As a retired electric utility engineer with telecom site responsibilities, I think you did a good job getting the important ideas out to viewers.

Extremely well presented, Marcos. You have great camera presence and structure your information so that important information isn't intimidating - it's like having a friend show you around and point out what you should be careful with because they care. Thank you!

A friend in junior high or hIgh school broke through a gate at a remote AM transmitter site to climb the tower. When he went to grab the tower, an arc jumped to his hand. He told me, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, and left. This happened 60 years ago.

Had an office for an accounting firm we provided IT support for, it was near an AM radio station. The RF caused so much interference with the network, we ended up having to run shielded ethernet cable.

Thank you for this production. I’m a hiker and a Ham Radio Op. I like surveying mountain top TX sites. I know of the hazards you spoke of and had some concerns about omnidirectional RF. Thanks for your explanations.

If you know anyone who services cell antennas on buildings in cities. Tell them to make sure the roof access door is completely closed.

Well executed. You forgot to mention the danger of lightning strikes due to the steel towers pointing up.

Thanks for your time putting together another educational video. Not everyone gets the opportunity to visit a 'Mountain Top Site' so this helps them to better understand the business. MY MAJOR CONCERN WAS PEOPLE ! INTOXICATED PEOPLE WITH FIREARMS. Confronted at the locked gate on the way down by hunters who got in some how but couldn't get out. If I had my way I would have just left them inside the gate hoping they call the sheriff to come let them OUT and INTO the BACK of the POLICE CAR. The two guys were carrying rifles and a deceased deer in the bed of their truck so I knew it was just best to let them out ahead of me re locking the gate behind me. Speaking of firearms, I was always concerned when the gate was unlocked for vandals. Enough said there. Don't want to give anyone any ideas. So, thanks again for your efforts by both your employer and the RF community. †

Thank you so much for sharing this great and timely information. People going to see the new 'Fall' movie from Lionsgate should be absolutely required to view this video beforehand so that those who are made more curious and even intrigued by the concept of radio tower climbing on a dare or a some form of self therapy to overcome fears as least will have an more realistic understanding of the real dangers of even being around TX sites, no matter whether the tower is in service or not.

Ive owned two AMs and one FM. Everything he says is 100 percent. My FM was at a shared site with a TV station way up on a mountain. I made it a policy to never take visitors up (including friends). No need on letting people know how to get up there who had no business being there.

That plastic white hat is not going to save you from a 5 lb piece of ice coming off the top of that tower. lol

Some soldier on a base was told to paint the rotating transmitter dish. He turned off the motor but not the transmitter. Apparently he died a week later because it cooked him

Yeah AM towers are scary. My friend owned an am station, and showed a video of him using a jumper cable to de-energize towers. Huge sparks. I would assume the directors have some serious current as well.

Dude, very well done :) Im usually more concerned about the two legged varmints than most any four legged ones that I might come across at a site. BOTH can be very unpredictable if you unexpectedly surprise them,.

Antennas and towers should not be allowed on top of or too close to any mountain tops. In my area, there is one "mountain" and it is covered in antennas. It looks disgusting.

I've done ham repeater maintenace at commercial transmitter sites: 1: Gigantice chunks of ice falling from the tower in the winter. Decided to call off the work that day. It's a volunteer job anyway, 2. Been burn by RF from my 100 watts or less ham equipment, don't want to mess with broadcast level stuff. 3. We asked an engineer for a 50 KW AM station, what happens if someone touched an active tower while standing on the ground. He said you will disapear in a pink puff of smoke. No rubber soled shoes won't protect you. 4. Don't know if it caused it, but I've had lots of RF right in my face and develped cataracts in my 40s. Now they've seen changes in my optic nerves that might be early stage glaucoma. However, right now I see about 20-15. IDK. 5. A dude tried to steal copper from a 50 KW AM transmitter site, he didn;t need to be cremated, The ME's crew had to clean what was left of him out of the transmittter's substation. 5. When we were at a transmitter site one day, we noticed the back doors were barricaded shut with a 3 x 6. We asked the engineer afraid somebody will try to get in? He said, not who, but what. He, said bears and coyotes had been sighted out there, and possibly some bobcats. Visitors could be eaten. So, if you don't have business at one of these keep out!

#4 -- Physiological needs. Eat a sensible meal and make sure you use the bathroom BEFORE going to a remote site. A radio engineer who shall remain nameless had loaded up on gas station chili dogs before an overnight maintenance session at a remote tower site. Well, the unthinkable happened, and the transmitter facility had no...facilities. We cobbled together a Home Depot bucket and trash bag, and gave him the box of Rags and left him alone in the building for awhile.

Great information! I’ve been up on Santiago Peak in the winter and have heard ice falling and it can make quite a bang when it hits something.

Excellent job Marcos!!

