Images
Photographed in 1995Select an image to view a larger version
Information and photos courtesy of Terry Michaels
Springboro was constructed in late 1949 by the National Concrete Fireproofing Company, Cleveland, using the fixed form method of construction. The company also built 16 other concrete towers for the New York to Chicago section of the transcontinental microwave route at about the same time.
The original usage of Springboro was to provide network television programming to Cincinnatti. This microwave route used TD-2 equipment and was not directly connected to the backbone microwave transcontinental and coax route by microwave radio, instead L1 coax was installed at about the same time from Toledo to bring the television signals to Dayton, from there one branch of the microwave route carried the signal through Springfield and Catawba to Columbus, and the other branch carried the signal through Springboro and White Oak to Cincinnati.
The Springboro tower is a 191 foot tall type 4D concrete tower, it initially had KS-5759 delay lens antennas on the roof. Three radio channels were installed to carry television programming to Cincinnati, with one channel being reversible to allow occasional programming originating in Cincinnati to be sent to Dayton and on to the US network. By May 14, 1951 permanent equipment had been installed in place of the reversible channel. Around 1954 a type A steel tower was installed on the roof of the concrete tower, and the delay lens antennas were moved up to the top of the steel tower. The steel tower added at Springboro is 87 feet tall, the tallest such add-on to a concrete tower I am aware of.
In 1962 the delay antennas were removed and replaced with KS-15676 horn reflector antennas, temporary 8' dish antennas were installed during the antenna change to maintain service.
In 1964 a side mounted platform was added at roof level to support two KS-15676 horn reflector antennas for a route going to Jamestown, OH. Waveguide was run from the horn antennas down the outside of the concrete tower to ground level, from there it went horizontally to a single story block building about 20 feet away. Also two 8' X 12' passive reflectors were installed near the top of the steel tower, one aimed at Dayton, the other was aimed at Roachester. The reflectors bounced the signal down to two dish antennas mounted on top of the roof of the block building. All of this equipment was owned by Ohio Bell Telephone Company.
View a broadband route map from 1950, showing Springboro and other stations in the area.
|
|
Updated on May 24, 2003 at 20:15 by Albert LaFrance