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 djdeadmind
 
Location: Budapest Town
Gender: Male
NO LONGER deprived of photography
 |  |  | High voltage transmission towers?!
< on 5/7/2010 7:17 PM >
|  | | | Hi! 
I just made my maiden post half an hour ago, so sorry if I'm bringing an old topic back.
I'm pretty sure there will be many of you who understand what I mean, when I say I have a "negative fear of heights"... aka. instead of being naturally afraid of them, I enjoy heights and am drawn to them. 
So obviously it wasn't long before I got my eyes on the tallest structures anywhere near my home:
These huge power pylons carrying 120 kV+ of power.
Having no camera yet (for the past 1 year!  ) to make it worth the risk, I decided to try and find out what would be the safest way to go about it, and what are my chances of surviving.
I don't have much of a life instinct (my Powershot broke when I was taking pics of huge buses going by while standing between 2 lanes on a busy road at 10am on a monday....stone cold drunk), but I figured the afterlife would suck if I was pissed for all eternity at frying myself the day I finally got a camera.
My dad is an electrical engineer, I had a conversation with him about this and his final verdict was: not worth it. (same with everyone I've asked. Plus all the search results starting with "man dies after climbing ...")
So far the one single useful site I found on this topic suggested that for 120KV the minimum safe distance is 2.5 meters, which means I need at least a 5 meter distance between the two lines at the side - but I want to go to the very very top, and the second to last lines are much closer together. (but I can't measure it, obviously)
So I turn to you, the one community whose response will (I hope) be more useful than "you're fucking nuts, don't do it".
Have any of you ever climbed a high voltage pylon before?
What precautions did you take, and what voltage was the line?
If there's anyone here whose profession involves high voltage, care to share some information on safe distances? Only if you're 100% sure please, I would much rather fall to my death than just fall down as a lifeless piece of black ashes.
Thanks in advance, my fellow explorers!
[last edit 5/8/2010 3:00 PM by djdeadmind - edited 1 times]
addicted to danger / addicted to music / addicted to photography
(my sets: the intro - the latest) First advice I got on UER: "No. You will probably die. Don't fight Darwin." - TheVicariousVadder |
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aurelie
    
Location: pacific northwest
Gender: Female
high tech:: low life.
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 1 on 5/7/2010 7:21 PM >
| | | | I personally think pylons are beautiful, but for the love of god, don't climb them. Tv towers, radio towers, construction cranes, rooftops, water towers and cell towers are all higher, and won't kill you dead. Climb those.
edit: it is POSSIBLE to get about halfway up, at least, but i don't think it's possible to get to the top without getting fried.
Also, be careful with the radio and tv towers, do your research and don't climb AM.
[last edit 5/7/2010 7:24 PM by aurelie - edited 2 times]
reckless thoughts abide; anachronistic and impulsive.
loosely jacketed against the cold and ten thousand worlds for the choosing. |
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Axle
  
Location: Milton, ON
Gender: Male
Sieg oder Tod
| | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 2 on 5/7/2010 8:44 PM >
| | | | 
mmmmm high voltage towers make a good photographic subject.
Celer at Audax
Para la Victoria Siempre Alemanes! |
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bfinan0
Location: Rochester, NY
Gender: Male
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 3 on 5/7/2010 8:55 PM >
| | | | Posted by aurelie
Also, be careful with the radio and tv towers, do your research and don't climb AM.
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Also, don't climb longwave or OIRT towers; these Soviet-era relics often reached 500 meters height, but again are mast radiators (touching one will fry you)
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noogie
Location: Eau Claire
Gender: Male
happy happy joy joy
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 4 on 5/7/2010 9:22 PM >
| | | | I advise caution with high voltage, then again you might find it has a few awesome benefits...
1.
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aurelie
Location: pacific northwest
Gender: Female
high tech:: low life.
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 5 on 5/7/2010 9:49 PM >
| | | | Do, however, climb AT&T longlines, because those are defunct, and are usually only re-purposed to be cell towers. Can we turn this into a pylon pr0n thread?
reckless thoughts abide; anachronistic and impulsive.
loosely jacketed against the cold and ten thousand worlds for the choosing. |
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terapr0
Location: Sauga City
Gender: Male
www . tohellandback . net
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 6 on 5/7/2010 11:13 PM >
| | | | everyones doin it
but seriously...dont bother, especially if what you're looking for is a stable view from the top for taking pictures. As others have said, there are plenty of other things to climb that are taller and safer than hi voltage transmission towers. I knew better than to climb anywhere near the top of these ones by my cottage...you can hear them buzzing and crackling from 100ft away. After throwing some sticks at the tower to make sure it wasnt charged I did climb up about 30ft, but its so obviously dangerous only a fool would venture to the top without proper equipment / training. Sounds as if you have neither, so probably best to stay away.
