Farnsworth Peak
Farnsworth Peak is a peak located on the northern end of the Oquirrh Mountain range, approximately 3.5 miles (6 km) south east of Lake Point, Utah and 18 miles (29 km) south west of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The mountain is named for Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the first completely electronic television.[3] It is used mainly for radio and television transmission, but could potentially become part of a ski resort owned by nearby Kennecott Land.[4] On the eastern side of the mountain, the land is completely private, and access is restricted. The peak can be reached by hiking from the Tooele side, which is mostly public land. The Bureau of Land Management land extends from Ridge Peak west to the base of the mountain.[5] Public access to this land is available off SR-36 near Lake Point, Utah. Several cattle gates need to be opened and closed, but are access roads to hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding areas.
| Farnsworth Peak | |
|---|---|
 Farnsworth Peak
from the west face in May 2008 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 9,039 ft (2,755 m) NAVD 88[1] |
| Prominence | 1,243 ft (379 m)[2] |
| Coordinates | 40°39′33″N 112°12′10″W[1] |
| Naming | |
| Etymology | Philo Farnsworth |
| Geography | |
  Farnsworth Peak | |
| Location | Salt Lake / Tooele counties, Utah, U.S. |
| Parent range | Oquirrh Mountains |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Hike or private road. |
Radio and television use
Farnsworth Peak, in local radio terms, refers to three separate radio transmitter sites. They are known as "Big Farnsworth," "The KSTU Site," and "Little Farnsworth."[3] Each site hosts a number of transmission towers which broadcast radio and television stations. Extensive studies of RF radiation from the site were conducted in 2003 in an effort to aid engineers who work on the mountain.[6]
FM Terrestrial stations with transmitters on Farnsworth Peak
Farnsworth Peak contains a vast majority of Salt Lake FM signals. The following is a complete list of FM stations with transmitters located on (or around) Farnsworth Peak.
| CALLSIGN | FREQUENCY | FORMAT |
|---|---|---|
| KUER | 90.1 | Public radio/news |
| KRCL | 90.9 | Public radio |
| KUUU | 92.5 | Hip hop |
| KUBL | 93.3 | Country |
| KODJ | 94.1 | Classic hits |
| KXRK | 96.3 | Alternative rock |
| KZHT | 97.1 | CHR |
| KBZN | 97.9 | Hot adult contemporary |
| KBEE | 98.7 | Adult contemporary |
| KSFI | 100.3 | Soft adult contemporary |
| KBER | 101.1 | Active rock |
| KHTB | 101.9 | CHR |
| KSL-FM | 102.7 | News/Talk |
| KRSP | 103.5 | Classic rock |
| KSOP-FM | 104.3 | Country |
| KUDD | 105.1 | Top 40/CHR |
| KNRS | 105.9 | News/Talk |
| KAAZ-FM | 106.7 | Rock |
| KKLV | 107.5 | Contemporary Christian |
FM amateur (ham) radio repeaters on Farnsworth Peak
Local television networks KSL-TV, KSTU and other sites on Farnsworth Peak have provided space for amateur radio repeater operation. Farnsworth peak serves as a major hub, connecting western and southern Utah to the Utah Intermountain Intertie main hub repeater a top the Snowbird Tram on Hidden Peak.
