Basejumper.com - archive

To read some info about the hazards of exposure to high intensity electric fields, go to

http://www.dcjenn.com/.../EMhazards(v1.1).pdf

I am still evaluating the article so I cannot make recommendations.

I can't do all that crazy math . . . am I going to be sterile or get cancer if I start jumping antennas?

just climb fast

Dunno about cancer, but the water in your balls and eyes will start to heat up

Maybe climb in a kilt for better air flow

Word on the street is the radiation kills the cancer thats already in you so best start climbing those AM antennas!

Extremely unlikely. The only real danger is the microwave radiation produced by the round-shaped dishes you find on many towers. They produce powerful, highly directional radiation at the kinds of frequencies that heat water (i.e. you!) very effectively (which is why microwave ovens use them!). So if you had an object strike and found yourself suspended directly in front of one, you'd be in real trouble.

Despite what some might claim (*), the only danger from radiation is the thermal effect, which is of course enormously dependent on exposure time. And even if you were exposed for long periods, the human body (like any mammal) is very good at regulating its temperature. The only time I've ever had an unpleasant experience with radiation was when I kitted up on a platform at the top of a 1000 ft antenna. The tubular extension to the mast contained antennas, and this section began very near the platform. (When standing upright I would have been exposed to the radiation.) I had a mild headache a couple of hours later, but this quickly passed. My eyesight is fine, but I haven't tried to father children, so I'm not sure about my testes. Moral of the story? Kit up on the ground.

Of course, AM antennas are a different matter entirely, but that's because of the danger of electric shock, not radiation. The entire mast will often serve as the antenna, and is therefore insulated from the ground. The voltage can easily be several kV, which wouldn't give you cancer or sterilize you, but would certainly kill you instantly. So check carefully for signs of insulation at the base of the antenna or guy wires, and if you decide to climb it, make sure you jump onto it, without simultaneously being in contact with the ground. Personally, I have no interest whatsoever in jumping an AM antenna.

(*) There have been all sorts of thoroughly debunked "voodoo science" claims of EM radiation causing leukemia, cellphones causing eye damage, etc. Real scientists despair of this kind of alarmist nonsense.

I agree with almost everything that you say, however I personally know some of the scientists who have recently released studies linking cell phone radiation with brain cancer and it is 100% true that the amount of radiation coming off of your cell phone can cause brain cancer. How much more of the same radiation are we exposed to during a long climb up a TV antennae? Obviously the answer is just climb faster and shut up, but its something to think about nonetheless.

Even my mom, a doctor, when she was asking me about antennae jumping was like "I think you have more pressing things to worry about then getting cancer from the radiation when your halfway up a 1500ft ladder" I tend to agree with her, but if I had a device to measure radiation Id carry it up an A with me just to see what kinds of readings I was getting. Can one cheaply buy a device like that? Not a geiger counter, but the equivalent for the kinds of radiation that an antennae produces? I dont know shit about what Im exposed to on an A so Im not going to pretend to even know what unit of energy to try and measure.

cell phone radiation

excessive drinking counters and cures all of these problems.

I'm not going to pass judgment on your friend's research until I've seen it myself, but what I will say is that the studies I've seen on this sort of thing can usually be summarized as follows: Gather some data about some phenomenon [cell phone usage], and then look for correlations between it and a disease [usually cancer]. So the research is really just the application of a statistical test to some data, and since most scientists are not statisticians or probability theorists, and haven't heard of Bayes' Theorem, meaningless conclusions are often drawn from inconsequential correlations. And even if a correlation is present, this doesn't imply causation.

Did you know that over 94% of criminals freely admit
to having eaten some type of bread product within 12
hours of their crime...hence we can obviously conclude
that bread products lead to crime.

You may jest, but you wouldn't believe the kinds of conclusions that get published, even in scientific journals. Usually no attempt is made to propose a specific physical mechanism that could account for their conclusions. There's a famous case about childhood leukemia and power lines. Millions changed hands in out of court settlements with power companies, all based on nonsense science and paranoia.

I was joking AND agreeing with you.

I have worked for government agencies
and teach college... so I have seen first
hand what sadly passes for logic

bread(s) are Bad Carbs...bad carbs are best used before a rigorous workout (energy)...so befor tres passin/climbing that ladder u criminals/"A" hoppers/"E" leapers eat yur simple/bad carbos (bread),

OH yeAh dont get caught!! and after the get away, have a shot or a beer or a shot and a beer!!2

Say no more!

I like hiding behind the round ones when it is really cold. Warms you up from the inside out. Once your warm climb to the next one.

Go and sober up, then return and apologize for posting whilst drunk.

hey man! i wrote while drinkin a coffee buddy!
usualy i.n morning im sober and on my to work (wher i generally get paid to screw off)!

apology? im still at work?!
hey whats this Thread About again?

and don't putz around at the exit point. : ) fond memories standing on top of a freestander doing gear checks and feeling the wave of heat course through my body...side affects are yet to be determined.

I bet you won't be able to father a child!


(but as Green might say, "Correlation is not Causation." or something similar. antennas might not have anything to do with that...
)

nothing like some radiation to warm you up on a cold night A

no i won't

http://www.sonictechnology.com/electrosensor.htm

I have found several meters like this. Though i don't own one and have no experience with them.
You buy now!
Then let us know how it works.

Climbing A's; cheaper than abortions.