or did a reel contain enough cable to get
>  from a repeater pit to the next one without a splice?)

The cables did have to be spliced.  I think the splices were housed in
manholes.  This photo:

http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/L5splice.jpg

shows an L-5 splice before closure.  The top and bottom bundles of wires are
the non-coaxial conductors which were included in the cable for order-wire
and monitoring purposes.  They were spliced by the same techniques as used
for regular telephone cables.

The coaxial splices are in the center.  The splice for each coaxial unit in
the cable is a copper sleeve about four inches long, slightly bulged in the
middle and tapered at the ends.  The sleeve is crimped over the outer
conductor (copper tube) of the unit.  I don't know what's inside the splice;
my guess is that the inner conductor is spliced by a smaller crimp sleeve,
and that the outer sleeve is filled with a solid dielectric, groved to
accommodate the inner conductor.  The taper may compensate for the impedance
discontinuity created by the splice.

>  Any documentation/photos that can illustrate/answer these questions would
be
>  of great interest!

I'll be glad to post anything I can find.

Albert

I've just uploaded the ad I mentioned earlier, showing coaxial cable laid in
a machine-dug trench.

http://www19.addr.com/~longline/tech-equip/coaxial/4000mi-trench.html

Albert

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> > A few questions arise from the overall "mass"  of the cable:
> >  1.  How was it buried?   (was it "knifed" in as fiber optic
cable
is today,
> >  or was a trench dug?)
>
> Both open trenching and plowing were used, but I don't know when
and
where.
> No doubt soil conditions affected the choice of method.
>
> "A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System:
Transmission
> Technology" contains a photo (on p. 132) of a simple plowing system
being
> used to install the first L-1 cable in 1939.
>
> This page from a Nov. 1947 magazine article shows a more elaborate
> cable-plowing system installing an L-1 cable:
>
> http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/Radio_News_1147/p041.jpg
>
> A later ad (mid-60s, I'd guess) shows a cable being laid in a
trench.  The
> uniformity of the trench and adjacent spoil pile suggests it was
dug
with a
> wheel-type trenching machine.  BTW, I hadn't seen one of those
machines for a
> long time, but recently I saw one being used to install a bundle of
ducts for
> fiber-optic cables.
>
> I've neglected to post that ad but will do so ASAP.
>
> >  2.  How was the cable transported to the worksite? (large reels
on truck
> >  etc).
>
> Yes - they looked like the same type of reels (wood or
radially-ribbed metal)
> as were used to transport wire-pair telephone cables.
>
> >  3.  How was the cable spliced?  (or did a reel contain enough
cable to get
> >  from a repeater pit to the next one without a splice?)
>
> The cables did have to be spliced.  I think the splices were housed
in
> manholes.  This photo:
>
> http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/L5splice.jpg
>
> shows an L-5 splice before closure.  The top and bottom bundles of
wires are
> the non-coaxial conductors which were included in the cable for
order-wire
> and monitoring purposes.  They were spliced by the same techniques
as used
> for regular telephone cables.
>
> The coaxial splices are in the center.  The splice for each coaxial
unit in
> the cable is a copper sleeve about four inches long, slightly
bulged
in the
> middle and tapered at the ends.  The sleeve is crimped over the
outer
> conductor (copper tube) of the unit.  I don't know what's inside
the
splice;
> my guess is that the inner conductor is spliced by a smaller crimp
sleeve,
> and that the outer sleeve is filled with a solid dielectric, groved
to
> accommodate the inner conductor.  The taper may compensate for the
impedance
> discontinuity created by the splice.
>
> >  Any documentation/photos that can illustrate/answer these
questions would
> be
> >  of great interest!
>
> I'll be glad to post anything I can find.
>
> Albert



The coax was usually laid in a trench dug with a trenching wheel, by
a
  pipeline trenching contractor;splices were made every few hundred
feet & buried;there were splices in manholes in urban areas where the
cable ran in conduit, & repeater manholes. Underground cable is cable
in conduit;buried cable is directly buried in the ground.

Long Lines published a spiral bound booklet in the 1950's i think,
titled "Coaxial Trailblazers"..with lots of photo's.

After burial & splicing(by Long Lines Construction Gangs,travelling
around the country) acceptance tests were made between L stations;
with meggers & corona test sets(for arc over).

Cables crossing water were armored submarine sections,but were
still occasionally damaged by watercraft.One such incident in the
1970's was the Richmond-Washington C cable in the Potomac river at
the
Rt 301 bridge at Port Royal,Va:  A barge went out of the channel &
crushed the cable,causing a total route failure.Broadband restoration
on radio restored much of the service within hours;but the cable was
not repaired until 7-10 days later since a 10 ton barge crane &
divers
had to be brought in from Baltimore & new submarine cable shipped
from
the midwest,a major & expensive operation. Damages were sought from
the barge operator but i dont think it was successful.

