Radio towers that flash Red or White

[J Route Z]

This may be weird but crossing over a large bridge or looking out of a hotel window from a high story window, I enjoy looking out to see radio towers or any tall structure with red flashing beacons. White ones should only be used during daytime, but several are used at night. On the top of the tower they have a white strobe and a red one and I suppose they are timed. There are soft flashing lights (fading in and out) and hard LED flashing lights. Not sure what FAA requirements are.

[adventurernumber1]

I actually think they look kinda cool, as well. I believe you're referring to cell phone towers. They're along interstates a lot.

[Pink Jazz]

Typically, the standard is a white xenon strobe for daytime use, and a red flashing incandescent or LED light for nighttime use.  However, I have seen some towers that only have a white strobe that is used both day and night.  Also, sometimes some towers with both lights may occasionaly continue to use the white strobe at night in case the flashing red light fails.

[cjk374]

There is a cell phone tower about a mile away (as the crow flies) from my house.  When the white strobe lights flash at night, it lights up my windows every couple of seconds.  It can get annoying.

[thenetwork]

I have always loved seeing the glow of radio towers at night along with some of the tower arrangements. 

Some that come to mind: 

-  The old WLW Radio tranmitter site off of I-75 near Mason, Ohio. From what I gather, much of the massive transmitter assembly has been removed. 

-  The antenna farms on the high-end section of Parma, Ohio.  These groups of towers were easily seen along I-480 and I-77.

-  My favorite used to be the WEOL tower site in Grafton, OH.  https://www.google.com/maps/place/Island+Rd,+Ohio/@41.270462,-82.0024325,3a,75y,232.11h,109.58t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sdZaiaOiHUkO1CwJBF6kQ7Q!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x8830bd05c22384eb:0xe2ac5461180d73f  .  Back in the 70's, when an entire tower was to have red lights --  not just the tops of the tallest towers like today -- the original four smaller towers would alternate/synchronize the flashing of two towers at a time (either side of the newer 5th tower in the middle).  Nowadays, they only light the top of the new, taller tower.

I never realized I was such a radio tower geek until now!

[hotdogPi]

I thought their purpose was so that airplanes didn't hit it. Is that their purpose?

(Also, red is much more common than white around here.)

[6a]

A white strobe must be used in lieu of painting the tower alternating white and red colors. A painted tower only needs a light at night.

[vtk]

Wind farms look weird at night with their flashing red lights. Especially if the whole farm flashes in unison. (Reminds me of the It planet from A Wrinkle In Time.)

What surprises me is that lights aren't required on the blade tips. Those blades just cut stealthily through the dark.

[SidS1045]

A white strobe must be used in lieu of painting the tower alternating white and red colors. A painted tower only needs a light at night.

The final determination is made by the FAA in each case and there are effectively no hard-and-fast rules for obstruction marking and lighting.  The general guide is FAA Advisory Circular AC 70/7460-1K, but paragraph 20 of that circular states, in part:  "However, an FAA aeronautical study may reveal that the absence of marking and/or lighting will not impair aviation safety. Conversely, the object may present such an extraordinary hazard potential that higher standards may be recommended for increased conspicuity to ensure safety to air navigation."

I've seen several painted towers with strobes.

[Pete from Boston]

I miss the slow on-and-off gradient of flashing incandescents.  It was calming.

Places I have been most impressed by the flash of towers include the Meadowlands in NJ, and the Tantramar Marshes on the NB/NS border. 

[SteveG1988]

Driving up I-55/57 in IL, you get to a certain spot where all you see is red dots at night, wind turbines all over, at first i thought they were antennae farms.

[cpzilliacus]

Typically, the standard is a white xenon strobe for daytime use, and a red flashing incandescent or LED light for nighttime use.  However, I have seen some towers that only have a white strobe that is used both day and night.  Also, sometimes some towers with both lights may occasionaly continue to use the white strobe at night in case the flashing red light fails.

The eastbound (original 1952) span of the William Preston Lane, Jr. (Chesapeake Bay) Bridge uses white strobes, day and night on its suspension towers. 

The westbound ("new" 1972) span has red lights on its towers.

[SteveG1988]

Typically, the standard is a white xenon strobe for daytime use, and a red flashing incandescent or LED light for nighttime use.  However, I have seen some towers that only have a white strobe that is used both day and night.  Also, sometimes some towers with both lights may occasionaly continue to use the white strobe at night in case the flashing red light fails.

The eastbound (original 1952) span of the William Preston Lane, Jr. (Chesapeake Bay) Bridge uses white strobes, day and night on its suspension towers. 

The westbound ("new" 1972) span has red lights on it towers.

The delaware memorial bridge has the standard red lights at night. Also if you want an up close look at the lights, drive the girard point bridge in Philly, due to the double deck nature the upper deck is closer to the lights than on most bridges i've been over.

[roadman65]

I heard, also, why Disney built its Tower of Terror at 13 stories.  It just falls below the level that the FAA requires all buildings to have the red beacons on them.  Disney felt that it would ruin the attraction if they had to place red beacons on top as it would ruin the image that the facade on the attraction is supposed to be.

Also, I would like to know about buildings that get abandoned like Pabst Beer did in Newark, NJ though.  The water tower for the brewery's sprinkler system, had a beacon that was on steady up until Pabst shut down its operation there.  For years the tower did not have its beacon lit, for obvious reasons, but why did not the FAA then require the City of Newark to provide power to the beacon at least or require the owner of the land post brewery to keep it flashing if it thought enough to have it installed in the first place.

