forums
new posts
donate
UER Store
events
location db
db map
search
members
faq
terms of service
privacy policy
register
login




 1 2 
UER Forum > Archived Rookie Forum > Dangers of cellphone towers? (Viewed 969 times)
aurelie 


Location: pacific northwest
Gender: Female


high tech:: low life.

Send Private Message | Send Email | website
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 20 on 6/28/2010 12:32 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
It's in this thread: http://www.uer.ca/...d=80049&currpage=2

reckless thoughts abide; anachronistic and impulsive.

loosely jacketed against the cold and ten thousand worlds for the choosing.
Yield 


Location: Look behind you
Gender: Male


I'd do you for a klondike bar

Send Private Message | Send Email
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 21 on 6/28/2010 3:59 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by aurelie
It's in this thread: http://www.uer.ca/...d=80049&currpage=2


tnx orly

Yield's Peer Review:
~Doesn't give a fuck, total badass, and one of my ue-besties.
~Genuine, has positive character and this thing called integrity. Knows when to be serious. Passionate about productive things. Human being. ~fish fish boxing boxing bestest friend evah
LiveAudio 


Location: Greenville SC
Gender: Male


Along came a spider

Send Private Message | Send Email
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 22 on 6/28/2010 4:16 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
be careful that you don't damage the coax line to the antenna. it is very expensive and easy to damage. don't even touch it. It is the black corrugated lines running up the tower
[last edit 6/28/2010 4:16 AM by LiveAudio - edited 1 times]

janus zeal 


Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Gender: Male




Send Private Message | Send Email | AIM Message | stuff
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 23 on 6/29/2010 3:48 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by LiveAudio
be careful that you don't damage the coax line to the antenna. it is very expensive and easy to damage. don't even touch it. It is the black corrugated lines running up the tower
Is it coax or waveguide?

digital_me 


Location: Colorado
Gender: Male


When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro

Send Private Message | Send Email | Flickr
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 24 on 6/29/2010 4:01 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
if that's the same kinda tower as the one you are thinking of climbing, then it's got a bolt rung ladder instead of a proper ladder = no fun to climb. try to find one with a proper ladder if possible.

vov35 


Location: Maryland
Gender: Male




Send Private Message | Send Email
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 25 on 6/29/2010 9:34 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
It's got a proper ladder on it thankfully.

Now, I noticed the tower adjacent to it (maybe 60-70m away) has some of those microwave drum antennas. Is that going to pose a hazard to me at this distance?

And by the way, the thick black coax lines are the ONLY lines on the antenna I wish to climb, so I'm pretty sure that's safe. Ummm... are you absolutely certain they pose no immediate electrical hazard though? they're like an inch thick. It's scary to think how much current an electrical line that thick would run.
[last edit 6/29/2010 9:39 PM by vov35 - edited 1 times]

"Only sheep need a shepherd." -- Voltaire
janus zeal 


Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Gender: Male




Send Private Message | Send Email | AIM Message | stuff
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 26 on 6/29/2010 10:35 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by vov35
It's got a proper ladder on it thankfully.

Now, I noticed the tower adjacent to it (maybe 60-70m away) has some of those microwave drum antennas. Is that going to pose a hazard to me at this distance?

And by the way, the thick black coax lines are the ONLY lines on the antenna I wish to climb, so I'm pretty sure that's safe. Ummm... are you absolutely certain they pose no immediate electrical hazard though? they're like an inch thick. It's scary to think how much current an electrical line that thick would run.
70 metres away? You'll be fine. As for the cables going up the mast, as long as they're going into the antennas the only danger they pose is microwave leakage. protip: If they're waveguides they're going to be hollow and very easy to break. Once they break they're going to be pouring out high energy radio waves.
[last edit 6/29/2010 10:35 PM by janus zeal - edited 1 times]

vov35 


Location: Maryland
Gender: Male




Send Private Message | Send Email
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 27 on 6/30/2010 5:28 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by janus zeal
protip: If they're waveguides they're going to be hollow and very easy to break. Once they break they're going to be pouring out high energy radio waves.



And that's why they're on the opposite side of the tower from the ladder.

