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Noble Donor
Location: Washington/Baltimore
Gender: Male
 |  |  | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 40 on 3/5/2009 12:23 AM >
|  | | | Posted by dan
Is there any risk of touching a AM tower guy wire?
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Possibly, if it's on a section that's not connected to ground (above the first insulator) and there's a large induced voltage in it (again, this is more likely on a high power station). If it's reliably connected directly to the ground, no.
In the same way, fences near AM stations can have large induced currents, but usually that's not enough to endanger anyone. I once heard a padlock on a tower base fence singing along with the station because of induced currents in the metal.
Where the fuck is my Maypo? |
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LittleBlackNotebook
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 41 on 3/5/2009 12:39 AM >
| | | | I was actually thinking about radio towers the other day... it would be an amazing place to watch the sun set!
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stampmaille
Gender: Male
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 42 on 3/5/2009 6:00 AM >
| | | | I actually used to climb towers regularly. The most important thing to remember is, of course, safety first. I use a full body fall harness and use a short rope(3') with a biner on each end that I use to secure myself to the ladder when I want to take a rest. Climbing can be quite a workout and I like to do it very slowly to avoid becoming tired. It may take me upwards of 30 minutes or more to reach the top, but it's always worth it. Not just for the view, but the wind up there is so steady it feels like silk blowing. Anyway, I've never been much concerned with RF radiation mostly because you're inside the tower and all antennas are pointing away from you. Even the high powered omni-directional ones are usually above the top of the tower where the ladder doesn't usually reach.
Word of warning, tower climbing can be quite addictive, and it's easy to become over-confident (you're contained within the tower structure itself which feels like a small secure cage despite the fantastic view) so make sure you regularly flex your hands and fingers so you always know the strength of your grip.
My highest tower:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CKVR-TV about 1000'
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Corvid
  
Location: Oxford, UK
Gender: Male
Master of Illusion!!
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 43 on 3/5/2009 5:42 PM >
| | | | Crazy stuff stampmaille! 300 metres must be pretty crazy! How did you get access to that out of interest? I presume the tower wasn't live when you climbed it?
Some more (Welsh!) tower pr0n here: http://www.uer.ca/...ow.asp?locid=23413
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MindHacker
 
Location: Suburbs of DC
Gender: Male
If you spot a terrorist arrow, pin it to the wall with your shoulder.
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 44 on 3/5/2009 6:06 PM >
| | | | Posted by LittleBlackNotebook
I was actually thinking about radio towers the other day... it would be an amazing place to watch the sun set!
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Posted by stampmaille
Word of warning, tower climbing can be quite addictive, and it's easy to become over-confident (you're contained within the tower structure itself which feels like a small secure cage despite the fantastic view) so make sure you regularly flex your hands and fingers so you always know the strength of your grip.
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That's a good point. You won't feel your hand-strength dwindling as it goes. When I'm rock-climbing its easy not to notice until you just start to fall off of holds you know you should be able to hold without any problem.
CKVR looks great, was there any challenge getting to the base of the ladder, or did it come down to ground level for ya?
"That's just my opinion. I would, however, advocate for explosive breaching, since speed and looking cool are both concerns in my job."-Wilkinshire |
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stampmaille
Gender: Male
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 45 on 3/7/2009 2:12 AM >
| | | | Posted by Corvid
Crazy stuff stampmaille! 300 metres must be pretty crazy! How did you get access to that out of interest? I presume the tower wasn't live when you climbed it?
Some more (Welsh!) tower pr0n here: http://www.uer.ca/...ow.asp?locid=23413
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The tower was very live when I climbed it, at the bottom you're completely surrounded by all the coax running up to the various antennas. As you climb higher they disappear one by one and the view gets better and better.
Access?? Well, around 11:00pm or so I parked about a block away, walked up to it, hopped the fence and I was in! every 150' - 200' or so there's a small platform so you can step off the ladder and rest. About halfway up I was laying facedown on one enjoying the view straight down through the expanded metal and watched as a security car pulled into the parking lot and paused behind each of the cars parked there (probably jotting down plate numbers) before driving away. Anyway, it was an amusing thing to watch from my vantage point.
That was my last tower climb. The only thing taller within driving distance is the CN Tower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CN_Tower but, since it has stairs and elevators it seems kind of pointless.
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mre770
Location: atlanta
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 46 on 3/7/2009 3:24 AM >
| | | | I never wanted to post some tower porn but now i must shoot some naked towers. I knew a chick that was a tower dog and used to climb..
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Q1W2E3R4
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 47 on 3/7/2009 4:16 AM >
| | | | I'm in love with radio towers.
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Zorb
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 48 on 3/7/2009 7:05 AM >
|  | | | I am in love with radio. The towers are of a secondary interest. Ever take a good portable shortwave set up on top of a high tower which has nothing active?
It's a great thing.
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geoff5093
Location: New Hampshire
Gender: Male
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 49 on 3/9/2009 1:15 PM >
| | | | Posted by Zorb
I am in love with radio. The towers are of a secondary interest. Ever take a good portable shortwave set up on top of a high tower which has nothing active?
It's a great thing.
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Same here, I am a huge radio guy although I've never climbed a tower, a few of my friends have though.