[Roadrunner75]

I heard, also, why Disney built its Tower of Terror at 13 stories.  It just falls below the level that the FAA requires all buildings to have the red beacons on them.  Disney felt that it would ruin the attraction if they had to place red beacons on top as it would ruin the image that the facade on the attraction is supposed to be.

I've heard the same thing about the castle at Disney World, in that they had to limit the height to avoid the lighting and play with the façade to make it look like it was taller (progressively smaller window sizes or something like that)

[wphiii]

Wind farms look weird at night with their flashing red lights. Especially if the whole farm flashes in unison. (Reminds me of the It planet from A Wrinkle In Time.)

I love seeing wind farms at night because of this. I personally find it especially cool when they're not quite flashing in unison. Looks more organic and natural.

[DaBigE]

I heard, also, why Disney built its Tower of Terror at 13 stories.  It just falls below the level that the FAA requires all buildings to have the red beacons on them.  Disney felt that it would ruin the attraction if they had to place red beacons on top as it would ruin the image that the facade on the attraction is supposed to be.

Interesting. I thought it had more to do with the fear of the number 13...apparently just a happy coincidence.

[SidS1045]

I thought it had more to do with the fear of the number 13...apparently just a happy coincidence.

If you were to pull a database of towers and other obstructions, you'll find a ton of them at 199 feet above ground.  At 200 feet and above federal regulations require that the FAA review the obstruction and issue a finding of "no hazard" to aviation before the tower can be built...and that assumes the proposed obstruction is far enough away from an airport that there aren't more severe height regulations in play.  (That's why, near many airports, you'll find obstruction lighting on top of nearly every building.)  The "no hazard" finding comes with specifications for painting and/or lighting, which are a condition of extending the "no hazard" finding indefinitely.

[DaBigE]

I thought it had more to do with the fear of the number 13...apparently just a happy coincidence.

If you were to pull a database of towers and other obstructions, you'll find a ton of them at 199 feet above ground.  At 200 feet and above federal regulations require that the FAA review the obstruction and issue a finding of "no hazard" to aviation before the tower can be built...and that assumes the proposed obstruction is far enough away from an airport that there aren't more severe height regulations in play.  (That's why, near many airports, you'll find obstruction lighting on top of nearly every building.)  The "no hazard" finding comes with specifications for painting and/or lighting, which are a condition of extending the "no hazard" finding indefinitely.

I was just referring to the Tower of Terror...with 13 stories just adding to the "scare factor".

[lepidopteran]

-  The old WLW Radio tranmitter site off of I-75 near Mason, Ohio. From what I gather, much of the massive transmitter assembly has been removed. 

Are you referring to that forest of radio towers along I-75, which included a sort of "net" strung between 3 larger ones?  That was a broadcasting station for the Voice of America.  These were taken down in the late '90s.  The WLW site was nearby, according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_of_America_Bethany_Relay_Station

[jeffandnicole]

In one of the few positive sights along the Schuykill Expressway in Philly, one passes by the gigantic (for the area) transmission towers with the red lights that blink in no random coordinated order.

[thenetwork]

-  The old WLW Radio tranmitter site off of I-75 near Mason, Ohio. From what I gather, much of the massive transmitter assembly has been removed. 

Are you referring to that forest of radio towers along I-75, which included a sort of "net" strung between 3 larger ones?  That was a broadcasting station for the Voice of America.  These were taken down in the late '90s.  The WLW site was nearby, according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_of_America_Bethany_Relay_Station

I had thought that WLW was at that site at one time, considering in the 1930's, it was the first and only AM station in North America to broadcast with 500,000 (that's a half-a-million) watts.  And that former VOA setup would look like it was built for that monster wattage. Now the FCC limits American AM stations to just 50,000 watts.   

But yes, that was an awesome transmitter site at the time.  Was a great sight after sunset when viewed from the top of the Eiffel Tower observation deck at the nearby Kings Island Amusement Park.

I also want to add that seeing the multi-colored ground lights at and around airport runways at night are pretty cool to watch as well.

[SteveG1988]

In one of the few positive sights along the Schuykill Expressway in Philly, one passes by the gigantic (for the area) transmission towers with the red lights that blink in no random coordinated order.

You can actually see them from NJ on a good night, particularly from the betsy ross bridge

[roadman65]

Growing up in NJ I used to see many of them at night long before the strobes came into play.  I always found them fascinating especially when two or more were together.

NJ 10 in East Hanover used to have them that could be seen for miles.

West Orange had plenty of them, but not together.  I do remember them scattered and one in particular on Mt. Pleasant Avenue east of NJ 10's ending was for a specific FM station, I remember seeing when eating at a restaurant that was on the corner there.

Secaucus, NJ has three of them seen at night perfectly from both spurs of the NJ Turnpike across the Hackensack Meadowlands.


Orlando has plenty of them, but not a sight like NJ has had.  Though one tower near DeLand can be seen at night along I-4 through the 11 mile exit less stretch as you head west from Daytona Beach.  The tower appears to be along I-4, but at Exit 118 for SR 44 the road curves to the left slightly so it veers off the straight line.  However, it can be seen during the 11 miles of travel ahead in a distance with a night time strobe flashing.  It is a shame though you do not pass by it directly later on being it was like you were homing in on that particular tower for almost ten minuets of driving.

What is more cool is seeing the strobes flash at any tower from 30, 000 feet in the air on a night flight of any commercial airline.

[ET21]

Some towers I've been noticing have been keeping a solid red light on all night. One is by my house, another is along I-88 around MM-99