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Author Topic: Paran Towers Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 09-25-2003 08:32 PM                  Paul, is this a directional system? >>> Phil  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-25-2003 08:43 PM                     Paran = PERImeter current ANtenna array. Uses phase differentials between the wires to electrically simulate a single tower some multiple of the height of each individual tower. Especially useful in situations where building a taller antenna is not possible or practical. The first one built in the USA is in Hilo, Hawii. It's right across from the airport. [ 09-25-2003, 09:53 PM: Message edited by: Randy Stankey ]  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 09-25-2003 09:13 PM                     Phil, supposedly it is a non-directional system. But yet, as I look at a "funny map" it certainly does not look like it. The day pattern at 10KW looks like this: The night pattern at 1KW looks like this: I never did a partial or a full proof on this system. The reason why I presumed it was non-directional is because I don't have to go check any nulls like I do on a directional array. We are not mandated to do so at this station operating at day or night power. We are not mandated to have an antenna monitor. Our only requirement is an RF line current meter at the common point. Randy, I did a website search on this system and found nothing. Did you have better luck?  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-25-2003 09:36 PM                     Yep, I also heard a little bit about antenna arrays like this in various books. I've never seen/heard of an array like this at all. Scientific American recently published an article on how antenna arrays can on cellular phone towers. Got the information off a Google search: This Article Will post more if I find anything.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 09-25-2003 09:49 PM                     Randy, that Paran Towers discussed in the link you provided sure sounds like what we have. Thanks for the link. I found ours: http://www.broadcast.net/pipermail/broadcast/2002-September/113415.html Here's another....but it is not a link. I still can't make that "click here" thing work. In a message dated 9/16/02 10:58:00 PM, <snip> writes: I have been told that KAPS 660 in WA also has a Paran. It was described to me as an anti-skywave antenna using a wire connected between the tops of 4 short towers with the feedline going up the leg of one tower. Edit: It may just be one tower that has the main feed pipe. I now remember George Frese telling me to be careful if I have to work in the ATU box of the northwest tower. The feedpipes in the other three towers are probably feeding a set of coils in their respective ATU boxes for proper impedance matching and termination. To me, that makes sense. I am going to check that out tomorrow. There are two. The Washington one, and the Hawaii one (the Big Island). I think the Commission's engineering staff ... or the proponents of Paran systems ... have got a lot of homework to do in order to integrate these into the normal scheme of things. Both are presently classified as four tower DAs, although the patterns are omni.  |  IP: Logged Jeff Stricker Master Film Handler Posts: 481 From: Calumet, Mi USA Registered: Nov 1999 posted 09-26-2003 07:11 AM                     Paul very interesting. Many thanks for going to the trouble of getting the pics. You have a rare antenna system there. Yes, it appears non-directional but the sea water improves the ground wave in certain directions. Sounds like the pipe on one tower is the feed, while the other three contain some sort of matching system. I wonder if the towers actually act like portions of coax? (they have a center conductor surrounded by the tower frame) Are there burried radials used at all? Or does the entire system work without needing a ground reference? Jeff  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 09-26-2003 12:36 PM                     Jeff, I'll see what I can find out with the rest of your questions. Sam, if you can get a picture of the possible Paran Array close to your home, please do so. I would appreciate it. As for now, I know of two Paran Arrays in the United States. Ours and the one Randy directed us to. The third one might be in Sam's area. They are rare, indeed. As far as I know, we are not using any ground radials with our system. But I can't say for sure. While in the fence lines, I never saw any provisions for them like one would normally see being used with the Marconi such as KBRC. The ground radials are located every 3 degrees and 10AWG copper wire is used. Each radial is about 200 feet long. George built a radial sniffer. It looks like a metal detector. It works as a receiver...that is if you start sniffing with it and find a radial an RF indication will be displayed on the meter. I had to use it once. It will find broken radials. We had some horses wandering around in our field some time ago and broke a few. They are not buried very deep. Almost on the surface. When I found them with George's contraption, I had to dig them up and repair them.  |  IP: Logged Sam Hunter Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 779 From: West Monroe, LA, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 09-26-2003 04:27 PM                     Sorry, I checked on them and they are not Parans. They are built as an directional array. Rats.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 09-26-2003 09:38 PM                     Jeff, there are ground radials in that system. 120 of them per tower. (3 degrees apart).  |  IP: Logged Jeff Stricker Master Film Handler Posts: 481 From: Calumet, Mi USA Registered: Nov 1999 posted 09-27-2003 07:22 AM                     Thanks Paul, come to think of it, there has to be a ground system to reference the feed against. It sure is an intersting antenna  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 09-27-2003 01:01 PM                     Didn't check on the Coax thought of the pipes running up the towers. I'll ask George when he comes to do our splatter tests next month. He's the guy who engineered the project when it was installed.  |  IP: Logged Chris Markiewicz Expert Film Handler Posts: 209 From: Glenaviegh, County Tipperary, Ireland Registered: Aug 2002 posted 10-02-2003 09:20 PM                     This should be the Paran array at Keahole, Kona, Hawaii. It's directly across the highway from the entrance to Kona Airport, about 100 yards uphill next to the main West Hawaii powerplant for Hawaii Electric Light Co. (HELCO, and aptly named!). I did not see a registration plate anywhere, just signs warning of high voltage.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 10-02-2003 09:40 PM                     Chris, it probably does not meet height requirements or flight path issues to have the towers registered. Towers that are taller than 200 feet and towers within about four miles of airports (that may be shorter than 200 feet and in the glide slope of take offs and landings) are subject to the registration requirements.  |  IP: Logged

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