Transmitter, receiver site upgrades strengthen mission

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joshua Stevens
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 325th Communications Squadron will soon begin the second and final phase of upgrades to the Tyndall remote Air Traffic Control air-to-ground radio system transmitter and receiver sites, as well as the Ground Air Transmit Receive Site, utilized by the 325th Air Control Squadron.

"Air Education and Training Command provided $1.7 million for this much-needed upgrade," said Brian Timpe, 325 CS F-22A Range Communications project officer. "We have been working closely with Leader Communications, Inc. to complete the project in order to ensure adequate and reliable air traffic control radio communications for Team Tyndall's air space."

Phase I of the project, which initially began Jan. 14 and ended March 3, saw the installation of 11 tower foundations with conduits and junction boxes to support antenna cabling. With the roll-in of Phase II, the 11 towers will be erected, cables and antennas installed and the existing ATC radios cut over to the new towers and antennas.

A major aspect of this upgrade speaks to the structural integrity of the new towers.

"The existing wooden poles are dilapidated with dry rot; antenna maintenance cannot be performed due to pole structural integrity," Mr. Timpe said. "The wooden poles could easily topple in a strong storm, causing mission failure. The wooden poles will be replaced with 60- and 70-foot metal antenna towers to combat this." 

Repairing the structure is key to the upgrade, but in doing so, the 325 CS is also extending the air-to-ground radio system coverage reach.

"The radio coverage is currently below maximum due to antenna configurations, limited available space on the wooden poles, tree growth and excessive signal losses created by the multi-couplers (devices used to connect multiple radios to a single antenna)," Mr. Timpe said. "For example, the current antennas are mounted at staggered height, reducing the range of those which are lower; however, the new towers will place antennas at higher, equal elevations, therefore increasing radio coverage."

In addition, all of the UHF/VHF radio antennas, radio frequency cabling and lightning and surge suppression will be upgraded at the three sites.

The upgrades will be a welcome improvement for the members of Tyndall's air control community.

"ATC uses radios to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic and to provide information and other support to pilots; they are the backbone of ATC," said Capt. Brandon Franklin, 325th Operations Support Squadron Airfield Operations Flight commander. "Recent upgrades to the sites greatly enhance the 325th Fighter Wing's capability to provide ATC services in Tyndall's portion of the U.S. National Airspace System. The radio sites have been transformed into modern communications platforms with increased coverage and reliability."

The likelihood of deteriorated communication would be much higher without the upgrades.

"Without adequate and reliable air traffic control radio communications, servicing units would find it impossible to perform even the most basic aspects of their missions and become incapable of responding to threat and contingency conditions," Mr. Timpe said.

ATC radio services are not only used by the 325 ACS and the 325 OSS, but are also provided to the wing and major tenant units, and are used to assist the Panama City Bay County Airport, along with 11 other satellite airports.