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., ozob99@y... wrote:
> --- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> > > A few questions arise from the overall "mass"  of the cable:
> > >  1.  How was it buried?   (was it "knifed" in as fiber optic
> cable
> is today,
> > >  or was a trench dug?)
> >
> > Both open trenching and plowing were used, but I don't know when
> and
> where.
> > No doubt soil conditions affected the choice of method.
> >
> > "A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System:
> Transmission
> > Technology" contains a photo (on p. 132) of a simple plowing
system
> being
> > used to install the first L-1 cable in 1939.
> >
> > This page from a Nov. 1947 magazine article shows a more elaborate
> > cable-plowing system installing an L-1 cable:
> >
> > http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/Radio_News_1147/p041.jpg
> >
> > A later ad (mid-60s, I'd guess) shows a cable being laid in a
> trench.  The
> > uniformity of the trench and adjacent spoil pile suggests it was
> dug
> with a
> > wheel-type trenching machine.  BTW, I hadn't seen one of those
> machines for a
> > long time, but recently I saw one being used to install a bundle
of
> ducts for
> > fiber-optic cables.
> >
> > I've neglected to post that ad but will do so ASAP.
> >
> > >  2.  How was the cable transported to the worksite? (large reels
> on truck
> > >  etc).
> >
> > Yes - they looked like the same type of reels (wood or
> radially-ribbed metal)
> > as were used to transport wire-pair telephone cables.
> >
> > >  3.  How was the cable spliced?  (or did a reel contain enough
> cable to get
> > >  from a repeater pit to the next one without a splice?)
> >
> > The cables did have to be spliced.  I think the splices were
housed
> in
> > manholes.  This photo:
> >
> > http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/L5splice.jpg
> >
> > shows an L-5 splice before closure.  The top and bottom bundles of
> wires are
> > the non-coaxial conductors which were included in the cable for
> order-wire
> > and monitoring purposes.  They were spliced by the same techniques
> as used
> > for regular telephone cables.
> >
> > The coaxial splices are in the center.  The splice for each
coaxial
> unit in
> > the cable is a copper sleeve about four inches long, slightly
> bulged
> in the
> > middle and tapered at the ends.  The sleeve is crimped over the
> outer
> > conductor (copper tube) of the unit.  I don't know what's inside
> the
> splice;
> > my guess is that the inner conductor is spliced by a smaller crimp
> sleeve,
> > and that the outer sleeve is filled with a solid dielectric,
groved
> to
> > accommodate the inner conductor.  The taper may compensate for the
> impedance
> > discontinuity created by the splice.
> >
> > >  Any documentation/photos that can illustrate/answer these
> questions would
> > be
> > >  of great interest!
> >
> > I'll be glad to post anything I can find.
> >
> > Albert
>
>
>
> The coax was usually laid in a trench dug with a trenching wheel, by
> a
>  pipeline trenching contractor;splices were made every few hundred
> feet & buried;there were splices in manholes in urban areas where
the
> cable ran in conduit, & repeater manholes. Underground cable is
cable
> in conduit;buried cable is directly buried in the ground.
>
> Long Lines published a spiral bound booklet in the 1950's i think,
> titled "Coaxial Trailblazers"..with lots of photo's.
>
> After burial & splicing(by Long Lines Construction Gangs,travelling
> around the country) acceptance tests were made between L stations;
> with meggers & corona test sets(for arc over).
>
> Cables crossing water were armored submarine sections,but were
> still occasionally damaged by watercraft.One such incident in the
> 1970's was the Richmond-Washington C cable in the Potomac river at
> the



correction...the Rappahannock River




> Rt 301 bridge at Port Royal,Va:  A barge went out of the channel &
> crushed the cable,causing a total route failure.Broadband
restoration
> on radio restored much of the service within hours;but the cable was
> not repaired until 7-10 days later since a 10 ton barge crane &
> divers
> had to be brought in from Baltimore & new submarine cable shipped
> from
> the midwest,a major & expensive operation. Damages were sought from
> the barge operator but i dont think it was successful.

Albert:  Thanks for the photos & Information.  Judging from the width of the
trench, it appears that the equipment used was similar to equipment used for
installation of gas/oil pipelines.  In this area (NW Ohio) at least, this
would allow for eaiser repair of severed field tile as the route crossed
through farm fields.   In this area, the fiber optic cables that have been
installed are almost universially "knifed" in.  If the route is along a
railroad ROW, this can either be done with a locomotive pulled device or a
crawler tractor.  Of course when the fiber optic was installed along the
existing L4 route here in Northern Ohio, crawler tractors were used.

