ANAHEIM
Type: Junction/Switched/Toll Office
Location: City of Anaheim
Paths: LA03 Madison Complex, Santiago Peak and Corona del Mar.
Notes: All horns have been removed. Anaheim had L-3 cable to Corona and Gardena and Fiber to Corona, Gardena and Santa Ana.
ARCADIA
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: Arcadia was located on the flank of the San Gabriel Mountains just north of Arcadia in Los Angeles and adjacent to the Santa Anita Reservoir.
Paths: Los Angeles 03 (Madison Complex) and Olinda
Notes:
BALDWIN HILLS
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: On the north side of the Baldwin Hills near Culver City
in Los Angeles.
Paths: Los Angeles 09 (Richmond) Central Office and Los Angeles 07
(Airport) Central Office.
Notes: Horns have already been removed from this site :-(
BELLE
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: Out in the middle of nowhere. Actually located in
the Pinto Mountains about 10 miles south of Twentynine Palms in the Mojave
Desert. Very remote.
Paths: Joshua Tree and Sheep Hole
Notes: One of the few towers that was painted red and white as to warn
low flying aircraft. Tower was 197 feet tall and was possibly
painted because of the low flying military helicopters coming out of
Twentynine Palms Marine Station.
BESS
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: Another very remote site. Located on a small mountain near
Iron Ridge in the Mojave Desert. The closest "real" town
is Dagget, some 30 miles to the northwest.
Paths: Lucerne Valley and Hector
Notes: Imagine being stuck here over night! UFO hotline???
Also note how one of the horn covers is patched (left one) could it have
been shot???
BIRD SPRINGS
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Junction/Switched
Location: Atop "Wyleys Knob" adjacent to Bird Spring Canyon
at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. About 14 miles
southeast of Weldon. Very remote.
Paths: El Paso Mtn., Mojave and Shirley Peak
Notes: Major switching point for traffic coming from east and going
west/north (central and northern Calif.) or south (southern Calif).
Reverse was true for traffic coming from points in Calif to the east.
BLACK MOUNTAIN
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: Just north of San Diego and west of Poway on the top of Black
Mountain.
Paths: San Diego (University), Oceanside and San Marcos
Notes: This was a landmark tower located right on the top of the
mountain. I remember I would always notice it driving north along the
I-15. Sadly all the horns have been removed recently and all that
remains is the steel support structure.
BLYTHE
(Photo Chad Perkins)
Type: Junction/Switched
Location: In the City of Blythe just south of the I-10 freeway
Paths: Glamis
Notes: Blythe was part of the Los Angeles-El Paso L-3 cable system and provided the power feed for the eastern "desert" section of this cable. Microwave service was added later to allow switching between both the cable and microwave paths.
BOUCHER HILL
(UCSD HEPWREN)
Type: Repeater, TD-2 AT&T
Location: Atop Boucher Hill in the Palomar Mountains. About 20 miles north of Escondido.
Paths: San Diego (University) and Santiago Peak
Notes: Boucher has been torn down and removed
BRAWLEY
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: Near Brawley, Imperial Valley
Paths: Salton and Glamis
Notes:
CAMERON
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: Amongst the numerous wind turbines along a ridge in the Tehachapi Mountains about 6 miles southwest of Tehachapi.
Paths: High Vista and Mt. Adelaide
Notes:
CIMA
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: In the mid hills of the eastern Mojave Desert. About 5 miles from Cima Siding. Very Remote
Paths: Kelso and Beer Bottle (Nevada)
Notes: Cima was so remote that it had a helipad adjacent to the site most likely to transport maintenance personal and equipment to the site. Tower is also painted the red/white colors as to warn approaching helicopters.
CORONA
Type: Junction/Switched
Location: 5 miles south of Corona at the north end of the Santa Ana Mountains.
Paths: Ontario, Strawberry Peak and Wildomar.
Notes: Corona was an important site in the Southern California system. It served as a power feed for L-3 cables to Anaheim and fiber optic lines from Anaheim and San Bernardino. Switching took place between cable systems and microwave. Corona was a hardened site to protect against nuclear attack and had large emergency generators, protected air/ventilation equipment and personnel provisions. AT&T still owns and operates the site but have removed the horns from the tower. More to come........
