Misc Getting to the top of a Transmission Tower

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FarmerJohn

Has No Life - Lives on TB
My son, who has done a lot of work on cell towers, has said that the monopole towers bend as the side facing the sun heats up and expands, bending the tower noticeably in the opposite direction. The guyed towers don't do that.
 
kenny1659

kenny1659

Veteran Member
Rabbit said:
Does anyone know how much they get paid?
Click to expand...

Back in the late 70s and 80s I was getting $1.00 a foot plus hourly wages. Changed lights, installed and replaced antennas and cables. We built a few small towers but mostly left that to the heavy tower crews.
 
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NC Susan

Deceased
In case you are from a part of the country where they don't have these giant electric windmills, and you wonder how they are transported and built, this is one of the blades from the biggest model of wind turbine electric generator… Northbound on interstate 45, with two other blades and a base tower section, in about a mile long convoy :-)
 

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tech

tech

Veteran Member
A few years ago, a crew of three (2 climbers, one on the ground) got $5000 for an antenna R&R at only 600 feet.
 
D

Dreamweaver

Contributing Member
I did a little research on wages and Safety of Tower Climbers. This article is an interesting read about the multiple layers of subcontracting tower work until the guys that are actually climbing the towers are not making much money and have little recourse upon injury or death.

Note that about 3/4 down the page there is a reference to this video and how it's being hailed as a terrible example of safety. I could see that these guys weren't tying off much at all. Apparently it's called Free climbing and is somewhat of a scourge on the industry. While I'm all about safety with this kind of stuff, I can clearly see the motivation for someone wanting to free climb and get the job over with faster. (hopefully not TOO fast and permanently).

wirelessestimator.com

New inductees profiled in ‘Tower Climbers Hall of Shame’

Facebook pages provide an uncensored opportunity for stupidity June 5, 2019 - For over a dozen years Wireless Estimator has highlighted some of the most egregious tower climber safety infractions in its Tower Climbers Hall…
wirelessestimator.com wirelessestimator.com
 
kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
My brother deals with the security systems for quite a few local towers. They have to keep the systems fully functional because during the winter the towers will shed sheets of ice that can kill people underneath them. And that season extends a bit further than most locals expect. All in all, folks working on towers have my respect.
 
Milkweed Host

Milkweed Host

Veteran Member
That video brings back memories and makes my palms sweat. Around 1970/71 I helped remove a transmission line from the Fort Dodge, IA, KVFD tower that was located in Fort Dodge. I don't think this tower was much over 400' or so.

I replaced some of the tower lamps on the Bradgate, IA, KVFD, channel 21 tower. This tower is 1200' high. I noticed that after about 400' or 500', it didn't make any difference how high the tower was, as the view of the ground remained the same. I used a safety belt with scare strap. I would only work on and stay within the tower structure and not the antenna. The antenna was 80' high and out in the open. That was outside my comfort zone.

I built lots of 60' Rohn towers and worked on other small towers, like 120' self supporting ones. The self supporting towers would sway a lot in the wind. Which was a fun ride while working with the tower movement.
 
Shooter

Shooter

Veteran Member
had to stop it. DAMN head started spinning, ill do reasonable heights, but that , its way to high.
 
O

Ogre

Veteran Member
I've got a Rohn tower, about 56' high with the rotatable antenna on a 4' mast above that. After about 16' it's a safety belt all the way.
"A man's got to know his limitations."
 
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Josie

Josie

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Oh, hell no!

There are something is have learned in my 65 years on this earth. Doing something like this is crazy and not for the likes of me!
 
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