Solar Powered Antennas on Mountain Peaks

[DixieFlyer]

Over the last year or so I have seen an antenna and a solar panel on several remote mountain peaks. I never thought too much about it, but I wondered what they were for. Apparently they have been popping up in Utah, and nobody seems to know who put them there and for what purpose. This article suggests that they might be used for crypto mining: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/n ... r-unknown/

I see that @Mike_W saw one the other day also.

[CannondaleKid]

With 'Helium Explorer' you can zoom in to all of their locations: https://explorer.helium.com/

Interesting to see there is one at the Salt River Tubing at the intersection of Bish Highway and Usery Pass Road... I had always thought the tallest antenna was far taller than required to communicate with the buses.

[chumley]

I've seen several on various peaks over the years. There used to be two separate antennas on Table Top right near where the trail reaches the summit. But this year, those are gone and there's another one at the north end of the mountain now. It is marked with a US Border Patrol sticker.

This one had a tiny sticker linking it to the US Naval Sea Systems Command in Corona, CA.

This one seemed more suspect to me. No markings, and the antenna is in the pine tree behind the power panel.

These seem to be linked to military/law enforcement use (and sometimes the people they're after). The Utah story/Helium network is a new twist for me!

[nonot]

Seems far more likely to be either pirate radio, or else lookout posts for drug or human smugglers than it does to be a crypto farm. As the article even says, an installation strictly intended as a crypto farm wouldn't recoup the investment. If the cartels paid for the rig, but the installer added a crypto computer to the site to try to make side money for themselves, that is more plausible.

This is assuming that they aren't legitimate scientific or gov't related comm relay stations where the label for the organization simply fell off or got sun faded.

[xsproutx]

a crypto farm wouldn't recoup the investment

To be fair, a lot of these crypto miners aren't the best at math and are very much in the, "One day this investment will go to the moon...!"

[Alston_Neal]

xsproutx, makes sense. This is the helium hotspot in Wellton, crypto mining has really paid off. All kidding aside, this is really interesting.

[SuperstitionGuy]

If you really want to know who owns it, flip the solar panel to the "dark side" and someone will be up there in a day or two to fix it.
Use a trail cam to find out who showed up.

[Alston_Neal]

This has really opened up an interesting world.
https://parleylabs.com/2021/02/24/a-rou ... ts-by-nik/

[chumley]

@Alston_Neal With regards to the OP seeing antennas on remote peaks, it seems unlikely they would be part of this installation. @nonot 's reply seems to be the more probable cause for their existence in my mind.

Get as clear a view of as much “civilization” as possible. Remember, the network is only as valuable as the USEFUL area it can cover. A hotspot on top of a mountain with clear views of nothing but nature for 30 miles is not covering (to the network, anyway) USEFUL territory. A hotspot on a suburban roof surrounded by a few million people and lots of data opportunities will provide far more useful coverage.

[Alston_Neal]

@chumley
But what I read said that if one is in a dense area your reward scale will be lower because of increased competition.

[chumley]

@Alston_Neal

[CannondaleKid]

@chumley
There just may not be any money to show...
According to the Parley Labs article:

Is this a safe investment?
No. This is cryptocurrency competing with giant telcos (Telecommunications Companies). It may be a boomer (like when Uber competed with cabs or Airbnb competed with hotels) or it may be a flop (like every other startup company that tried to take on the big dogs.)

(My emphasis added below)
You should not re-finance your house to put up hotspots. You should be able to lose all the money you put into hotspots without putting yourself, your family, or anyone you know at financial risk. Sheesh.