Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2010/11/21/base_station_results/

Pole positions: Base station spotters scrap for prize

And the Reg goodie bag goes to...

By Bill Ray

Posted in Networks, 21st November 2010 10:00 GMT

Compo results Our competition last year to identify genuine mobile phone base stations went down well, with more than 30,000 of you having a shot at divining the antennas from the trees.

In the end it was Robert Jeffrey who scooped the coveted El Reg goodie bag, but for those who didn't manage it, here, much belatedly, are the answers...


1)

That's a mast - the clue is in the cabinet at the bottom which houses the requisite computers.


2)

That too would be a mast - again note the box at the bottom.


3)

That's a tree - and a dead one.


4)

One of those is a mast - most likely the one on the left.


5)

That's a tree - it's way too tall for a mast.


6)

That's a flag pole, though it never seems to have a flag on it.


7)

That's a microwave relay. Bonus points to Fred who correctly identified it as being in Ardgay.


8)

Another tree - also to tall for a mast.


9)

A CCTV camera, which swung to follow us while we were taking picture 16.


10)

That's a base station, as confusing as it might appear.


11)

A pregnant lamp post, note the cunningly disguised box at the bottom.


12)

That would be a mast.


13)

Clever one this: the mast is on the right and the box is hidden behind the wall.


14)

Clearly a radio mast.


15)

Rather less clearly a radio mast.


16)

This one confused a lot of people, partly because they couldn't tell which thing was pretending to be a radio mast. But the one on the right is a reflective lamp post, while the thing on the left is art, or shopping-mall branding, or something along those lines.


17)

Fencing around the box at the bottom should be a clear indicator of a mast.


18)

This one is also a mast, but quite a small one.


19)

Suspiciously lumpen base with fence - that's a mast.


20)

Symmetrical stench pipes, taking the whiff of the drains above the heads of the pedestrians. Clever, but nothing to do with a cellular network.