Tether cable spooling apparatus

A mobile, self-contained, wireless communication network base station, comprising:

• a remotely controlled, unmanned vehicle having a wireless transceiver is connected to a tether cable spooling apparatus by a tether cable, the tether cable having one or more conductors for each of electrical power, command and control signal and wireless network communications signal transmission, and each of the plurality of conductors comprising the tether cable are directly connected to a respective power source, a command and control signal source and a wireless communication network interface;
• and
• a tether cable spooling mechanism comprising the spooling apparatus that operates to dispense and to retrieve the tether cable from and to a cable storage container in response to the command and control signals, and the wireless transceiver comprising the unmanned vehicle operates to receive wireless signals and sending them over the wireless network communication conductor comprising the tether cable to the wireless network interface;
• wherein the tether cable spooling apparatus has an annular ring gear fixedly attached at two or more points to a stabilizing frame assembly, and has a tether spooling mechanism attached to a proximal end of a rotatable armature connected at a center point to a shaft driven by a motor that is fixedly attached to the stabilizing frame assembly, the tether spooling mechanism comprising a pinion gear that engages the annular ring gear and directly drives a friction wheel attached to it as the armature is rotated causing a vehicle tether cable disposed between the friction wheel and an opposing pinch wheel to be moved through a tether cable guide.