Tall tower`s revisited

[AudioShockwav]

i was looking at the thread this morning that showed K5JVa`s antenna farm


Watching some of the antenna installs and that reminded me of a Vid that was posted in an old thread here on the forum of two guys climbing with "helmet cams"

So i figured I would post it up again

Best of 2010: World's Scariest Job is Today's BIG Thing - SEP 15, 2010


I am sure some of you guys will remember this, but maybe a few of the newer members have not seen it.

And one more small tidbit, check out these guys, working in bad weather, to remove an antenna and Mast....with a helicopter.
At first it is hard to grasp the scope of the project, until the guy filming zooms out to let you see the big picture.

Can you say nerves of steel?

73
Jeff

 

[office888]

My dream setup:

150 ft tower
Yagi, 40m (3 element)
Yagi, 10-12-15-17-20m
RingRotor
Yagi, 2m
Yagi, 70cm

Beverage antennas facing N, S, E, and W.

160m loop supported on the ends by 70 ft utility poles

 

[towerdog]

Its scary as hell, the pay sucks, most companies treat you lower than crap, it can never be safe, they expect you to break some of the rules or put yourself in unsafe situations otherwise preventable but more costly to prevent, or loose your job, not to mention 90% of companies make you travel for typically 4 to 8 weeks at a time.

You would think the most dangerous job in the country would treat one better than this. Most climbers dont make but $12-$14 an hour, its just pitiful.
I have been trying to get out this industry almost as long as I been in it, but now I got a family of 5 to support and this is the only thing I know that pays enough to come close to paying the bills.

Tower technician is the proper term, kind of like sanitation engineer is for a garbage man, but at least garbage men have unions.....your a climber, a monkey, towerhand, steeplejack, rigger, you are good with rigging, tophand, the boss of topside tower, although not the foreman, typically a fat bastard who sits on the ground whos main functions is to be a useless jerk.

I have climbed for 8 years, although now most of what I do is troubleshoot and repair I have done it all. I worked hard and been through hell, come close to death or severe injury countless times just when it seems like it finally all paid off, am making good pay doing easy work, the company goes under, the contract gets "re-negotiated", or the deal falls apart somehow or another and I end up back working for crap.

I seem to be doing well right now, I am more of a field technician who is capable of climbing with this job, hope some day (soon) to drop the climbing all together, go to work for AT&T, VZ, Clear or other carrier as field tech or system integrator. I already do more troubleshooting inside the cabinet than most of their techs are capable of, but it aint what you know its all who you know.

Sometimes I have to do new installs (of cellular) but not so much anymore, and I do hate it. Seems I am the only one left who can rig, tie knots, or do anything smooth. Doing things the smart way just makes the bosses think you are lazy/stupid/dangerous, unless you luck up and your company's VP used to be a towerhand like me, thank god.

Fewer than 10,000 of us in this country, much less that are skilled and confident climbers.

Next time you talk through a repeater, turn on the radio or TV, or make a cell phone call, think about us, the unsung and underpaid heros of wireless technology people take for granted and think not once about those who died to bring you all things wireless.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Its scary as hell, the pay sucks, most companies treat you lower than crap, it can never be safe, they expect you to break some of the rules or put yourself in unsafe situations otherwise preventable but more costly to prevent, or loose your job, not to mention 90% of companies make you travel for typically 4 to 8 weeks at a time.

You would think the most dangerous job in the country would treat one better than this. Most climbers dont make but $12-$14 an hour, its just pitiful.
I have been trying to get out this industry almost as long as I been in it, but now I got a family of 5 to support and this is the only thing I know that pays enough to come close to paying the bills.

Tower technician is the proper term, kind of like sanitation engineer is for a garbage man, but at least garbage men have unions.....your a climber, a monkey, towerhand, steeplejack, rigger, you are good with rigging, tophand, the boss of topside tower, although not the foreman, typically a fat bastard who sits on the ground whos main functions is to be a useless jerk.

I have climbed for 8 years, although now most of what I do is troubleshoot and repair I have done it all. I worked hard and been through hell, come close to death or severe injury countless times just when it seems like it finally all paid off, am making good pay doing easy work, the company goes under, the contract gets "re-negotiated", or the deal falls apart somehow or another and I end up back working for crap.

I seem to be doing well right now, I am more of a field technician who is capable of climbing with this job, hope some day (soon) to drop the climbing all together, go to work for AT&T, VZ, Clear or other carrier as field tech or system integrator. I already do more troubleshooting inside the cabinet than most of their techs are capable of, but it aint what you know its all who you know.

Sometimes I have to do new installs (of cellular) but not so much anymore, and I do hate it. Seems I am the only one left who can rig, tie knots, or do anything smooth. Doing things the smart way just makes the bosses think you are lazy/stupid/dangerous, unless you luck up and your company's VP used to be a towerhand like me, thank god.

Fewer than 10,000 of us in this country, much less that are skilled and confident climbers.

Next time you talk through a repeater, turn on the radio or TV, or make a cell phone call, think about us, the unsung and underpaid heros of wireless technology people take for granted and think not once about those who died to bring you all things wireless.

It must be a whole hell of a lot different down there than up here then. That's all I'm saying.

 

[mackmobile43]

Me and my late father used to install cb and business band towers for the locals and I can't see why it's so dangerous , you just better work smart and kick back on your heels when you're tired, oh and trust your safety harnesses.

The way I see it you're not up there for your health so if you like the job you have to work around the hazards like any other job.

 

[Moleculo]

I did logging work which also involved climbing tall trees to pay for college. The rigging and climbing principles are similar and although the heights are not the same as towers, it can still be pretty high. I've climbed some 100 foot trees in the past. The difference with logging is that you're also carrying and using a chainsaw (and other tools) and can accidentally cut yourself down if you don't do it right, not to mention cutting something above that can fall on and you and kill you. I don't know of any more dangerous work.

I think I got paid around $4-$5 per hour. It sucked. Sometimes there is just no reward for the risk involved.

 

[Mudfoot]

I was an outside wire and antenna maintenance tech in the Air Force.

Installed, climbed and maintained some tall ass towers. Best part was traveling around the globe working on some funky, strange, shut your mouth systems. I transferred out as fast as I could. There were very few of us and we were constantly traveling. I had over 60 countries stamped in my passports.

Hard work for very little government pay.