Besides, I like having cell service, I'd rather not break them.
although, it seems odd that they'd be running waveguides that far. (although it's feasible as: the speed of light / (2 400 000 000 hertz) = 12.4913524 centimeters wavelength... approximately twice to four times the thickness of the lines.)
[last edit 6/30/2010 5:32 PM by vov35 - edited 1 times]

"Only sheep need a shepherd." -- Voltaire
Pravus 


Location: Chicago Area
Gender: Male


Now the two key words for tonight - "caution" and "flammable"...

Send Private Message | Send Email | Yahoo! IM | AIM Message
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 28 on 7/1/2010 2:41 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Signs as far as I ever saw were just on the ground and not remotely for workers, workers know where they can and can't stand.. Never go near the front of the directional antennas and they are a limited threat from my understanding, ideally you want a deactivated tower but what can be done.. granted that only is valid if there are /only/ directional antenna on there..
For every cell tower I ever worked on we used Coax, there were two types and I can no longer remember the types, one was slightly more flexible with a thinner sheath. The other was hella ridged and pretty resilient, many times you almost had to hang off it to bend it where you needed it to be. My foreman had beaten the hell outa the tougher stuff with a wrench before to try to get a bad signal when testing the lines and he couldn't get a dent that was worth failing the line (it was an already failed line that kinked when we were raising it and he was showing us the diagnostic tool to do the final test on the lines)
Other then radiation you also have to worry about falling off, storms, also keep in mind that these towers are build by people. I remember one time climbing up the tower behind someone and there were washers bouncing off my helmet, and if washers are falling down that means that there are bolts undone. Eventually we had to stop our job for a lil bit and reconnect the last bit of ladder because most of the J hooks fell off and the ladder was pulling away from the tower when we were climbing..
Also keep in mind unless you tell some friends where your going and when you should hopefully return alot of towers are a bit remote and it would likely be a while before someone randomly came across you if you actually did get hurt..

Live to Serve, Serve to Live..
vov35 


Location: Maryland
Gender: Male




Send Private Message | Send Email
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 29 on 7/2/2010 6:38 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I was planning on going with a friend, and was going to use a climbing harness + a pair of prussic knots for safety.

"Only sheep need a shepherd." -- Voltaire
NHUrbex 


Location: NH, USA
Gender: Male


You can always find me chilling on a rooftop.. Ironically, I'm not a fan of heights. Just views...

Send Private Message | Send Email
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 30 on 7/11/2010 2:51 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
You should get awesome reception up there.

Behind every mistake, there is a lesson.

I'm just not that great at learning them!
\/adder 


Location: DunkarooLand
Gender: Male


I'm the worst of the best but I'm in this race.

Send Private Message | Send Email | 
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 31 on 7/11/2010 6:08 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Hurro! Been away from the internets from awhile. I've climbed multiple types of cell towers, it's what I do when I'm bored and have a few hours to kill and nice weather.


There's a monopole by my house I've done about four times, out of boredom, and because it's a fun place to watch police do speedtraps from. But I don't recommend monopoles to people. Monopoles are kind of shitty to climb, there's no easy rest spot until you get high enough to kill you and tangling a rope anchor is possible, I've done it on two separate occasions before buying industry standard fall protection. The bolts on monopoles are made to be replaced as they wear out, so don't be surprised if there are missing or bent or corroded bolts depending on age and maintenance. They generally aren't very high compared to other types of towers so they don't offer a "sweeping landscape view".


RF is radiation. Cancer develops when cells are exposed to radiation repeatedly over time. You as a recreational climber are no more likely to develop cancer than a cell tower worker. I know for asbestos repeat exposure is more of a factor than amount/duration of exposure; which would also make sense for radiation. You get X-Rays and Sunburns don't you? More often over your lifetime than towers you will probably climb...so I'd not really worry about it. You can get nasty RF burns from doing something stupid like grabbing a hold of transmitters or a broadcast tower that's been powered down but still holds a charge . I know some of those suckers put can off some pretty intense heat, you should be able to feel heat kicking off the transmitters, so if it starts feeling like your body is on fire, GTFO, though that's never happened to me.


Find a tower with aviation painting (white and orange -- may look red from a distance), it'll have a ladder, and good enough view that low flying aircraft are in danger of hitting it.


Main thread discussing tower climbing with lot's of information and tower porn (pictures)
http://www.uer.ca/...d=1&threadid=65012


FCC's List + Google Maps how to find towers:
http://www.cellreception.com/towers/


Posted by NHUrbex
You should get awesome reception up there.

