I started climbing some transmission towers in the past few weeks and loving it. Just wondering if anyone has safety tips or can link me good information for workers climbing for repairs and such.

just how safe are you lookin to be?

Posted by Sturks just how safe are you lookin to be?

I mean, im climbing to the top of these with no ropes or anything

Don't fall off

Posted by Fake I mean, im climbing to the top of these with no ropes or anything

Harness with a tether might be pertinent if you're into taking photos that and handwarmers, wind-chill can ruin dexterity.

Consider some sort of a electromagnetic field detector. They can help distinguish live wires as well as the strength of certain waves.

I'd at least wear a harness and bring some safety clips.

Also be aware that AM radio towers, the entire tower is energized, don't touch those.

For other kinds of towers, the radio/microwave equipment mounted on it can be quite powerful and is maybe not something you want to be that close to.

The Common Thread Topics guide has several threads about climbing radio towers you might find useful.

Above all else, DONT FUCK WITH AM RADIO. You can usually tell by the wood fence around the base instead of chain link, insulated foundation mount (rubber between concrete and the tower itself) and the insulators on the guy wires.

For TV and FM radio you're still gonna want to stay at least 100' vertically away from the broadcast antenna at the top. Also stay the fuck away from microwave emitters (the big cylindrical drums) for any length of time, climb past those fast they can heat your soft tissue like your eyes and testicles and cause problems that way. There are also smaller radio emitters that look like big car antennas just a big 1" thick stick mounted a foot or tow out from the tower, don't hang out near those either.

Wear a harness if for no other reason than it's nice to be able to clip into the ladder and take a break on your 1000-2500 foot climb. Wear high vis and a helmet and you're very unlikely to have anybody freak out. Also be aware that you are sharing these spots with your local BASE jumpers so you might not want to post it online, if a person will do a tower jump they will absolutely show up at your house if you ruin their "exit point"