US Open @ Merion-WKDN's towers I see?

[amfmsw]

While watching the US Open Golf play on ESPN, I kepy catching shots of freshly painted towers in the background. Roxborough is probably too far away. Is that the WKDN 950 daytime array? With telephoto lenses, 2 miles is likley.

 

[rtetro]

Depends on what direction they are shooting. It could be either WKDN-AM if the shot is looking south, or WDAS-AM if the shot is pointing east.

 

[DanStrassberg]

Depends on what direction they are shooting. It could be either WKDN-AM if the shot is looking south, or WDAS-AM if the shot is pointing east.

Aren't the 950 daytime towers self-supporting and the 1480 towers guy supported? Also, aren't there three towers in the 950 daytime array and five total towers at the 1480 site? The 950 day towers are presumably quite old, though they could have been replaced more than once since WPEN 950 began using them. (For many decades, this site was used day and night by WPEN, which ran 5 kW DA-N. I believe this was the WPEN site beginning in the mid 1930s.) Unless they were replaced at some point, the 1480 towers have been in use since the summer of 1955, which is when what was then WDAS moved from (I think) 1400 to 1480 and increased to 5 kW-D/1 kW-N DA-2

 

[fybush]

The 950 day towers are guyed. That would be a quite the telephoto shot to pick that up from a couple of miles north, though.

 

[rtetro]

Tis a puzzlement.....
There really aren't any ASR towers located close in to the Merion Golf Club. Both WDAS and WKDN use guyed towers, so I have to agree with Scott. Either, I would think, would be hard to spot. I'm wondering if it might be something other than broadcast towers?

 

[HGN2001]

I saw the shots in question. It was the Roxborough towers off in the distance - looking closer with the telephoto lenses.

 

[Bill_W]

I saw the shots in question. It was the Roxborough towers off in the distance - looking closer with the telephoto lenses.

The Comcast Tower looked close also in some shots with the same telephoto lenses.

 

[amfmsw]

Thanks. I think HGN solved the mystery. After really looking at the possiblitites, terrain and stick heights, I gotta go with Roxborough. WDAS and WKDN are too far/short to make that shot. These were guyed, and loaded for bear.

Roxborough Farm can be seen for miles. At night, I could see it, with the WIBG 5 stick site from the top of Maugers Mill Road in Pottstown after signing off WPAZ. Couldn't HEAR WIBG, but I could see it! About 25-30 miles as the crow flies.

In fact at first I thought it was Renee's WNTP/WFIL site in the background, but I got the golf courses mixed. We had the Green Valley Golf Club next to us there.

Thanks all.

 

[ajohns66]

IN order to broadcast the event, there are several "portable" non guyed towers used. They are brought in on special trucks and set up for the event to relay wireless mics, two way radios and tv microwave communications. That could be what you saw.

 

[Bill981]

...and the WDAS 1480 towers aren't painted red & white. They are not required to be registered, marked nor lit as they are 145 ft. and the FCC requires registration beginning at 200 ft. Also WDAS tower 4 is a self supporter because of its closeness to the property line.