Getting to a transmitter site can also be a hazard. A few years ago, I nearly hit an antelope leaping up out of a gully without warning on a sharp curve on Dairy Farm Rd, going up to Video Rd. A long-ago colleauge in South Carolina had his brand-new Firebird totaled by a wild boar hog that didn't like him "marking" his territory out by the tower one night. (Station was a daytimer -remember those?) Hog was about 300 lbs and head-butted the car until it finally had enough. Another wildlife encounter I had was one afternoon when I was taking Base I at the towers at my last radio stop before going into TV. A female bird had built her nest (with eggs, at the time) in the doghouse, within the matching coil atop the ATU. She didn't mind me until I pulled the knob for the contactor to put the thermocouple of the ammeter in the circuit. That "Whomp" had her flying off after me! Needless to say, It took me a bit to finish that round! Our maintenance guy "took care" of the nest on Sunday night. At one station in my past, kids taking pot-shots at the tower lights was an ongoing problem. Both for us and a competitor a few KHz up the dial which had their site near ours. It happened often enough that their "morning team" started joking about it on-air. Until our CE and I caught one of them and called the police. Who got the FBI involved. A broadcast station is in interstate commerce, remember? Kid was 18, which meant adult. Seriously changed his college and career plans. Turns out the Ivy League doesn't like criminal convictions in their student body. Especially when guns are involved. There were always "the parkers". Late one Friday night, our maintenance guy and I were at the AM with the 'mitter sitter. We were working on another repeater. Around 11:30, we were outside and saw a pair of headlights crest the hill by the gate and disappear towards Tower #4. As our maintenance guy and I were heading towards our cars to investigate, we saw a second pair of headlights crest the hill and head towards Tower #1. We decided to wait a bit before heading out. Given that I had the larger car, I went first. We used the 2-meter repeater on Tower #2 for comms. (Although I was synthesized, he wasn't. So, I was QRP on the repeater output.) We approached by moonlight holding-off on lights until we were near the car by Tower #1. It was an old Ford sedan with two guys in it looking like they were smoking dope. When I hit my lights and brights, they couldn't get out of there fast enough! When I was satisfied they had left, I turned around and headed towards Tower #4. It was a couple that had been in a Torino station wagon, This was a different matter entirely! Apparently, out waiting caused us to "interrupt" their "activities". I'll leave it to your imagination because YT probably wouldn't let me describe it! What was funny , was that our CE was out with his wife and listening on the repeater. When he could tell that everything was OK, he finally called us and asked what was going-on. All we could say was "trespassers" and that we'd fully explain on Monday morning! Yes, he LHAO when we told him! Not so funny was the time I was alone and encountered would-be burglars early on a Sunday morning at my first radio station. You have to be careful. 73 (BTW, do you know Burt Wiener and/or Marv Collins?)

Here in the UK Ofcom have announced new rules only a few weeks ago in June. Amateur Radio Stations must make sure no member of the public can get directly near to any transmitting antenna during use. So this especially applies to mobile installations used in a public car park for example or portable stations operating in a public area. I lived in Poland for a while and was hit by ice falling off my 28Mhz 10 meter coaxial J-pole antenna, which later snapped in the winter. Not a problem I ever expected to have.

My wife started to climb one of these in April 2024 and was "cat called" by a bunch of construction workers. She told them to fuck off. Then one of them turned on the radio tower. Let's just say I couldn't use the HOV lane on the ride home. 😊

The transmitter manufacturer Nautel have informative videos as well. These are mostly intended for station engineers but others will find them interesting as well. Especially if you are into ham radio. Enjoy being aware of the world around you.

What about the cumulative effect over time? Surely there are studies? How different are RFs and transmitters from EMFs and cell towers?

I remember hearing stories from retired tower workers who told me that some of them would use open waveguide to warm their hands on very cold days,

black widow spiders like to live in warm power supplys like the feroresonant kind that run warm.

Many years ago the company I worked for built a new metal shop building. Installed 1/4 wave antennas on roof, VHF for two way radios & 108" for 11 meter american CB. When installed made a ticking noise at jacks in shop on cold dry windy day. Opened jacks, 1/2" arc across jack every second or so. If 9 foot antenna can generate enough voltage to arc 1/2 inch, imagine how much a 90 foot, or 190 foot or 900 foot can do.

6:42 I interned a bit at WNAV-AM in Annapolis, and that tidbit is one of the things I learned when it came to the difference between AM/FM towers.

LOL. I used to work in radio, and this video was great. I worked at a few AM stations. I was one of the on-air jocks, but occasionally, had to go to the x-mitter site. I was on the air one night, and our 5 KW x-mitter dumped, and I could not get it to stay back on the air. A snake got into the x-mitter. Every time I'd raise the plates, I'd zap the snake. I had to call the chief, who had to go out and remove, the now, toasted snake. I also knew not to touch the towers, but loved the BZZZZZ sound effect you tossed in. Those towers were self supporting, so ice wasn't an issue on the guy wires there. Anyway, it was a very entertaining video, that only another radio geek would appreciate. Thanks. Oh, one add on danger. The road to the x-mitter site. They are like goat paths, USUALLY. Almost like you need a camel to get back to them. LOL

I have been to a broadcast AM transmitter site, with the broadcast engineer. He knew that I wanted to see but not too close. They had elevated counterpoise on all three elements. Ones was thirty degrees ahead of the center and one was sixty degrees behind I think. I figured out a 90° 2 element CB with a switch. One on the hood one on the trunk. There was enough front to back most thought I had a 50W linear.

