New device on GLR camera!

I used to go out to Area 51 and snoop around maybe 3-4 times a month. I sort of got burned out and had not been there in over a year. The first thing I noticed was a new device either attached or near the bottom of the security camera at the GLR warning signs. This is the camera that is aimed down GLR. It looked yellow? I have checked back at some of my photos from the years past and I did not notice this device before. Any thoughts?


i356.photobucket.com...

It looks like an emergency land-line.

Seems about people height.

Looks like a solar panel at the very bottom. Maybe the box has something to do with that.

Squirrel shield. Like you see on bird-feeders.

Second line not worth reading....

There is a gate by range 61 where you can get very close to a camera. In fact, you could sneak up behind the camera and never be seen. I have a few photos of the area, but never made a web page (yet another project). Anyway, from what I can see of these set ups, they consist of a camera, a yagi antenna, a microwave dish, tripod, solar cell, controller, and battery box. I assume the cameras are not running continuously since the solar cell is not very big. They probably turn the camera on with a signal that hist the yagi, and send the video over the dish. The base knows to activate the system by the Qualtron emids sensors they have around the perimeter. The solar cell keeps the battery charged. Possibly they place freshly charged batteries if the camera is used too much.

Anyway, my guess is they are servicing the battery and disturbed the box. The box, being on the ground or perhaps dug in a bit, is hard to see normally.

solar cell and battery box

camera and antennas

And to top it off, the installer left his calling card:
WTI Las Vegas

I researched WTI a bit but never really found a system related to WTI on the internet that is exactly like what Groom Lake uses. I've spent way too many hours trying to find a radome with the exact W the base uses. The WTI W is not exactly the same.

A couple of years ago the base installed a large tower with pan/tilt and I assume zoom camera south of the front gate guard shack on a nearby hill. The wire trench shows up on Google Earth. The camera can be seen from the parking area before you get to the front gate, but you have to look between some hills to see it.

My best guess when I looked into WTI is it stood for Wireless Technology Incorporated, but they don't have a Las Vegas address.

WTI

The font of the W doesn't match what you see around Groom border, so the results are inconclusive.