The Elko TV District heard multiple technical updates Sept. 9: Premier Wireless crews had raised a new tower on Grindstone, the district’s team completed tower stacking and waveguide ladder installation, and staff are preparing to move equipment once site buildings and pathways are finished. Board members also discussed carrier infrastructure requests and a planned equipment demonstration from Technologics.

Why it matters: The Grindstone site is a key translator/tower location in the district’s network. Progress on the tower and associated infrastructure will enable planned expansion of services and make it possible to host additional public‑safety or broadcast equipment.

Technical operations staff reported that most ground work and “doghouse” enclosures are assembled and that about 60 feet of waveguide ladder have been installed; staff said they expect to be ready to begin moving gear within about a week. Peyton, the district’s technical operations contact, said most server and transmitter equipment recently purchased has been installed at the Fiber building; the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) was delayed in transit.

Carriers and cabling: Staff said Verizon and AT&T are pursuing upgrades and that Verizon has asked for conduit access to reach the new tower. Staff are reviewing interduct and conduit capacity and expect each commercial carrier may need a dedicated conduit. Staff noted negotiations with Everest and other carriers over lease rates and infrastructure access are ongoing.

Transcoding and ATSC‑3: The board scheduled a Technologics product demonstration (Zoom or in‑person) and discussed the district’s transcoder/transmission strategy. Peyton recommended locating a transcoder at the headend and using IP distribution to each transmitter site, which would avoid buying a unit for every site. On the ATSC‑3 transition, staff recommended a cautious approach: keep ATSC‑1 operations until the consumer and studio ecosystem settles and until the FCC/industry resolves digital‑rights‑management and receiver availability issues.

Peyton flagged that Technologics amplifiers and exciter features differ from other vendors and that any broad transmitter replacements should be phased over several years in a planned capital cycle.

Server, email and archival storage: Board members discussed creating email addresses on the district’s domain and moving file storage off a vendor platform that will be retired. Staff recommended using a hosted email provider rather than operating an in‑house email server to ensure security and archiving for public‑records retention; outside storage was estimated at a few hundred dollars per month for moderate capacity.

What’s next: The district will host a Technologics demonstration at the next meeting and staff will return with detailed proposals for transcoding, headend architecture, any additional transmitter purchases and a timeline for staged upgrades. Staff will also continue conduit planning with carriers and finalize the UPS delivery and server backup approach.

Ending: The board emphasized using capital planning and budgeted replacement cycles rather than ad‑hoc purchases; members asked staff to return detailed cost and timeline estimates.