Basejumper.com - archive

Introduction
How do I get onto a live AM tower, avoiding shock and without leaving the access device exposed to view

Background
I have to date seen only four jumpable towers in this country. Two are heavily guarded and two are not. Of the two which are not, one is smothered in guy wires and is very thin. The remaining tower is a beautiful, very live, four legged, 360ft, free standing, AM tower. It is located in a large grassy plain, within a 15minute drive from my house, is considered a strategic target and has a police station located 300yards from it. I have previously taken a large hit from it resulting in some body damage but have since built a narrow, non-conducting, two piece wooden ladder which slots right into the external, hooped ladder which begins about 17 feet up. I have been on the tower and partially up it once with no discernible ill effects. This proved that we could get on it without getting killed; the conditions however were not good for jumping.

The Problem
I no longer have any ground crew and to oblige either my house staff or my office staff is really asking too much. Getting caught is also not an option as strategic targets, parachutes and work permits do not bode well. It might sound like too much risk and I too thought that for a while but I have made numerous nocturnal visits to it, actually been on it and it really is too good to miss. I just need to get on it without getting fried and then pull up the access device whatever that might be. I will then either jump with the access device or perhaps just throw it into the surrounding brush.

I will probably have to jump on Guy Fawkes Night as this is the only time of year when loud cracking noises are acceptable. At any other time of the year the cracking open of the canopy will be construed as a gun shot resulting in road blocks and other unnecessary encumbrances

The Need
I need to figure out an access device which is light, non conductive and lends itself to one man management.

If any one can contribute to this I would be most grateful

John

Glass is a good insulator, and I imagine when thrown from an object and broken into small chunks, would look like school kid's mischief or litter, not an access device. Using beer bottles would make it even more "natural".

Can you climb the truss structure of the tower from the base to the 17 foot tall start of the tower's ladder using only the tower's construction? If so, place glass at the base of the tower, with a non-conductive rope glued to the top of the glass plate. Stand on the glass. Tie the rope to the tower. Climb onto the tower. Use the rope to pull the glass plate up. (The rope, depending on it's conductivity, could be an issue, think this one thru to make sure it does not get grounded, or use insulators tied in the rope) Once at the top, chuck the glass plate after removing the rope into the rockiest area possible, shattering the glass into litter. (noise issue I suppose).

Jump.

Rubber is also a good dielectric, if purchased from a high voltage electrical supply shop specially designed for that purpose. Electricians lay down rubber mats before working on power sources. But you will have to jump with it or throw it, leaving it exposed on the ground... But it might just look like litter if not modified, and will be near silent when hitting the ground.

If the gap between the ground and the bottom of the tower's ladder is not climbable using the truss structure, you could use your wood ladder to get onto the tower, rig rope ladders or ascenders, get off, stash the wood ladder, then use your rope ladders to get back on. These could be untied and stowed in a bag that could be jumped.

Note, please don't die using my ideas and don't use them without knowing why each step would be safe, I have not seen your object or know the voltage involved - I am just working from my high voltage experience, and a pretty solid electrical background (don't ask). A good electrician will use more than one safety insulator, like a rubber mat on the ground and rubber gloves/suit. Making the system fault tolerant is important. It should take more than one insulator/mistake to cause a shock.

littering sucks

getting caught sucks worse.

You are 100% right. I assumed the person would clean up their mess a few days after the jump when they don't have any gear with them and cannot be linked to the jump.

If anyone asks, you could simply say you are doing your part to clean up the planet - one hike at a time. I forgot to type this into the first post, although I had it in the back of my mind as the final step.

Thanks for calling me on it - it would be stupid and wrong to leave a trace.

You appear tuned in enough (pardon the pun) to eventually figure out your access problem. But I'd like to reinforce a few aspects of AM tower jumping for anyone that might not be aware.

AM Towers themselves are the radiator of the signal, unlike FM towers which only serve to hold up smaller radiators that are insulated from the structure. So anytime you're on a live AM tower that electro magnetic radiation (EMR) is passing through you too. Some AM towers are hotter than others so finding out the strength of the tower is useful. Here in the States that info is available through various websites.

While there is still debate on the effects of EMR you can see people who work around AM towers take no chances. A local 750-foot AM tower we had was a 50,000 watt flamethrower. (KFI, Los Angles, it was knocked down by an airplane in December of 2004). Close by was another smaller 250-foot tower used by the station when maintenance was scheduled on the bigger one. So basically no one climbed the tower when it was live – except for us. I also recall a local radio club was granted a tour of the big tower, and before they were allowed anywhere near the bottom of the tower it was, not completely shut down, but severely de-powered.

Obviously you want to spend as little time as possible on an AM Tower (any type live tower really) and it's where the old B.A.S.E. saying, "get on, get up, get off," came from.

Besides the hazards of getting initially electrocuted when getting on the tower, there can be rig problems too. The metal on your gear can build energy in the form of heat. This includes the Three Rings, the connector links, the PC attachment rings, and the leg strap adapters. There was a case of an early jumper whose white hold down loop melted from a too hot small riser ring. So check these prior to launching by touching them.

We were idiots at the time. We knew nothing about EMR and would spend time partying, resting, or just taking in the night time scenery for long periods on the tower prior to launching. And the long term effects of this may still be in our futures.

Access for us was simplified (or simplifried) because there was a small maintenance shed that stood about 12-feet from the tower. For years we had a long wooden plank on the roof of the shed (why no one ever noticed or removed it still amazes me.) We would push it out to within a few feet of the tower and while someone stood on the roof end to anchor it the others would "walk the plank" and jump across the last few feet. The last person, and always the most athletic, would jump across without using the plank at all.

In the first photo below you can see the plank on the roof. This shot was made while the tower was undergoing maintenance and was turned off. Note the wooden ladder but know if the tower was live - that's death. At very high power levels anything, even wood, can conduct electricity.

So be careful. And while I don't recommend jumping live AM towers to anyone, if you do, make sure you know what you're getting into . . .

NickD
BASE 194

Bill S has told me many times about the KFI tower...it would have been my best local object.

Of course some bozo from the Fullerton airport had to knock it down (not to be disrespectful to the guy who died hitting it, but the damn thing had been there forever and idiots smash into houses and stuff with some regularity from that airport)

And of course the airport and their general aviation residents have been fighting vehemently against it's rebuilding...

Are there any large greenhouse facilities near you? If so, I'll come jump it with you...I hope we don't get shot...

Actually there are. A couple of hours drive away there is a largish lake one side of which is populated with numerous greenhouses where the produce, in this case cut flowers, is exported via chilled containers to Holland for distribution. The greenhouses are actually not that large, perhaps no more than 30ft and as I have no experience at all in unpacked jumps I have not as yet jumped them thereby avoiding any possibility of injury including gun shot wounds.

John

1108 sells agricultural products primarily used in greenhouse facilities. He pretends to make "sales trips" all over the United States while jumping constantly. He figures if he can find a nearby greenhouse facility, he can come see you and write the whole thing off as a business expense.

I like his style.