Work will disrupt local TV signal

History occurs everywhere, even at 6,843 feet. Patrick’s Knob, located on the Lolo National Forest, has seen a plethora of activity since its initial debut serving as a Forest Service lookout point in 1934 when a trail-only accessible, 20-foot pole tower was constructed for clear viewing and communications.

Fast forward to today, and the location serves many more purposes.

During the years of 1969 to 1971, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) declared Patrick’s Knob to be a resourceful location for their cross-country microwave communication needs and began development at the lookout, according to Wayne Vannice, of Plains/Paradise TV District. “BPA constructed the access road to the point, installed a building with a 160-foot tower and worked with Montana Power to install underground power service to meet their needs,” Vannice stated, noting an interagency agreement was issued April 19, 1972.

When someone finds a good thing, word tends to spread. The Sanders County Sheriff’s Office and the Plains/Paradise TV District became aware of what Patrick’s Knob could do for their communication needs. In 1971, the TV district constructed a 6 by 6-foot building to store a TV translator system serving Plains and the surrounding area, shared Vannice.

After being destroyed by a fire in 1968, the TV district and Sanders County Sheriff’s Office collaborated with the Forest Service and rebuilt the lookout during the mid-1970s. The concrete base of the lookout was “financed jointly by the TV district board and Sanders County to be used to house their TV and radio repeater needs,” commented Vannice. “The Forest Service financed and installed a standard lookout facility on top of the base structure” and “maintained ownership of the entire building.” The communication equipment was housed in the lower portion of the lookout.

Eventually, permits were issued to Montana Power Company, the State Highway Department, the State Lands Department, the State Highway Patrol, and the Montana Logging Association. Patrick’s Knob serves as a prime location for communication repeating and transmission equipment that continues to this day.

Vannice commented that in 2018, the Plains/Paradise TV District received notice they would need to remove their transmitting equipment but were allowed to relocate it to another location on Patrick’s Knob. The TV board reached out to other agencies who were utilizing the location to see if they could join them in order to save money in constructing their own building and tower location. After being denied, “the TV board acquired a new concrete building and had their own tower built to be placed on Pat’s Knob,” said Vannice.

Last fall, they began installing the tower, but ran out of time given the blessing of Mother Nature and winter setting in. “Now, 2020, with the snow gone on Patrick’s Knob, we have everything installed, in preparation to make the move of all our equipment from the lookout to the new Plains/Paradise and Western Sanders County TV Districts” Vannice commented. “All this equipment is shared with the Western Sanders County TV District, signals and funding.

“Moving the equipment is going to interfere in the receiving and transmitting of TV in Plains, Paradise, Thompson Falls, Noxon and Trout Creek areas. I believe PBS is received in Hot Springs so you may receive a signal interruption also,” Vannice said about the equipment relocation project, scheduled for July 28 - 31. “After the move, we might lose Spokane Channel 4 because of interference.”

As a side note, Vannice said that the television signals originate from Blacktail Mountain near Kalispell and are put on microwave to Patrick’s Knob, Channel 4 comes straight out of Spokane and Montana PBS comes from Gene Stone Mountain south of Missoula. “These signals arrive at Pat’s Knob and are divided up to be transmitted to Weeksville and Thompson Falls by microwave.”