Cedar Peak Radio Site

Cedar Peak is located about 6.5 miles south-west of Cedar Gate inside the restricted area. The coordinates are 37° 42.370'N / 116° 20.100'W. With 8,425ft Cedar Peak is the tallest peak in the area with a clear line of sight of TTR 25 miles to the west and of all surrounding valleys inside and outside the boundary. This of course makes if a perfect location for a radio relay site. The Cedar Peak radio site with several massive antenna towers and a radar dome can easily be seen from public land near Cedar Gate. In fact the red lights at the top of the two main towers can be seen all the way from Rachel at night.

The primary function of the radio site is as the main hub for the NTTR digital data backbone. With several large microwave dishes it connects to the Tolicha Peak Microwave Relay on the south-west side of the NTTR (and from there via Angel Peak to Nellis AFB). On the north side of the NTTR it connects to Highland Peak and via Ragged Ridge and Mount Irish to Ella Mountain. All voice and data communications from the north side of the NTTR go through the Cedar Peak relay.

The Cedar Peak site also connects to several of the NACTS sites that provide real time telemetry data for aircraft during Red Flag and other exercises. There is also a link to the radio relay site near Rachel and to Tolicha Peak Site 1, the command center of the Tolicha Peak Electronics Combat Range (TPECR).

The radar dome is part of the network of tracking sites that Bald Mountain, Halligan Mesa, Tolicha Peak, Angel Peak and others are connected to. And finally Cedar Peak is home to one of the ten trunking radio sites for secure voice communication in the NTTR. The trunking system is used by security, military personnel, contractors and others in the NTTR, organized in independent talkgroups for the various user groups.

This 02/2024 photo of Cedar Peak shows that both microwave dishes visible in the 2021 photo below are gone from the tower on the left. The large dish used to link to Mount Irish. It appears that Mount Irish now links to the recently upgraded Ragged Ridge radio site. The smaller dish that we suspect to link to the Rachel relay site appears to have been moved to the tower on the right, about half way up. Click in the photo to zoom in. Photo taken 02/21/2024 .

July 2021 photo of Cedar Peak from the east. The radio site on top includes two large antenna towers, a radar dome and several support buildings. The power lines run down the north side of the mountain and connect to the power lines along Cedar Gate Road. The two microwave dishes on the tower on the left connect to Mount Irish and to the radio relay site near Rachel. The large dish at the bottom of the tower on the right connects to Highland Peak. Several other dishes on that tower connect to the Belted Rang NACTS Site, the Reveille NACTS Site and to Tolicha Peak Site 1. A large dish in the back of the tower connects to the Tolicha Peak Microwave Ralay and via Angel Peak ultimately to Nellis AFB. Both towers also carry various omni-directional antennas for Site 3 of the NTTR Trunking System and for aircraft communication and telemetry. The radar dome is part of a network all around the NTTR to track mission aircraft. Click in the photo to zoom in. Photo taken 07/24/2021 by a photographer who wishes to remain anonymous.