Basejumper.com - archive

I found a really nice freestander this weekend. 480 ft tall, sitting in the middle of a big field.
It looks like the perfect object for a beginer like me, but it has these things all over it. They're about 10 ft in diameter and there are about 8 of them on it.

I've asked a few experienced antenna jumpers about it. Some people said it should be ok as long as you don't get in front of it and some have said not to even get near it.

Does anyone on here have experience climbing around these things? Is there a way to find out what they are or if they will mess you up (short of climbing up there and seeing if my fillings melt)?

Thanks for any advice,

Tony

I'm more interested in seeing the full size pic that you're using on your avatar...

-Gardner

Here ya go...

It's a shitty frame grab but still, ya gotta love handcams.

Doppler Maybe?

http://weather.noaa.gov/radar/national.html

Tom Dancs

Nope. I've seen the doppler ball on that map and it doesn't look like this.
I just got an email from someone who said they are microwave repeaters and they can fry your nuts.
I think I can live with that. In fact, it may be just what I need. I have enough kids already.

The covers are called radomes. They are used to prevent exposure of the parabolic dish to the elements. This can be more critical for high frequency transmitters and receivers. These dishes are highly directional, meaning that they pose essentially no hazard unless you are in front of them. Microwaves will cause tissue heating, which is detrimental to the eyes (which can be permanent) and for men, the gonads. However, the duration of exposure is so little while under canopy or in freefall that I do not expect health effects to be significant. The radiation can however damage things like video cameras or electronics. There was one case years ago where a jumper's camera fried in freefall when he passed a dish. The video was interesting.

Looks like some i have on a A i jump regulary,higher than me,i never felt a thing but were always behind them.
When i jump that object i usaly does my gear chek and hook up a sl before i phone my wife,so i estimate that im usaly up there arround 10 mins or so before i leave,that dish is next to me all the time.

I have felt radiation but not at that spot.

If you feel like your going to womit then get away

hubba hubba for that pic he he

i have an A were theres no need to bring the cam,theres no radiation before the top,but at the top your cam will record but the recorded looks like s##t. if you make a gear chek at that same top you will feel it on your body and feel sick for sure as i did.. not a evryday jump even as i dont want more kids

More research is needed. May we see the video of your tandem jump please?

And some video of you taking a shower would also help with the research.

Tony, I used to do research on behavior of high-temperature superconductors in strong microwave field. I can help you with your questions. I just need a couple of numbers to plug into Maxwell equations.

So, what's her phone number?

Chris wants to see Tony's tandem student and according to your post, you want to see Chris in the shower.

Interesting.

Not in the I'd like to see that too category. (the tandem yes... the second... no) but in the "that's really brave of you to admit your desire to see pictures of Chris in the shower." sort of way.

Carry on.

Wait a minute... I meant a video of the woman taking a shower. LOL

This is a site I put together a long time ago. I have just reposted it. Most antenna types have not changed since this was written and can be easily identified on this site.

http://www.chrisbazil.com/antenna_info.htm

Have Fun!
Baz

PS: Thanks for the clicky info hookitt

http://www.chrisbazil.com/antenna_info.htm

It is a Microwave dish that at the given size of 8' tells me the transmitting end is quite a distance away. They do not produce much output energy...about 20-50 watts. I have heard people say that you shouldnt hang out behind them as you are "Getting Nuked" which is complete the oppisite as you are behind the collective device (Parabolic dish). It is a great place to get out of the wind and hide from spotlights .
I have spent many years working on towers and installing MW dishes as well as other types of Comm equipment.
If you want to worry, worry about High output FM and AM at 200K watts plus.
That will give you a headache!
Alan

HOLY, WHAT THE?!?!

Nawwww! Nobody wants to see video of me for sure!

How about stills instead?

Have Fun!
Baz

Just go fast past it if your going to jump it.

I always thought Microwave relays were decaying rectangle boxes that terminate at the sensor or transmitter. the boxes used to direct the signal. the same way a dish does. but maybe those are just the old ones, the kind they used before the circle was discovered ...

I actualy always thought that the dish in the picture was a TV relay. but also, maybe those are cylinders, like a Base drum would look like

I have seen people get pretty sick from microwave, AM, HD transmitters, FM, and TV relay.

but, nonetheless, we are base jumping. how fast can both dangerous things kill us?

