Acorns in Microwave Antenna
Videos for Engineers

This you need to see. The full story behind this video is unknown, but supposedly customers were complaining about poor reception associated with the Bear Creek Road microwave station somewhere in northern California. Upon inspection, the technicians discovered a small hole in the radome. When the cover was pulled away, according to the video somewhere between 35 to 50 gallons of acorns spilled out. You can see the bulge in the radome before emptying. The tech probably thought the water drain hole was clogged and it was full of water. From a National Geographic story: "Walter Koenig, a senior scientist with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, says he's pretty sure the the acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) was behind the cache. 'They're pretty famous for finding places to hide acorns,' says Koenig, who has studied the bird for years. Koenig says he once saw a traffic signal stuffed so full of acorns that it was unreadable."

Posted May 16, 2019