Can you please make more videos about towers.

I have worked at transmitter sights of almost everything. AM, FM, TV you name it. At some time or another I have seen examples of everything mentioned in this video. Be careful out there!

Thankfully over here in the UK we don't have the kind of wildlife dangers although some snakes could be a hazard in a few areas. The one potential danger you didn't mention was when there are riggers working on the tower/mast. It is not unknown for a washer/bolt/nut etc to get dropped. When falling, wind can drag them into the tower and then they can then ping out some considerable distance. I've seen images of cars with a slot cut in their roof after something got away from the riggers.

Great video and wise information for everyone to know! If you ever do encounter people trespassing whom obviously shouldn’t be there or look suspicious, do you have the technology through the security cameras to make an announcement through your phone or sound a siren?

Hi I have a question for you, I work for a small rural radio station and I was tasked with repainting part of a transmitter building, and I would be about 15 feet away from the 1000 watt am tower for a couple hours while I am painting it, is there anything I should do to prevent any RF problems?

Regarding what you say around 7:00, I once drove up to the big cluster of broadcast towers on the hills in my area to try to get some closeup video shots, to illustrate how "radio and TV stations keep residents informed of emergencies...", etc., in an official county education video. I didn't go past any restricted areas, just the side of the dirt road where they are. But I was wondering why the bottom half of my shots were out of focus, even though I checked and rechecked that my optics were clean and I was using focus assist peaking and everything, and not using a high f-stop (which would yield a shallow depth of field, but this effect didn't look like bokeh). I was at either f/5.6 or f/8.0, in bright sunlight, with either 1/16 or 1/64 ND. I then figured it must be an effect of RF transmission. BTW, yes, I did also get a shot of the exterior of a television station building, but for enough coverage and variety, I also decided to get tower shots.

Great video and love your truck!!!

I remember back when I was 13 years old (now 29) I went cycling with a couple HS friends and we went past a mountain top TX site in my country and we stopped by to take photos, we never broke in or anything, but as we were taking the photos, it began to get really windy, like stupidly strong wind, and one of the guy wires from the tower snapped...the tower collapsed away from us but the whole thing shook the mountain top like a horde of buffalos charging at us One of few times i was legitimately terrified of dying because the tower was like 500ft tall at the very least

Hi sir, you mentioned your KNX station tour has a shot where your camera picked up RFI, appearing as a visible pattern, near the base of the mast. I've gone over it a couple times and I don't think I saw it - could you specify about when in the video it becomes visible? Alternately, since I'm viewing this on my phone, perhaps KZfaq is doing some compression that effectively covers up the interference? Anyway, informative video, thanks. I knew about ice falls and RF hazards but had never thought about wildlife or human intruders. Rock on 🤘

Hey! What camera / editing software do you use? Your videos look GREAT!

That truck's a beast 😮

*Engineer discusses light blue collar worker risks*

My personal favourite is a KZfaq video of some Slavic guys using weeds to become one with an AM tower

One station I worked on the chief engineer demonstrated RF by walking by the AM tower holding an unconnected flourescent tube which glowed very brightly as you got near the mast! Also in the transmitter hall, a girlfriend once told me that her fillings which were different alloys picked up various stations nearby and emergency service coms.

What were you doing with your wheel at 10:05 or so? Confused.

I remember when some thieves broke into a TV Transmission site and tried to steal copper and was electrocuted and died inside the building as the alarm was tripped and Police and the Engneer seen the thief burned and stuck to the Electrical wires and the cutters were still in his hand. Yep this Tv transmitter put out a whole lot of watts and it was UHF. But I'm glad there is one less thief out there messing with our equipment.

“Bad actors” will remove copper wiring without permission from transmission tower sites, “good actors” will install copper wiring and do upgrades to transmission tower sites without permission

Sound advice 👍👏👏

10:41 oh fuck just call them tweekers

In other words, don’t go to a transmitter site. (I always thought it would be trespassing anyway.)

Can you work BEHIND the new 5G panels ? I have my tower upgraded to 5G panels. I don't know the danger behind them as they point away from climbers.

Do you do work on Pleasants Peak?

That site looks like it needs a lot of housekeeping..

Do one on the dangers of a few companies buying up all of the radio and TV stations 🙂

For the average person rf doesn’t exist but big dangling bits of ice do.

Skat is called "shit".

🌛

Well i am a HAM But 5G nutters and Spanners Maybe Hear other things So!! Don't feed the idiots

Boring. Obvious. Wasted my time,.

why do intelligent people refer to fm as a band?,its a mode not a band! FFS!!