Mountain View EOC Status

Mountain View has an active ARES group that is very interested in SVWUX progress and potential participation. A sight evaluation was performed by Jerry Haag and Andrew Brown of the Mountain View EOC located at 1000 Villa St in Mountain View 37°23'43.74"N, 122° 4'53.19"W.

Regardless of height, the MVEOC view directly towards the Los Gatos Hills site strikes perilously close to the high rise tower on Castro St, downtown 37°23'26.28"N 122° 4'53.32"W.

In contrast, Los Altos Hills and Fremont Peaks are free of high man made obstructions (see photos below) rendering them sites of interest.

MVEOC is only a one story building with significant encumbrance by trees. It has a 45ish ft high tower for emergency services comms, but trees now reach half way up that. A new taller tower is in the works. It is not inconceivable that EWN could be mounted here, but if at all possible, we prefer to avoid it along with its accompanying access restrictions, implied accountability, interference and physical crowding.

Old Tower
New Tower next to Old Tower

As an alternative option, MV municipal also has control over a public parking structure a couple of blocks away with better views of everything. It is higher and better situated N37°23.673' W122°4.763' and would not be hard to hop to from the EOC. But adding a second point of failure is of course undesireable.

Reciprocally, the view looking back to the EOC from the parking structure looks a bit more optimistic.

The view towards Los Gatos Hills looks a lot better from the parking structure (photos are from SE corner). No one has yet evaluated whether this view includes the repeater site.

Here are views towards the Fremont Peaks from the NE corner of the parking structure.

-- Main.Andy - 02 Oct 2008