Antenna & Radio Installs

An antenna install is only finished when it passes acceptance. Broadband Tower Services installs carrier, microwave and broadcast equipment to the standards a carrier inspector checks first - clean cable, correct grounding, sealed connectors - and hands you the close-out package that gets the milestone signed off.

Cable hoisting and routing

Cable is hoisted on its own line - never pulled by the connector - with hoisting grips at proper intervals and the reel controlled so it pays out without kinking. At height the cable is secured to the structure every few feet with the right hangers, never crushed. We respect each cable's minimum bend radius, because an over-tight bend crushes the dielectric and shows up immediately on the sweep.

Connectors and weatherproofing

• The correct connector for the cable and system - N-type or 7/16 DIN - torqued to spec with a calibrated wrench.
• Every outdoor connection gets a three-layer weatherproofing kit (tape, butyl mastic, outer wrap) or a cold-shrink boot. The goal is zero water ingress - water in a connector kills return loss within weeks.

Grounding and bonding

Per Motorola R56 practice, every outdoor coax is bonded to the tower at a minimum of three points - near the antenna, at the base before the cable leaves the structure, and before it enters the shelter - with intermediate kits on tall towers. All grounds tie back to a single-point ground, with surge protection on every line at the shelter entry. Grounding is one of the first things an inspector checks, and a site won't pass acceptance without it.

Mounting and alignment

We use the manufacturer's specified mount, set azimuth with declination corrected, set mechanical downtilt to the design, and photograph every antenna label for the record. For microwave we align the path for best signal and lock it down.

Equipment swaps and upgrades

Networks grow, and the gear on the tower changes with them - new radios, additional sectors, bigger or repositioned dishes, a co-locator's equipment. We handle the swap end to end: removing the old equipment, installing and aligning the new, re-grounding and re-weatherproofing every connection, and re-sweeping the affected runs so the upgraded site passes acceptance just like a new build. Removed gear is documented and decommissioned cleanly so nothing is left unaccounted for.

The close-out package

You get the deliverable, not just the hardware: line-sweep reports per run, the photo set an inspector expects, as-built azimuth/tilt/cable data, and an engineering stamp on the structural side when required.