Michael Schwiebert
----- Original Message -----
From: <albertjlafrance@...>
To: <coldwarcomms@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2001 11:55 PM
Subject: Re: [coldwarcomms] AT&T coaxial cable description


> > A few questions arise from the overall "mass"  of the cable:
> >  1.  How was it buried?   (was it "knifed" in as fiber optic cable is
today,
> >  or was a trench dug?)
>
> Both open trenching and plowing were used, but I don't know when and
where.
> No doubt soil conditions affected the choice of method.
>
> "A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System: Transmission
> Technology" contains a photo (on p. 132) of a simple plowing system being
> used to install the first L-1 cable in 1939.
>
> This page from a Nov. 1947 magazine article shows a more elaborate
> cable-plowing system installing an L-1 cable:
>
> http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/Radio_News_1147/p041.jpg
>
> A later ad (mid-60s, I'd guess) shows a cable being laid in a trench.  The
> uniformity of the trench and adjacent spoil pile suggests it was dug with
a
> wheel-type trenching machine.  BTW, I hadn't seen one of those machines
for a
> long time, but recently I saw one being used to install a bundle of ducts
for
> fiber-optic cables.
>
> I've neglected to post that ad but will do so ASAP.
>
> >  2.  How was the cable transported to the worksite? (large reels on
truck
> >  etc).
>
> Yes - they looked like the same type of reels (wood or radially-ribbed
metal)
> as were used to transport wire-pair telephone cables.
>
> >  3.  How was the cable spliced?  (or did a reel contain enough cable to
get
> >  from a repeater pit to the next one without a splice?)
>
> The cables did have to be spliced.  I think the splices were housed in
> manholes.  This photo:
>
> http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/L5splice.jpg
>
> shows an L-5 splice before closure.  The top and bottom bundles of wires
are
> the non-coaxial conductors which were included in the cable for order-wire
> and monitoring purposes.  They were spliced by the same techniques as used
> for regular telephone cables.
>
> The coaxial splices are in the center.  The splice for each coaxial unit
in
> the cable is a copper sleeve about four inches long, slightly bulged in
the
> middle and tapered at the ends.  The sleeve is crimped over the outer
> conductor (copper tube) of the unit.  I don't know what's inside the
splice;
> my guess is that the inner conductor is spliced by a smaller crimp sleeve,
> and that the outer sleeve is filled with a solid dielectric, groved to
> accommodate the inner conductor.  The taper may compensate for the
impedance
> discontinuity created by the splice.
>
> >  Any documentation/photos that can illustrate/answer these questions
would
> be
> >  of great interest!
>
> I'll be glad to post anything I can find.
>
> Albert
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

I've posted a memorandum from 1951, discussing the merits of a military vs. a
commercial (AT&T) microwave system for linking Site R to other DC-area
facilities:

http://coldwardc.homestead.com/files/AJCC/12-JUN-1951.html

If the above doesn't work, go to my main page
(http://coldwardc.homestead.com/), hit Enter, and select the Alternate Joint
Communications Center link to get to the AJCC document list.

Albert

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> I've posted a memorandum from 1951, discussing the merits of a
military vs. a
> commercial (AT&T) microwave system for linking Site R to other
DC-area
> facilities:
>
> http://coldwardc.homestead.com/files/AJCC/12-JUN-1951.html
>
> If the above doesn't work, go to my main page
> (http://coldwardc.homestead.com/), hit Enter, and select the
Alternate Joint
> Communications Center link to get to the AJCC document list.
>
> Albert


Some of the AT&T circuit layout records(CLR) of this time frame listed
site R as the AJWR(Alternate Joint War Room) & the Pentagon as the
JWR;do know when they were renamed NMCC/AJCC?

I've posted a diagram from 1951, showing the proposed microwave routes from
Site R (via Quirauk Mountain):

http://coldwardc.homestead.com/files/AJCC/AJCC-MW-1951.html

If the above doesn't work, go to my main page
(http://coldwardc.homestead.com/), hit Enter, and select the Alternate Joint
Communications Center link to get to the AJCC document list.

Albert

--- In coldwarcomms@y..., albertjlafrance@c... wrote:
> I've posted a diagram from 1951, showing the proposed microwave
routes from
> Site R (via Quirauk Mountain):
>
> http://coldwardc.homestead.com/files/AJCC/AJCC-MW-1951.html
>
> If the above doesn't work, go to my main page
> (http://coldwardc.homestead.com/), hit Enter, and select the
Alternate Joint
> Communications Center link to get to the AJCC document list.
>
> Albert

Do you know where the Woodbridge & La Plata sites were?..whats there
today?..this could have been the miltary tropo hop i've heard about.