Maybe. I have tmobile and if I'm too close too another carrier's transmitter, it overpowers the signal.


Posted by aurelie
Well, yes. But most of them have a sign for workers that tells you the distance that you should keep from the antennas.


That site number doesn't exist in any database :/

"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis...
janus zeal 


Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Gender: Male




Send Private Message | Send Email | AIM Message | stuff
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 32 on 7/12/2010 9:48 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
RF is radiation. Cancer develops when cells are exposed to radiation repeatedly over time. You as a recreational climber are no more likely to develop cancer than a cell tower worker. I know for asbestos repeat exposure is more of a factor than amount/duration of exposure; which would also make sense for radiation. You get X-Rays and Sunburns don't you? More often over your lifetime than towers you will probably climb...so I'd not really worry about it. You can get nasty RF burns from doing something stupid like grabbing a hold of transmitters or a broadcast tower that's been powered down but still holds a charge . I know some of those suckers put can off some pretty intense heat, you should be able to feel heat kicking off the transmitters, so if it starts feeling like your body is on fire, GTFO, though that's never happened to me.
RF is radiation, but not ionizing radiation, so it causing cancer is extremely unlikely. It's not as dangerous as say, Gamma or Alpha radiation.

The reason you feel heat from the antennas is because microwaves cause water molecules to vibrate and the friction heats things up. This is where the danger comes from, as you can essentially cook your cells without feeling it till it's too late. The antennas them selves do not radiate any heat at all.

I am pretty sure that as soon as a cell site is powered down the residual microwave energy dissipates pretty quickly, if you're getting burns from antennas they're still on.

You should get awesome reception up there.
Or the radio energy overpowers the cell phone radio and fries it.

matrix9 


Location: Northern NJ




Send Private Message | Send Email
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 33 on 7/12/2010 11:39 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by janus zeal
This is where the danger comes from, as you can essentially cook your cells without feeling it till it's too late. The antennas them selves do not radiate any heat at all.


The antennas can still heat up, depending on how much power they are operating with. Touching one while its transmitting can cause a RF burn. I would not touch an antenna unless im sure it not transmitting.

\/adder 


Location: DunkarooLand
Gender: Male


I'm the worst of the best but I'm in this race.

Send Private Message | Send Email | 
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 34 on 7/13/2010 12:27 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by janus zeal
RF is radiation, but not ionizing radiation, so it causing cancer is extremely unlikely. It's not as dangerous as say, Gamma or Alpha radiation.

Or the radio energy overpowers the cell phone radio and fries it.


More-less what I said, cancer wouldn't be a concern for recreational climbers it is listed by the fcc as a precautionary concern for occupational climbers.
http://www.fcc.gov...ty/rf-faqs.html#Q6



I am pretty sure that as soon as a cell site is powered down the residual microwave energy dissipates pretty quickly, if you're getting burns from antennas they're still on.


But a broadcast site (AM transmitter, broadcast antenna of TV tower, certain types of Radar) is a whole other animal. A live broadcast tower will kill on contact and will contain a potentially lethal charge for a while even after it's been powered down.

"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis...
janus zeal 


Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Gender: Male




Send Private Message | Send Email | AIM Message | stuff
Re: Dangers of cellphone towers?
<Reply # 35 on 7/15/2010 3:16 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by TheVicariousVadderBut a broadcast site (AM transmitter, broadcast antenna of TV tower, certain types of Radar) is a whole other animal. A live broadcast tower will kill on contact and will contain a potentially lethal charge for a while even after it's been powered down.
I misunderstood your use of "broadcast", my bad.

I was under the impression that AM towers were relatively low power and that the entire tower was the "antenna". I always thought FM towers were the high voltage ones.
[last edit 7/15/2010 3:21 AM by janus zeal - edited 1 times]

UER Forum > Archived Rookie Forum > Dangers of cellphone towers? (Viewed 969 times)
 1 2 



All content and images copyright © 2002-2024 UER.CA and respective creators. Graphical Design by Crossfire.
To contact webmaster, or click to email with problems or other questions about this site: UER CONTACT
View Terms of Service | View Privacy Policy | Server colocation provided by Beanfield
This page was generated for you in 125 milliseconds. Since June 23, 2002, a total of 737019994 pages have been generated.