Board discusses site power, battery and fiber upgrades; explores solar and redundancy for Snowball site

District technical staff described multiple site maintenance and upgrade needs and presented cost and design options for improving power reliability, backup runtime and network redundancy at several transmitter and fiber hut sites.

Why it matters: The TV district relies on transmitter uptime to deliver over-the-air service and to support public-safety communications; aging UPS batteries and single-source network feeds increase risk of service interruptions.

What staff reported: Technicians said several uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) and their batteries are past typical service life. Specifics included: - PEQOP (name from transcript) UPS has been in service about 10 years and currently holds power for roughly 30 minutes instead of a design target of about four hours. - Grindstone UPSes have been running 8+ years and now provide about 23 minutes of runtime instead of an expected 45 minutes. - The fiber hut battery bank had more capacity but now provides roughly 2.5 hours versus the original design of about 8 hours. - Lamoille Summit’s UPS was described as “toast” and is currently bypassed with a smaller UPS on-site.

Staff described the current batteries as lead-acid (AGM or vented) and said site-by-site visits are required to identify exact battery models for replacement.

Replacement options and costs discussed: Staff discussed multiple options with cost estimates given as planning figures (one-time and rough): - Traditional UPS replacement: a UPS without battery extensions typically in the ~$3,000 range; UPS with battery extensions and network monitoring can be roughly $6,000. - Lithium-based UPSs or lithium battery banks (lithium iron phosphate) were recommended for longer life and higher energy density; lithium UPS warranties commonly end at five years, with manufacturers rating some units for up to 10 years. - A turnkey stack installed for NDOT was cited as approximately $70,000 installed and could provide roughly 12 hours of runtime for a large site; a lower-cost engineered equivalent might be approximately $40,000 installed, depending on sizing and configuration. Staff said exact quotes would be provided in a formal written proposal at a future meeting.

Network redundancy and fiber: Staff said connectivity discussions with carriers and facilities in Reno (ABC studio, switch data center, PBS studio) are ongoing and slow. Technical staff explored a redundant-feed architecture using multiple carriers or an over-the-air dual-redundant feed that would require a second receiver and an additional tunnel device (NIMRA/NIMBRA). Costs discussed included license fees of roughly $1,000 per stream (one-time as described in the meeting) and one-time equipment/network costs in the low tens of thousands (transcript gave a planning range of roughly $23,000–$25,000 per device/equipment installation). Staff also noted options such as using NSHE (university) fiber as a secondary path if county paperwork is completed.

Snowball site power discussion: The board reviewed a contractor’s commercial-power estimate of approximately $325,000 to extend grid power to the Snowball site and discussed alternatives: a solar-plus-battery design, tower options (Rohn 65-series towers cited), smaller generators, and hybrid ZPM (zero-glitch power monitor) systems that combine battery, solar management and generator control. Staff offered these planning points: - A solar array in the 5–10 kW range was discussed as likely for cooling and transmitter loads; estimates suggested roughly 20–25 panels per kW at the pricing referenced (transcript used a per-panel / per-kW heuristic, not a formal engineer estimate). - Battery bank sizing and battery chemistry will determine run time; staff emphasized the batteries would be the energy reservoir charged by solar and/or generator. - A turnkey lithium bank and power-conditioning system could reduce generator sizing and long-term fuel costs but carries higher up-front cost. - Wind generation was discussed as an experimental supplemental option; staff cautioned that turbines on mountain sites can suffer ice damage and may require smaller, redundant units if pursued.

Decisions and next steps: No formal capital commitment was made during the meeting. Staff committed to provide written proposals and refined cost estimates (including a formal UPS/battery replacement proposal), and the Snowball commercial-power question will be explored alongside solar and hybrid options with engineering input. The board agreed to conduct site visits this spring and to agendize detailed proposals at a future meeting.

Ending: Technical and budget follow-ups were assigned to staff; the board tabled purchase decisions pending written proposals, vendor quotes and field visits.