Club Facilities

Over the years, a number of hams have cycled through W9YT, as have a number of facilities and pieces of equipment.

This is the expanding list of facilities, infrastructure, and equipment the club operates, owns, or otherwise has some level of claim to, which may be of interest to current members. Due to changes in location and equipment, this is subject to growth and expansion.

1415 Engineering Hall

Historically, BARS was based in 1415 Engineering Hall.

Radar Tower (Historical)

A radar tower historically served as the main tower for club antennas {insert picture here}.

This structure was WW2 surplus and has been removed circa 1998. However, the beam (believed to be 10m/20m) that was historically located atop the tower is purportedly still stored under "a covered structure" on the roof of Engineering Hall (per K9ITW).

An antiquated prop rotator powered by a 120v line hardwired to the tower previously steered the antenna assembly on top; this was taken down and sold some time around the decommissioning of the tower (per WO9U).

Secondary Tower (Abandoned in Place)

A secondary tower (likely a Rohn 25G or similar) is installed on the north side of Engineering Hall, centered directly overtop the internal courtyard of Engineering Hall. The tower has not been climbed or inspected in likely 20+ years, but appears to be in relatively good shape.

What appears to be a 20m beam, with a broken reflector, sits atop the tower. Above that, a 40m dipole is mounted to the beam mast, and what appears to be a 2m array above that. The general conditions of these antennas is unknown, besides the fact that they appear to be relatively intact.

It is believed by current club leadership that a standard Yaesu rotator was responsible for steering the beam/dipole/array mast, but this was removed some time around the decommissioning of the tower.

Dr. Nader Behdad, the club advisor and research faculty within ECE, has voiced interest in reactivating this tower. This project has gone as far as locating former feedline (see #B265G), but has been halted pending critical station repairs at ERB. The tower, in its currently state, is surrounded on three sides by new-additions to Engineering Hall, limiting its usable bearings (outside of NVIS) to ~190-350 degrees.

B265G (Historical)

B265G was the most recent club shack within Engineering Hall. This shack was decommissioned some time in the late nineties, coinciding with the university's construction of the Engineering Centers Building (proposed location of a new shack following the decommission of B265G).

B265G is a small room, approximately 8x10, attached to the historical Engineering Hall machinists shop (still in use). This shop provides tooling and fabrication services for engineering research labs. Some time in the late nineties, the college elected to install a relatively (read: quite large, ~50ft long) sizeable wind tunnel in B265 (the main room B265G was attached to) which required the eviction of BARS from the previous shack. This room presently services a mechanical engineering research group, serving as a small 3D printing shop.

Feedline for the club's antennas and rotators was ran down the roof of Engineering Hall, into the courtyard, down into the basement of Engineering Hall (presumed to pass straight into a geological samples preparation lab located directly under the courtyard). From here, a series of ~2.5" conduit and pull boxes bring all feedlines into the main basement hallway of Engineering Hall, which turns east continuing down the hallway to B265, where it passes through a firewall into B265G.

In the spring of 2025, NQ9Z and W6LKK got in contact with the present principal investigator directing operations in B265. Access was granted to B265G, where all former feedline was found nicely wound and ziptied in the corner of the former shack. This was eventually backed out from the room and removed from the conduit. Presently, the aforementioned feedline is accessible in the hallway immediately outside of B265G for any testing or tracing purposes. In no particularly order, 2x lines of thick (potentially LMR-400? illegible labeling) feedline terminated in PL-259s were located, 1x RG-59 or similar (unterminated), 1x 8-conductor rotator controller, and a variety of misc/unidentifiable lines were recovered.

Several other shacks were located throughout Engineering Hall during the course of the club's history, but none are believed to presently contain any materials of archival or technical value.

1500 Engineering Research Building

In the late 90s, Don Michalski W9IXG (SK) spearheaded the club's relocation to the Engineering Research Building. A respected electrical engineer and associate director of the UW Space Astronomy Lab (which presently operates a satellite downlink above the shack), W9IXG was instrumental in acquiring space atop ERB for W9YT. It is believed by current club leadership (NQ9Z et al) that this was likely initially only for antenna space (ERB being the 3rd tallest building in Madison, making it an extremely attractive location for HF beams). However, room 1601 ERB was unoccupied and not available for most other organizations on campus, allowing W9IXG et al to attain it.

Editors note: prior to the securement of ERB, W9YT acquired a digital radio system {I can't remember the name for the life of me...will check when I'm in the shack next - NQ9Z} with theoretical capability to operate over phoneline. It was suggested that W9YT receive a small room in the Engineering Centers Building, under construction at this time, with a remote antenna located in an optimal location, like atop the Engineering Research Building. This did not come to fruition. Archival materials detailing this are located within the Shack.