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BravoOrig
Location: Iowa
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 51 on 3/11/2009 6:42 AM >
| | | | Other than being somewhat afraid of heights, I've always wanted to climb the KQTV tower. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KQTV. It's the ABC affiliate in my hometown and I remember driving past it alot and how huge it seems from the ground. I've been to the station twice and of course there are signs warning against parking under the tower due to falling ice.
It worked yesterday! |
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JiXXer
Location: Near Hamilton On.
Gender: Male
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 52 on 3/17/2009 3:28 AM >
| | | | I found this interesting double use of a tower the other week. I would really think twice about climbing this one. I would have figured the extra volts running along the lines would throw signals off a big but I guess not.
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IIVQ
Location: La Sud-Est du cité majeur du North-Holland (Bijlmer), .NL
Gender: Male
Back in Urbex!
| |  |  | | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 53 on 3/17/2009 1:05 PM >
| | | | Posted by JiXXer
I found this interesting double use of a tower the other week. I would really think twice about climbing this one. I would have figured the extra volts running along the lines would throw signals off a big but I guess not.
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Nah. The dishes that you see are microwaves, which is point-to-point-communication. That's in the 0.3-300 GHz ranges, while power lines are 50/60 Hz. While they do radiate, it's not particularly efficient and because of the clean signal, there's almost no harmonics (maybe there'll be some interference between phases)
Tijmen
Posted by MapMan | 18/9/2005 19:25 | Hedy Lamarr made porn?
Posted by turbozutek | 20/9/2005 2:29 | Dude, educate us! |
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KONG
Sus scrofa domestica
Location: Kingston, Ontario
Gender: Male
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 54 on 3/18/2009 12:39 AM >
| | | | Posted by IIVQ
Nah. The dishes that you see are microwaves, which is point-to-point-communication. That's in the 0.3-300 GHz ranges, while power lines are 50/60 Hz. While they do radiate, it's not particularly efficient and because of the clean signal, there's almost no harmonics (maybe there'll be some interference between phases)
Tijmen
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The dishes are microwave, but the other antennae are cellular/pcs (in the 850-1900 MHz range.) The 60Hz has little to no effect on these frequencies.
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Zorb
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 55 on 3/18/2009 3:13 AM >
| | | | Dishes are used for 4000 MHz and up. Aside from the occasional 2.5GHz link, commercial long distance point to point microwave radio links are always 4GHz and up, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 16, and 22 being most common.
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\/adder
Location: DunkarooLand
Gender: Male
I'm the worst of the best but I'm in this race.
| | | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 56 on 3/18/2009 4:08 AM >
| | | | Let's say theoretically I have one of these <1/2 mile away from my house:
Monopole Cell Tower
Can these be climbed safely? I found articles on cellular technicians working on them, So I'd imagine so? Anyone have any more information on these?
Is the only risk falling as seems to be the case with these technicians:
http://apple20.blo...deaths-in-5-weeks/
"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis... |
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Banditt
Location: T.
Gender: Male
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 57 on 3/18/2009 4:11 AM >
| | | | "But for more than four months — the industry was fatality free."
I think that says it all....
And these were professionals.
Also, as has been said multiple times before... you ARE absorbing the RF while up there.
Know your risks...
[last edit 3/18/2009 4:12 AM by Banditt - edited 1 times]
FLICKR
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cunningx
Location: Waterloo, ON
Gender: Male
| | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 58 on 4/17/2009 7:20 AM >
| | | | Keep in mind the often present threat of lightning.
I knew a guy that climbed these for a living, and he said that lightning will often strike a tower long before it starts raining, so keep that in mind when deciding how quickly to get down.
One particularly harrowing tale involved jumping the last 8 feet of the tower a couple of seconds before it was hit.
Apparently as the tower starts to develop a charge you begin to get a taste in your mouth similar to licking a nine volt battery, so if you notice that taste and don't recall licking a battery recently then you better get yourself down right quick.
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\/adder
Location: DunkarooLand
Gender: Male
I'm the worst of the best but I'm in this race.
| | | Re: Climbing Radio Towers?
<Reply # 59 on 4/17/2009 8:36 AM >
| | | | Posted by cunningx
Apparently as the tower starts to develop a charge you begin to get a taste in your mouth similar to licking a nine volt battery, so if you notice that taste and don't recall licking a battery recently then you better get yourself down right quick.
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Because everyone can climb down a 100-300+ foot structure in the amount of time the "battery taste warning" is gives you.
Better Advice: Put as little of yourself on the tower as possible. Get to a place where you can crouch freely. Have rubber boots or a rubber mat with you Unhook any fall protection. DO NOT hold onto the railing or ladder.. That tower is grounded. The higher you are the safer you are. Because lightening doesn't always strike the top of the tower. If it strikes below you, it would travel down the pole into the ground. If it strikes above you; you are much more likely to get hit.
Best Advice: Check the fucking weather. It's not a difficult task. Cell towers are already dangerous enough thing to attempt; without adding that element. Just like drains ... Why make an idiotic mistake that could easily be avoided.
Cell technicians don't always have a choice when they get to go up; fail to meet a deadline, lose your job. You as a recreational climber, do.
[last edit 4/17/2009 8:38 AM by \/adder - edited 1 times]
"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis... |
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