$0.02
[last edit 5/7/2010 11:16 PM by terapr0 - edited 1 times]
www.tohellandback.net |
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jeepdave
Location: Anderson, SC
Gender: Male
It's also a gun.
| | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 7 on 5/8/2010 12:12 AM >
|  | | | Trespass charge is one thing, I have to wonder if a terrorism charge would pop up if caught climbing a high voltage tower.
This is the type of thing Darwin Awards are written about.
Ezekiel 25:17 |
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zomgw00t
Location: Richmond, VA
Gender: Male
heh heh heh
| |  | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 8 on 5/8/2010 1:20 AM >
| | | | http://www.youtube...atch?v=9tzga6qAaBA
Get a helicopter and one of those suits. You'll be totally set.
~Chappie
"By the early 1970s, techniques of tape manipulation were being superseded by synthesizers, especially the Moog synthesizer, which could theoretically produce any type of pitch or timbre, but usually made a sound like a cat chewing a bee." ~ BBC Radiophonic Workshop - The Alchemists of Sound |
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\/adder
Location: DunkarooLand
Gender: Male
I'm the worst of the best but I'm in this race.
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 9 on 5/8/2010 1:50 AM >
| | | | I found abandoned pylons that were never strung up with wires just a little over a week ago (April 28th).
Whilst driving from one abandoned rail bridge to another. When I get my portfolio and film back I'm gonna get it scanned and upload prints.
streetview here
[last edit 5/8/2010 3:33 AM by RailGuy88 - edited 2 times]
"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis... |
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aurelie
Location: pacific northwest
Gender: Female
high tech:: low life.
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 10 on 5/8/2010 3:44 PM >
| | | | Posted by TheVicariousVadder
I found abandoned pylons that were never strung up with wires just a little over a week ago (April 28th).
Whilst driving from one abandoned rail bridge to another. When I get my portfolio and film back I'm gonna get it scanned and upload prints.
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I saw some of those on the way to Chestfest, maybe i'll be able to find them again. Those I would climb.
reckless thoughts abide; anachronistic and impulsive.
loosely jacketed against the cold and ten thousand worlds for the choosing. |
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djdeadmind
Location: Budapest Town
Gender: Male
NO LONGER deprived of photography
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 11 on 5/8/2010 6:58 PM >
| | | | What?? UE Rookie forum?
WHY?
I asked a legitimate question regarding the dangers of a not in the least rookie act of exploration.
I'd understand if my other thread got moved, but this is thread is just completely ruined now! 
Or are new posters forbidden from posting in UE Main??
Yes, I am a rookie to UER (in terms of posting, although I've read a huge portion of the forums and has been following it for almost a year now), but I am not a rookie to UE.
Posted by bfinan0
Also, don't climb longwave or OIRT towers; these Soviet-era relics often reached 500 meters height, but again are mast radiators (touching one will fry you)
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500 meters? Holy shit! If I ever found one of those I would love to climb it one way or another!
I've thought about this before, what's the big deal with mast radiators? Sure they would kill you if you just walked up and touched them, but they're not really high off the ground, so what's stopping you (or to be more realistic, me XD) from just sprinting up to them, and jumping on them? The moment before you jumped you'd be in contact with the ground, the moment after you "landed" you would be touching the mast. At no point would you be able to create a path for electricity between the two. (assuming of course you don't trip and fall headfirst into the mast ending your life with an extremely short headache)
Extremely risky, yes, but impossible (at least if there are no flaws in my logic, in which case please do tell me), not in the least!
Posted by jeepdave
Trespass charge is one thing, I have to wonder if a terrorism charge would pop up if caught climbing a high voltage tower. |
I don't live in the USA thankfully, so I don't have to worry about any of that. I would (rightfully) get in trouble if I got caught of course, but I wouldn't. I've got everything planned in that respect, I just need to do more research on the dangers and the overall risk.
| This is the type of thing Darwin Awards are written about. |
Possibly, but that is quite subjective. To most people, a death resulting from any of the activities we share here on UER would be considered a death resulting from stupidity. I believe a large part of UE is deciding what sort of risks you are willing to take in order to go where others don't and can't go, to see what others don't (and/or are not supposed to) see, and of course to photograph all of our results.
