SPS Radio Site System Upgrade Status - Puyallup Ridge Interior

The image on the right shows most of the system upgrades in place. Cable runways have been installed. These runways will afford some seismic protection in addition to making interior cable management easier. A second equipment rack has been installed adjacent to the existing unit and is being used for new radio equipment and new solar array battery charge controllers. For the DNR equipment, all DC wiring has been revised using cable runway routing. DC lightning protection has also been added. Next spring, the solar array wiring building entry point will need to be moved to an area near the cable entrance panel. The interior grounding configuration has been upgraded including building halo revisions to meet R-56 standards.

The images below show a closer look at the currently installed equipment. Items displayed in the image on the left include the new repeater duplexer (above), the new Daniels analog/digital repeater (middle) and two new solar array battery charge controllers (lower). The image on the right is a current picture of the older site equipment present before the recent site upgrades. Included among the older equipment is the current (Area C) Eatonville repeater located just above the business cards in the lower portion of the image.

The updated interior side of the entrance panel is shown on the right. This includes the addition of lightning protection on all coaxial cables and solar panel dc power circuits. All cables have since been routed through the cable runway and interior R-56 grounding revisions and upgrades have been completed.

Shown above are a couple views of the batteries used at the Puyallup Ridge radio site. The gray batteries resting on the floor on the left are the primary power source for the DNR radio equipment. Upon installing the new narrowband - digital capable radio equipment, the older radio equipment, while still in service, will be powered from a secondary set of batteries in the two story battery platform on the right. The batteries utilized by the local Pierce County fire district are located in the corner next to the two story battery assembly. The small batteries resting on the floor between the agency's gray batteries and the fire district batteries are used for the Pierce County Emergency Management 900MHz Lahar repeater. The tiny repeater is located on the shelf on the wall. The repeater will relay a potential lahar threat to the State Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray from sensors located in the valley below Puyallup Ridge.

Installation of cable runways.

Installation of second equipment rack.

Installation of coaxial cable and DC power lightning protection devices at the building cable entrance panel.

Revision and upgrade of interior ground system to meet R-56 standards.

Installation of Daniels analog / digital radio equipment.

Upgrade of solar battery charge controllers and rework of existing building cabling to accommodate controllers in a new equipment rack mounting configuration.

The present site ground does not meet R-56 standards for a class B communications site. Although recommended interior lightning protection is in place, its degree of effectiveness will be reduced.

Solar array wiring building entry point will need to be moved to an area near the cable entrance panel (next spring).

Building entrance metal door frame and metal door needs to be connected to lightning halo (next spring).