CORONA DEL MAR
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: Signal Peak in the San Joaquin Hills about 4 miles southeast of Corona del Mar.
Paths: Anaheim, El Toro (Central office), San Clemente and Los Angeles 03 Madison Complex
CLINE SPRINGS
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Cline Springs
Type: Repeater, AT&T TD-2
Location: On the north side of Goat Mountain about 16 miles southeast of Barstow. Remote
Paths: Strawberry Peak and Sandy
Notes: Is conical horn part of the old GTE southern California microwave system?
EL CAJON (CREST)
Type: Repeater
Location: About 5 miles east of El Cajon near Suncrest
Paths: San Diego (University) and Julian
Notes: Signs at gate show this site still active and in operation. Operated by Pacific Bell for their Borrego microwave service???
EL PASO MOUNTAIN
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: El Paso Peaks about 10 miles southwest of Ridgecrest.
Paths: Slate and Bird Springs
Notes: Part of the "north Mojave Desert" route path
GARDENA
Type: Junction/Switched/Toll Office
Location: Southwest Los Angeles in the City of Gardena.
Paths: LA07 "Airport" (One time had a path to LA Madison Complex but that was blocked due to high rise construction, path then moved to transition through LA07 "Airport" during the 1980s)
Notes: Almost all the horns have been removed from this site. Only one remains which pointed to LA 07 "Airport". See Area Code 310 for more information on the Gardena Tandem office.
GLAMIS
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Junction/Switched
Location: Atop Black Mountain in the Chocolate Mountains about 24 miles northwest of Winterhaven. Very Remote
Paths: Blythe, Castle Dome Mtn. (Arizona), Yuma (Arizona) and Brawley
Notes: Major switching point in the east-west "Imperial Valley" microwave route.
GRANITE PASS
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: In the Granite Mountains, adjacent to Granite Pass in the Mojave Desert. About 70 miles east of Dagget. Very Remote.
Paths: Kelso and Sheep Hole
Notes:
HALL CANYON
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Junction/Switched
Location: Just northeast of Ventura and adjacent to Hall Canyon
Paths: Oat Mountain, Topanga Ridge, Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Peak.
Notes: Major switching point for north-south traffic from LA area north along the "coastal" microwave route.
HAUSER MOUNTAIN
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: On top of Hauser Mountain in the Sierra Pelona Range about 6 miles southwest of Palmdale. Remote
Paths: Newhall, Oat Mountain and Table Mountain.
Notes: Structure construction similar to Keller Peak
HECTOR
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: Southern end of the Cady Mountains in the Mojave Desert. About 30 miles southeast of Dagget.
Paths: Kelso and Bess
Notes: Built 1962
HIGH VISTA
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Junction/Switched
Location: About 20 miles east of Lancaster in the southern Mojave Desert near Hi Vista. Remote
Paths: Mt. Gleason, Mt. Emma, Phelan, Mojave and Cameron
Notes: Major junction point in the high desert region
IBEX
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: North end of Saddle Peak Hills near Ibex Pass. About 37 miles from Baker. Very Remote
Paths: Turquoise and Owlshead
Notes: Another site with an adjacent helipad for maintenance/personal transport due to remote location.
JOSHUA TREE
(Photo American Tower Corp)
Type: Repeater
Location: Joshua Tree Wilderness Area atop a small ridgeline. About 20 miles northeast of Palm Springs. Remote
Paths: Belle and Ranger.
Notes: One of the few "tall" towers in the southern California system. Tower was 163 feet tall and due to height and low flying military aircraft in region was painted the signature red-white alternating colors. Built 1963
JULIAN
(Photo Robert Foster)
Type: Junction/Switched
Location: North of Oak Ridge in the Volcan Mountains. About 5 miles northeast of Santa Ysabel. Remote
Paths: Salton, Crest, San Diego (University), San Marcos, Sage and Warner Springs.
Notes: Julian was a major switching point for traffic into and out of San Diego and for traffic east along the "Imperial Valley" microwave path. Julian also served the military communications circuits (AUTOVON) as well and provided secure links from the Mount Laguna Air Force Station/Long Range Radar Facility and later served the joint Mount Laguna FAA ARTC radar and Air Force Surveillance radar facility.