This is exactly that, except taking a much higher risk than it seems even most explorers would think is sane. As of yet, I'm still leaning towards doing it, but not until I can be certain on what the safe distance is, and whether I will be able to keep it.
addicted to danger / addicted to music / addicted to photography
(my sets: the intro - the latest) First advice I got on UER: "No. You will probably die. Don't fight Darwin." - TheVicariousVadder |
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terapr0
Location: Sauga City
Gender: Male
www . tohellandback . net
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 12 on 5/8/2010 6:59 PM >
| | | | I'm not an electrical engineer or anything, but I do know that electricity can jump between two objects which arent actually touching...what you've proposed is a very bad, really dangerous idea. dont try - theres no way it could possibly end well.
Radiative masts like AM transmitters would always be locked out during maintenance...as far as I know there's no safe way to climb them when they're broadcasting. You can tell if its a radiative mast because it will have insulated guy-wires and the tower will also be insulated from the base. Dont go near these towers...heck, dont even go near the small huts next to them. Very dangerous stuff. There are other people on here with professional experience working on towers....perhaps they can give some advice.
I also know theres a very lengthy post about climbing towers...try doing a search
www.tohellandback.net |
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AnAppleSnail
Location: Charlotte, NC
Gender: Male
ALL the flashlights!
| | | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 13 on 5/8/2010 8:00 PM >
|  | | | Posted by djdeadmind
I've thought about this before, what's the big deal with mast radiators?
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Capacitance! In theory, your plan would work, but only if we assume you body is negligible. The high voltage will zap your flying soon-to-be-corpse, because you are at ground potential and grabbing for kilovolts. It'll charge you up; you'll probably let go but it can stop your heart.
The problem is suddenly going from 0v to tower voltage; measured in kilovolts. Also, there are inherent problems being in a high RF environment, ie within 2 feet of a section of tower radiating a kilowatt of energy. RF hazards cause burns, blindness, and other little joys.
Achievement Unlocked
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aurelie
Location: pacific northwest
Gender: Female
high tech:: low life.
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 14 on 5/8/2010 8:01 PM >
| | | | This thread being moved to the Rookie forum certainly doesn't ruin it, in fact it makes the people who reply more inclined to be polite. Please don't try to climb a radiating mast.
http://www.uer.ca/...d=65012&currpage=1
http://www.rwonline.com/article/9210
reckless thoughts abide; anachronistic and impulsive.
loosely jacketed against the cold and ten thousand worlds for the choosing. |
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djdeadmind
Location: Budapest Town
Gender: Male
NO LONGER deprived of photography
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 15 on 5/9/2010 12:41 AM >
| | | | Posted by AnAppleSnail
Capacitance! In theory, your plan would work, but only if we assume you body is negligible. The high voltage will zap your flying soon-to-be-corpse, because you are at ground potential and grabbing for kilovolts. It'll charge you up; you'll probably let go but it can stop your heart.
The problem is suddenly going from 0v to tower voltage; measured in kilovolts. Also, there are inherent problems being in a high RF environment, ie within 2 feet of a section of tower radiating a kilowatt of energy. RF hazards cause burns, blindness, and other little joys.
|
Thanks for answering that! Now I know it is a stupid idea indeed. I wasn't going to do it anyway, I'm not really interested in radio towers, as I have only found one yet and it is *full* of static and 180° dome cameras, so the rest around Budapest are probably not much better either! Plus I've already known about those dangers of RF radiation and frankly the concept of eye or testicle damage (or cancer) seriously scares me, while the concept of avoidable instant death does not.
Posted by aurelie
This thread being moved to the Rookie forum certainly doesn't ruin it, in fact it makes the people who reply more inclined to be polite. Please don't try to climb a radiating mast. |
I said it would ruin it because the question was aimed at all serious explorers since it is a rather serious question (since the question of me making it or dying a horrible death is not a question of skill as in normal forms of UE, but a question of the validity of the information I can gather beforehand), and I imagine a majority of the people don't spend much of their time reading rookie questions in the rookie forum. And I doubt I was the only one who would like to discuss this topic.