| CALLSIGN | FREQUENCY | OFFSET | TONE | SITE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KI7DX | 53.15 MHz | (-) 1.0 MHz | 146.2 Hz | KSTU | |
| KF6RAL | 145.125 MHz | (-) 0.6 MHz | D-Star | ||
| W7SP | 146.62 MHz | (-) 0.6 MHz | KSL-TV | ||
| K7JL | 146.94 MHz | (-) 0.6 MHz | 88.5 Hz | KSTU | |
| K7JL | 147.12 MHz | (+) 0.6 MHz | 100.0 Hz | KSTU | |
| KF6RAL | 448.075 MHz | (-) 5.0 MHz | D-Star | ||
| KI7DX | 448.15 MHz | (-) 5.0 MHz | 127.3 Hz | KSTU | |
| K7JL | 449.15 MHz | (-) 5.0 MHz | 100.0 Hz | ||
| K7JL | 449.5 MHz | (-) 5.0 MHz | 100.0 Hz | ||
| K7OJU | 1285. MHz | (-) 12.0 MHz | 88.5 Hz | ||
| KF6RAL | 1287. MHz | (-) 12.0 MHz | D-Star | ||
| KF6RAL | 1299.25 MHz | simplex | D-Star |
Television stations
Farnsworth Peak is home to several full service television stations. KSL-TV is perhaps the best known transmitter site on the mountain, but the peak houses transmitters for KSTU-TV,[9] the local Fox affiliate, KUCW[10] (The CW), and KUTV[11] (CBS) among others. KTMW, an independent station and KUPX, the local Ion affiliate, now broadcast their digital signals from Little Farnsworth Peak about 0.45 miles to the south. KSL-TV was the first television station to use the mountain for broadcasting. It also is responsible for transmitters on the mountain, having engineers on site for periods of time in case of emergencies.[12] A large number of the television stations located on the peak previously carried their analog signals from the same sites. Farnsworth Peak was one of the first places in the United States to construct a facility specifically for digital television transmission.[13] Specifically, Farnsworth Peak houses transmitters for the following stations:
| Call sign | Channel (via PSIP) | Network |
|---|---|---|
| KUTV | 2 | CBS |
| KTVX | 4 | ABC |
| KSL-TV | 5 | NBC |
| KUED | 7 | PBS |
| KUEN | 9 | Independent |
| KULX-CD | 10 | Telemundo |
| KBYU | 11 | BYU TV |
| KSTU | 13 | Fox |
| KJZZ-TV | 14 | Independent |
| KUPX | 16 | Ion Television |
| KUTB-LD | 18 | Trinity Broadcasting Network |
| KTMW | 20 | Telemundo |
| KBTU-LD | 23 | MundoMax |
| KPNZ | 24 | Estrella TV |
| KSVN-CD | 25 | Azteca |
| KUCW | 30 | The CW |
| KSUD-LD | 33 | Daystar |
| K39JS-D | 39 | Azteca (translator of KSVN-CD) |
| KEJT-CD | 50 | Telemundo |
Lightning incident
On September 13, 2009, lightning struck the tower carrying a majority of the area's digital television signals. The lightning strike took eight stations in total off the air, and damaged the combiner for the tower. According to the engineers on site, the combiner was leaking oil. The lightning strike of the tower also caused a failure of the waveguide switch control system, which caused it to display improperly. A waveguide switch is part of the transmission circuitry. An engineer on site was able to correct that situation within hours, but the combiner would not be working for a few more hours. By the next day, the problem had been fixed and the stations were back on the air and all were in working order.[14]
2020 Salt Lake City Earthquake
On March 18, 2020, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake occurred 3.7 miles (6 km) north-northeast of Magna, Utah, west of Farnsworth Peak. A number of radio and television stations experienced interruptions after power was lost on the mountain, but were able to return to air within seconds. Farnsworth Peak has generators for emergencies.[15]
References
- "Coon RM A". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- "Farnsworth Peak, Utah". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
- "A bit about Farnsworth Peak". Utah Amateur Radio Club (UARC). Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- Doug Smeath. "Kennecott unveils plan for the Oquirrh foothills". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- "Utah Federal Lands" (PDF). Governor.Utah.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-23. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
- "LITTLE FARNSWORTH PEAK Electromagnetic Energy Measurements, Alpha Property, Ground Level and Rooftops Date: July 29, 2003" (PDF). Utah Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- Radio-Locator Salt Lake City Stations
- "Farnsworth Peak Repeater". Utah VHF Society. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- "KSTU-TV (Salt Lake City)". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "KUCW TV Query from the FCC". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- "KUTV TV Query from the FCC". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- "50th Anniversary: Utah News from KSL-TV". Archived from the original on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- "Utah Enters the Era of Digital Television". DTV Utah. Archived from the original on 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- "Lightning strike disrupts transmission of Utah broadcasters". Broadcast Engineering.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- "Salt Lake earthquake". Talking Utah Radio. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
External links
Media related to Farnsworth Peak at Wikimedia Commons