- Coordinates: 41º11’50.6″ N, 90º54’04.0″ W (41.19739 N, 90.90111 W)
- County: Mercer
- AT&T call sign: KSH96
- Antenna Structure Registration number: 1008638
- Height (overall): 89.6 meters (294 feet)
- Current owner: American Tower Corporation
- Current use: Unknown
- Horn antennas? No
- Original paths: 1960 — Crawfordsville, Iowa; New Windsor
Joy was a repeater station along a microwave relay route spanning from La Porte, Indiana, to Red Oak Junction, Iowa. The route originally carried only telephone traffic, but was expanded between 1960 and 1966 to also carry television traffic. Joy had two hops: West to Crawfordsville, Iowa, and east to New Windsor.
The site consists of a 294-foot, self-supported lattice tower. The KS-15676 horn-reflector antennas have been removed. The site’s equipment shelter is a common design for north-central Illinois sites. According to Terry Michaels, the white block building was the first part of the site when it was still a TD-2 telephone-only route. A two-floor concrete addition was added when the sites were upgraded with TH-1 radios that more than doubled message capacity. During this time, television was also added to the route. The second floor, accessible from a ladder on the outside, contained an air handling unit for the station’s air conditioning system.
The site is located about a mile west of Joy, Illinois.
The current use of the Joy tower is unknown. The site is owned by American Tower Corporation.
Photos: May 9, 2025