Main Tower (Active)

A main lattice-type tower, custom fabricated by the UW Physical Plant (per K9ITW, WO9U), was erected atop ERB in the early 2000s. The roof of ERB has two access vestibules; the larger of the two, which contains the current Shack, has this tower mounted directly to it. The tower was originally constructed to a height of 20ft, but SWR concerns lead to an extra 10ft section being installed on top to minimize interactions between the beams and metal assemblies on the roof.

The tower is guyed to three separate location and signed off on by a structural engineering. It hosts a large number of antennas on it:

20m/15m/10m Beam (Active)

A beam tuned specifically for triband operation is installed atop the main tower assembly. This was custom ordered by K9ITW from a Swiss company specializing in high-wind rating antennas for Alpine conditions, to account for W9YT's exceptionally high elevation directly in front of a lake. Wind-load ratings on this antenna purportedly exceed 190mph. This was purchased after a much older beam was installed, and subsequently destroyed, atop the tower after initial construction several decades back.

The 20m/15m/10m beam is rotated by an M2 Orion M2000 rotator, designed for extremely high wind load ratings. (Edit 2026 - Now vintage Orion 2800 AC Rotor and Control Box -ra)

6m Beam (Inactive)

A 6m beam is located on the same mast as the 20m/15m/10m beam, some 4ft above the main HF assembly. The feedline on this 6m array has completely torn apart, and one element has came of (this is located within the Shack next to the repeater rack, sandwiched between the workbench and repeaters - thanks K9ITW!). This is in need of repairs, but is presently installed and could be rendered usable with some tower work and soldering.

2m Beam (In-Storage)

A 2m beam designed to be able to replace the 6m beam is currently hanging from the roof of the Shack. This is presumed fully functional, and just has to be installed if the club elects to conduct 2m operations with it (this should not be necessary, see #Satcom Array ~ NQ9Z).

40m/80m Dipole (Active)

A 40m/80m dipole is mounted at the top of the main tower in an inverted-v configuration, with broadside pointing SE/NW. This is a {insert brand here} which has had some limited repair work completed after one leg tore off in early 2026.

20m Dipole (Removed)

Constructed by NQ9Z, a temporary 20m dipole has been installed on the tower in an inverted-v configuration (broadside point E/W) pending completion of beam repair work. (Edit 2026 - Removed after Rotor was replaced and tri-band beam put back on-line -ra)

70cm Antenna (Active)

A 70cm antenna is mounted to the top of the tower, servicing a {insert repeater brand here} repeater, which runs W9YT's DMR and Echolink capabilities. The physical repeater is located in the Shack on the repeater rack.

Microwave Internet Link (Abandoned In Place)

A microwave dish is located on the tower, point towards the Stoughton High Energy Physics Research Center. This previously served as a link into the UW network, but has since been replaced by a Unify link on its own tower. This is now disconnected.

2m/2m/2m Antenna (Active, Empty, Active)

A tri-antenna vertical mount is located on the tower, with one 2m vertical serving the Shack's 2m ICOM for W9YT repeater monitoring, a second vertical formerly servicing a Madison ARES(??) repeater (located in the Shack, turned off per WO9U, antenna in storage at base of tower), and a third vertical servicing a legacy GE 2m repeater configured for emergency use as the W9YT repeater, should Van Hise fail for some reason.

Secondary Tower (Active)

A secondary lattice-type tower, of a smaller build (appears similar to a Rohn 25G, but custom) is located on the second roof-access vestibule. Feedline is bridged from the main tower to this secondary tower by zip tying to a ~10ft tall steel cable.

2m Array (Active)

A 2m array is located atop this tower, steerable in both azimuth and elevation by a Yaesu {insert model here} for satellite communications.

70cm Array (Damaged)

A 70cm array is located within the Shack that was previously mounted opposite of the 2m array. The crossboom attaching this to the rotator failed, causing it to fall, bending elements and tearing apart feedline. A replacement crossboom, feedline, and elements are in the Shack for installation.

2.4GHz Dish (Decommissioned)

A 2.4GHz dish was previously mounted to the satcom rotator for microwave downlinks. At the time of writing, no amsats support this, so this antenna has been relocated into the Shack.

1601

You can help this list by expanding it! ~NQ9Z

Van Hise Hall

Atop Van Hise Hall, W9YT has one 2m repeater that serves as the club's primary repeater. The antenna assembly is located on the top of the tower, overlooking ventilation equipment. Repeater hardware is stored within the UWPD Comms closet on the top floor of Van Hise per WO9U.