Tower move improves

local emergency service
By Melanie Davis
melanie@highcountrymedia.net

Fire departments and the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office now have improved communication on the western side of the county.

A repeater tower for firefighter communication was moved last week from the location on Tater Hill to a new home on Buckeye Mountain.

The repeater tower is a vital link in communication. The radios in vehicles and hand-held radios used by firefighters, emergency personnel and law enforcement officers transmit to a repeater, which then forwards the signal to the communication center.

The new location at the end of Forest Grove Road on Buckeye Mountain presents an ideal situation on top of the mountain, providing 360 degrees of clearance for antennas atop the tower.

The site will be able to triangulate radio transmissions for the Beaver Dam, Cove Creek and Zionville volunteer fire departments. Creston and Beech Mountain fire departments in Ashe and Avery counties may also benefit from the improved communication.

With the new site will come some new equipment, as well. The same fire department repeater equipment will be used, however, a new generator has been purchased. The age of the generator at the Tater Hill location had presented maintenance problems. Replacement parts were becoming hard to purchase.

A second repeater will be installed on Buckeye Mountain for Watauga County Sheriff’s Office channels.

In the past the WCSO did not have a repeater tower in this area of the county. In times of poor signal, deputies would switch to a fire department channel to communicate with each other and the communications center. The previous location on Tater Hill did not have space for the WCSO repeater.

The move came about at the end of the lease of the land on Tater Hill. The property owners had sent a notification that the rent for the use of the land would be increasing.

Officials at the emergency management office had previously examined the possibility of placing a tower on Buckeye Mountain, but at that time, electricity was not availability at the site. The site was revisited after the rent notification and now has electricity access. A cellular tower is in place already.

Negotiations began in November to determine rent rates for the Buckeye Mountain location.

The property owner offered the land to the county at the rate of $3,000 per year – one fourth of the cost of the Tater Hill location. That rate is set for a 10-year period.

“The ability to save thousands of dollars and improve communication for both fire departments and sheriff’s deputies made the move a win-win situation for the county,” said Steve Sudderth of the Watauga County Emergency Management Office.

The process began a few weeks ago, clearing the land for the towers and structure.

The property is a Christmas tree farm and the county will be renting a 200 square foot section at the top.

On Friday, Dec. 14, a building to house the repeater equipment was moved to the location. An Army surplus building is used due to the durability of construction.

Last week Blue Ridge Electric set a 50-foot pole for the antennas. Wireless Communications Inc. was on hand to connect the repeater to the antennas for the fire department channels.

The propane generator was moved into place.

The only down-time in communications during the relocation of equipment is the time to drive the actual repeater from Tater Hill to Buckeye Mountain. Once unplugged the repeater was inactive until plugged in at the Buckeye Mountain location.

Emergency officials stated the one hour or less did not present any problems. Firefighters were aware and prepared for the short lapse in communication.

The sheriff’s office has ordered a repeater for the location, but that equipment will not in place until January or early February of 2008. Currently deputies rely on a single tower for the entire county, which is located on Rich Mountain.