Was never going to climb a radiating mast or any kind of operational radio tower I read the entirety of that thread in the first link months and months ago. It contains some useful information indeed, and that's the sort of discussion I wanted this to turn into. But the majority of that information about RF radiation and antennas is irrelevant when it comes to raw high voltages and safe distances from them etc.
addicted to danger / addicted to music / addicted to photography
(my sets: the intro - the latest) First advice I got on UER: "No. You will probably die. Don't fight Darwin." - TheVicariousVadder |
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insanebuslady
Location: ?
Gender: Male
"You talkin' to me?"
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 16 on 5/9/2010 1:07 AM >
| | | | Posted by djdeadmind
my Powershot broke when I was taking pics of huge buses going by while standing between 2 lanes on a busy road at 10am on a monday....stone cold drunk
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Whaaat. I liked this bit. I think your username name is quite apropos
No but seriously don't climb one of those towers. There is a pretty good chance you will die
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Rust
 
I am a rustbucket
| | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 17 on 5/9/2010 2:30 AM >
| | | | Anyone with any knowledge of electricity knows that climbing one of these things is as damn close to suicide as you can get. These transmission lines carry up to and possibly over 700,000 volts. Which means that an arc will jump a GREAT distance to fry your ass.
Not a transmission tower, but watch this to see what I am talking about:
http://www.youtube...atch?v=pqMYYlYq4Ho
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djdeadmind
Location: Budapest Town
Gender: Male
NO LONGER deprived of photography
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 18 on 5/9/2010 3:10 AM >
| | | | Posted by insanebuslady
Whaaat. I liked this bit. I think your username name is quite apropos |
Hahaha...that was a fucked up night. I broke my first (and so far only) camera, my cellphone, my shoes, my headphones, and my relationship that night. Not to mention all the bruises and wounds I had no idea about. Oh and also my first time getting home drunk, sleeping 8 hours, and waking up still drunk...
The very last shot
No but seriously don't climb one of those towers. There is a pretty good chance you will die
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Yeah, I am well aware of that. I walk under the lines everyday and I can clearly hear the buzzing of the electricity in humid weather, even though the lines are really high up. I also walk under a far far lower 20kV line, and even in the winter, I can *feel the heat* as I pass under it, even though it's at least 6 or 7 meters above me.
But I know there must be a way to get to the top safely by knowing exactly what the safe distances from the lines, and the things to look out for, are. Right now I'm thinking climbing inside the tower must be the safest way because it'd act a bit like a faraday cage, but I'd have to emerge on the outside (because it gets too thin at the top) right about where the most dangerous part is - the top pair of lines, which are quite close together.
Posted by Rust
Anyone with any knowledge of electricity knows that climbing one of these things is as damn close to suicide as you can get. These transmission lines carry up to and possibly over 700,000 volts. Which means that an arc will jump a GREAT distance to fry your ass. |
I stated in my original post that these only carry 120 kV. There's even a sign on each one stating so (and the name of the substations they connect). I know that is still enough to arc a significant distance but what I'm trying to find out is how big is that distance.
I knew from the start that I'm dealing with an extremely high risk here, but they must have been built for quite a large margin of error to stop the power from arcing through from the line at one side to the one at the other even in a thick fog. Common sense tells me on a dry summer day that margin of error should easily allow a human-sized object to pass through the center between the lines. Except I know my common sense is rather... um... let's say, 'unique'... which is why I wanted to ask you guys
addicted to danger / addicted to music / addicted to photography
(my sets: the intro - the latest) First advice I got on UER: "No. You will probably die. Don't fight Darwin." - TheVicariousVadder |
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\/adder
Location: DunkarooLand
Gender: Male
I'm the worst of the best but I'm in this race.
| | | Re: High voltage transmission towers?!
<Reply # 19 on 5/9/2010 3:16 AM >
| | | | No.
You will probably die. Don't fight Darwin.
They turn them off or power them down to work on them IF they climb them, often times they bring in a helicopter to do the work and stay the fuck off them.
Even after that they can have induced currents still inside them.
There are several experienced climbers who have climbed their fair share of (what many would call stupid) shit advising against it.
If you are truly interested in how one can safely climb this why don't you give your local electric company a call and inquire about it. Tell them you are doing a college or high-school report on electrical safety.
"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis... |
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