Next time you watch your favorite OTA program think about this. There isn't enough money in the world to get me on one of those towers.
View: https://youtu.be/pitEq8gjNj8
View: https://youtu.be/pitEq8gjNj8
Replacing a broadcast antenna
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I got a little vertigo looking at the photo's that primestar31 posted of his 30' install. Imagine my reaction to these guys hanging on to a 1500' behemoth. I wonder how long it takes to climb that thing.Those guys/gals must have nerves of steel! I recently patched some areas of the roof on our shed and couldn't even get on an extension ladder without getting dizzy.
In the process of installing 30' tv antenna tower
I'm presently in the process of installing a 30' steel tv antenna tower I've had for a few years, and kept putting that off. This is to replace the 27' tall 2" well pipe mast that I have up now. That well pipe mast is off-set to one side of the center of the garage eves. The new tower is being...
www.satelliteguys.us
That made me sick to my stomach just reading that.Just imagine how long it would take you to hit the ground should you fall off!
You'd have to re-enter the atmosphere first. LOL!Just imagine how long it would take you to hit the ground should you fall off!
At 'Free Fall' speeds, it only takes 12 seconds to fall 1,500 feet. Barely enough to say "Oh, $HIT!" before you'd be bouncing off the ground the first time.Just imagine how long it would take you to hit the ground should you fall off!
I've got permanent vertigo. My only true balance is a visual horizon line. Imagine how it feels for me to be strapped up that high, and making SURE my head and eyes always only view a level horizon line... It just makes me all the more deliberate and careful with every move.
Nothing like the work those guys are doing at those heights, but when I was 17 in 1960 I had a summer job with a tower service company changing aircraft warning light bulbs and painting towers. Most of the towers were radio and TV broadcast towers, and we had to work late at night after the stations went off the air and shut down the transmitters to work on the top ~50 feet. Those towers were mostly in the 250-350 foot range, but I did work on one that was 475 feet. My mother and father thought I was just doing painting and maintenance on the ground, and didn't find out until years later that I was actually working on the towers. Today, labor laws, OSHA regs, and insurance requirements would never let anybody that young anywhere near those towers.
I know the feeling puting a ceiling fan up comes with sore leg muscles hanging on to a six foot step ladder.
Al;so my pinky toes are destroyed from getting up in the night to pee. I catch them on the door jamb regularly. Most people have no idea how hard it is when you lose your vestibule nerves. Eyes are everything, although it's not as easy as it sounds. Night driving is tough, simple tasks like looking straight up will make you wobble. I do not drink and drive, but carry a doctors note that says I can not pass a field sobriety test. Close my eyes and tilt my head back, there better be someone to catch me.
In late July of 2007, I had an 'Anterior Disectomy with Fusion' on 3 levels of discs in the middle of my neck (Cervical spine, C3, C4, C5) In the process, they accidentally cut the vestibular nerves below my right ear. Which shut off the "balance signals" on that side.
It mostly affects me the worst if I bend over while in motion. If my head is no longer level, I don't know/can't tell that I'm still upright, so can fall over without even knowing I'm doing so until it's too late.
So, I've learned to compensate visually, by always keeping my eyes on something level at ground level (something I KNOW is a level horizon line) as much as possible.
Oh yeah, you don't DARE to look UP and lock your eyes to a moving cloud! That becomes your "horizon", and since it's moving YOU feel like you're moving even when sitting or standing still.
It actually feels very safe to climb a TV tower. Unlike a roof, there is always something to grab on to, plus you always wear a safety harness for extra protection. I don’t feel safe on a roof.
Most 1500’ high towers would have an elevator inside and would not need to be climbed. (unless the elevator needs to be repaired)
A fit tower climber will climb 40-50’ at a time, rest a few minutes, and then continue. One worker told me a story about the time he did have to climb a 1500’ tower in the winter in North Dakota. He expected to have sweat into his underwear, rendering it useless for insulation. So he brought up a change of clothing, stripped down to his skivvies in the cold and breeze, and redressed in dry clothes. It took him about an hour to get to the work platform just under the antenna.
Most 1500’ high towers would have an elevator inside and would not need to be climbed. (unless the elevator needs to be repaired)
A fit tower climber will climb 40-50’ at a time, rest a few minutes, and then continue. One worker told me a story about the time he did have to climb a 1500’ tower in the winter in North Dakota. He expected to have sweat into his underwear, rendering it useless for insulation. So he brought up a change of clothing, stripped down to his skivvies in the cold and breeze, and redressed in dry clothes. It took him about an hour to get to the work platform just under the antenna.
Ha! You should try replacing the ceiling fan in my foyer. I cannot get to the dang thing except on my 22ft extension ladder. I replaced it once and bolted it to the ceiling. That was a big mistake, because it made unacceptable noise. So I bought another and mounted it on a stubby down rod. I also did a better job of balancing the thing than I did the first time. And then there is cleaning. In the immortal words of Dr. Smith,
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbnQD9MVw5Y
