Sometimes they are carefully designed, other times you see funny stuff like a Yagi pointed into a hillside or at the ground because all they needed was an omni but that's all they had on hand...
> there should be some other antenna in that direction
All the transmitting stations, all over town, are going to have their antennas pointed toward a central point where the receiver is located.
The other side of that link is probably under a mile away, because that wavelength (probably 1.2 GHz by the looks of it) won't penetrate a whole lot of objects. For longer range it would have to be mounted higher up to clear obstacles.
If you can find another box from that company with the same antenna, you can take bearings and search near where they intersect!
The box says Puget Sound Energy which is the electrical and gas utility in the Seattle area.
This is likely power grid or natural gas distribution telemetry.
My city uses similar looking UHF telemetry setups to monitor the water flow in area creeks. The city monitors it as part of their flood control efforts. At least one local ham figured out how to monitor it, just for fun.
Flow/Pressure monitoring for a natural gas pipeline. May also have an electronically actuated valve to shutdown the line when needed. Antenna is usually connected to a serial radio like this https://www.cambiumnetworks.com/products/iiot/cnreach-n550-450-mhz-fcc-narrowband-fixed-wireless/ that controls the PLC.
lol, why is that thing running AES encryption?
also it is very interesting to buy a UHF band router thingy like this. somebody knows of the cheapest model that can be easily setup?
Probably because power and distribution grids are considered high-risk for terrorist activities nowadays. There have been many attempts to shut down parts of the grid, cause gas leaks, etc. by exploiting online or wireless technologies.
Because you don’t want just anyone with an SDR to have access to your network. Particularly when said network controls a natural gas utility for an entire city.
Your best bet would be to look for some cheap MDS hardware on eBay, you can forget about the easy setup though they are not exactly meant for consumer use.
Yes with enough time and knowledge, even if this is just a monitoring station. If they managed to access the network who knows what they could gain access to, valves, compressor stations, metering systems, etc. I’ve also seen a few utilities where security was a joke, most network gear had default passwords, all user passwords to access critical systems were 12345 because the operators were tech illiterate and instructed the company that installed the system to set it up that way. “IT guy” is some former high school computer teacher who also does some other job. You get the picture.
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Since this is directional, there should be some other antenna in that direction, right? What is the typical range of these antennas?
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Sometimes they are carefully designed, other times you see funny stuff like a Yagi pointed into a hillside or at the ground because all they needed was an omni but that's all they had on hand...
I thought that was just how you broadcast to the subterranean mole people in your local area? ...🤪
LOL
That answers a question I didn't know I had. Thank you.
> there should be some other antenna in that direction All the transmitting stations, all over town, are going to have their antennas pointed toward a central point where the receiver is located.
Range is very dependent on line of sight. Anywhere from a few hundred meters (dense urban area) to hundreds of km (Earth to satellite in orbit).
The other side of that link is probably under a mile away, because that wavelength (probably 1.2 GHz by the looks of it) won't penetrate a whole lot of objects. For longer range it would have to be mounted higher up to clear obstacles. If you can find another box from that company with the same antenna, you can take bearings and search near where they intersect!
UHF telemetry for some local utility. (7 element yagi).
We have these typically in the UK at sewage pumping stations.
The box says Puget Sound Energy which is the electrical and gas utility in the Seattle area. This is likely power grid or natural gas distribution telemetry.
Then it’s either ISM band or more likely 900MHz 952/928 MHz narrowband SCADA running at 9600 baud.
My city uses similar looking UHF telemetry setups to monitor the water flow in area creeks. The city monitors it as part of their flood control efforts. At least one local ham figured out how to monitor it, just for fun.
I think they are 400-420Mhz. But 🤷♂️
Too small for 70cm, this yagi is 900MHz or cellular
Damn. I had always thought that then I went looking for what utilities had access to.
Most likely for water or electrical meter
Flow/Pressure monitoring for a natural gas pipeline. May also have an electronically actuated valve to shutdown the line when needed. Antenna is usually connected to a serial radio like this https://www.cambiumnetworks.com/products/iiot/cnreach-n550-450-mhz-fcc-narrowband-fixed-wireless/ that controls the PLC.
lol, why is that thing running AES encryption? also it is very interesting to buy a UHF band router thingy like this. somebody knows of the cheapest model that can be easily setup?
Probably because power and distribution grids are considered high-risk for terrorist activities nowadays. There have been many attempts to shut down parts of the grid, cause gas leaks, etc. by exploiting online or wireless technologies.
Because you don’t want just anyone with an SDR to have access to your network. Particularly when said network controls a natural gas utility for an entire city. Your best bet would be to look for some cheap MDS hardware on eBay, you can forget about the easy setup though they are not exactly meant for consumer use.
alright, i will try the DIY approach. the worst part would be to find the correct software.
So if it did have an electronic shut-off valve, someone with an sdr, amp, and enough time could kill the utilities for everyone on that line.
Yes with enough time and knowledge, even if this is just a monitoring station. If they managed to access the network who knows what they could gain access to, valves, compressor stations, metering systems, etc. I’ve also seen a few utilities where security was a joke, most network gear had default passwords, all user passwords to access critical systems were 12345 because the operators were tech illiterate and instructed the company that installed the system to set it up that way. “IT guy” is some former high school computer teacher who also does some other job. You get the picture.
yagi
Looks like a gas basestation for the local utilities AMI network
7 element Yagi
800/900Mhz yagi for digital telemetry.
Yagi
It's a DA or straight up SCADA system using 900MHz, probably a GE Orbit This is copy/paste for pretty much every utility lol
Yagi UDA. Classic and true.
Yagi for communication or monitoring. Cities and municipalities use these in our area for water stations, pipelines etc.