Personaly, growing old doesnt seem apealing to me, at all.

taken from http://hometown.aol.com/...e/base_fatality_list


Might sooner than we realice

They are microwave dishes, looks like 6Ghz, maybe 10Ghz. They connect the sites by microwave in a string, each pair is pointing to another tower and they hook them up like that and the last site feeds into a T1 phone line or links right to the switch with another dish. You can stand behind them all you want al day long, I find that they make a good seat for a mid-climb smoke break. You can pass them in freefall and fly in front of them with no worries, just don't hang out in front of it for prolonged periods and you will be OK.

It shames me to think for so many years I wasted all that free altitude climbing down!
On the bright side at least now I have the keys!

sounds like i might need to bring my Laser in a sertain direction then..

150ft up aint high for T1 phones is it?

We found another interesting tower around here.

Anyone know what it is? Anything we need to stay away from up there?

Thanks again,

Tony

no... those are my favorite...

chances are... the stuff is not even active...

dont' quote me on this....
but i'm pretty sure all of those are microwave towers, built back in the 50's (or so i've been told). i've jumped quite a few of them. they are nice because are usually slightly overhung, and some give you a clear platform for a running exit. have fun :-D! - as to if they are still active or not, i have no idea.

AT&T Long Lines tower. Long extint product of cold war. Most (not all) are de-actived. almost all were sold to ATC in early 2000s, and many are now privately owned. Hornes are there for you have extra altitue when you jump from them. They are microwave, but like I said, most are de-activated. Some have even been de-horned. Great towers, many have a few feet PAST the railing letting you take a running start.

Tony I suggest you invite somebody you know from CLE to check it out. I am definately up for this weekend. :)

Those are microwave cone antenna. You'll be fine as long as you're not hanging for a long time. They are covered under antenna basics and identification on this site.
http://www.chrisbazil.com/antenna_info.htm

Have Fun!

Hell ya dude. I'd love to have you out here. You're welcome to crash at my place.

Nice site Chris.

Thanks.

cold war relic as vid666 already posted... i did a bit of research and found an old bellsouth longlines map, those fuckers are EVERYWHERE.. and i mean everywhere.. using this map, a certain registry and google earth ive found 6 jumpable sites within 1.5 hours of my house as well as one so remote its a dayblazer..

more or less no matter where you live in the us you have a clean object very near you.. just have to know where to look... contact me, i just poste to blinc about these..

I believe those are microwave transmitter/horns. They are most likely inactive or only turned on periodically. You can probably feel the energy from them if they are on. Otherwise they should be safe. Probably about a 350 footer, right?

Yup. 350ft., but it looks alot bigger because of how wide it is. This thing is huge.

What would the energy feel like if it's on?

You might feel a tingle or heat. I think they may even have indicators letting you know if they're on. They are highly directional so just stay out of the front of them.

Put your hand in front of the horn. If after a min or so you can feel your hand getting warmer, then it's on.

Longline towers are also my favorite. They were designed to withstand a nuclear blast within 3 miles, so it goes without saying that they are very sturdy and will be there for a long time. There are some longline towers in my area that surround an underground government communications facility that is still in use.

Wrong! Do not stand in front of the antenna or place parts of your body in front of it. By the time you figure out it’s hot, it’s to late. The damage has already been done.

I was working on a microwave antenna one day mounting wind protection equipment. I had the antenna shut off and was standing directly in front of it as I mounted it up. An unannounced (dumb ass rookie) worker came on sight, tossed the “I’m working up top” note from the panel and powered it up. He was below and I was up top so I no way of knowing the antenna was hot. The antenna does not have a power indicator light and makes no sound.

I’m not sure how long I was being exposed but I’m guessing it was several minutes. When I felt the pain, it was instant. My chest and guts felt like they were liquid lava and my head felt like it was going to explode. It brought me to my knees and I crawled off to the side. After a few minutes my guts began to knot up and then I proceeded to puke my guts out.

Not Fun!

If you are not sure if an antenna is hot, consider it hot. Stay off to the side and make your stay short.

Yeah, that'll happen from time to time.... My first time working on microwave dishes, i spent about 30 minutes in front of two dishes (kind of in a crossfire between them) while running some lines. They were small dishes (2' and 4') but they were active. I made the mistake of assuming that they had been shut off.

Chris, doesn't osha require you to have at least one person on the ground while you work upstairs? or was this some time ago?

Hey Bert Man,

I’m sure they have some rules about working solo now. Plus harness requirements if you’re working over 6ft and all kinds of other good stuff. OSHA was pretty much non-existent back then.

Have Fun!
Baz