In this case a wooden telephone pole was the most economical solution to an antenna tower. In other cases, a commercial steel tower may be used. The antenna feeds two VHF radio modems connected to an array controller and data concentrator. The output of the concentrator feeds a single satellite circuit going back to Dallas. The communications controller polls each element on a command frequency and receives the data back on one of the two data frequencies.
Messages are error corrected if needed such that no data is lost due to short transmission errors.
The data is then compressed, blocked if needed, and transmitted by satellite modem to the Dallas data center where it is forwarded to other clients. The high capacity UPS provides up to 4 hours of standby power from a small battery bank. Since commercial power at Lajitas may frequently be out longer than a few hours, alternative means of powering the satellite transmitter must be available. The radios and communications controller are low enough power to be supplied from batteries if desired. The four gas fired units produce 24 volt DC power that was inverted to 110V power to drive a commercial satellite modem.