Help with "A"

[Yuri]

Yo !

Yep, we have a similar one. The wires are most likely AM transmitters. I would stay away from this tower - there are hundreds of better ones around.

bsbd!

Yuri.

[BASE841]

Yes, you are right. You're looking at a folded dipole AM antenna, used when you can't weld the tower sections. Usually, an AM transmitter uses the tower as the antenna, and that's the reason for the insulated tower base and the insulators built into the guy wires. But here, the vertical wires you see ARE the antenna. This is a dangerous tower, as the wires running up the tower carry the power. :o

[RB]

thanks guys.
Is it possible that this is combined am and fm tower? Guy wires are not insulated. Above mentioned wires are only around the bottom half. On the upper half there are some other transmiters (dishes). The website says UKV and middle wave antenna. If I can get in to the structure without touching the lines is it still dangerous?

[BASE841]

I'd stay away from this thing. Even if you manage to avoid contact with the powered wires, you're still right in line with some seriously powerful RF. I'd be concerned with not just touching the wires, but getting close enough for them to arc against you. How close can you get to an AM tower before you run the risk of getting shocked? Check with Nick D. He has a lot of experience with AM towers. I've never jumped from one and have only worked at AM stations and with broadcast engineers. We generally ventured no more than 100 meters from them.

The tower probably doesn't support an FM antenna. The guy wires aren't insulated because the tower itself is not powered, just the wires. There will certainly be insulators separating the tower from the wires. The dishes are probably a microwave link between the studio and the transmitter.

Hey, here's a thought. Do you know the station's broadcast schedule? If you're willing to risk the station sticking to the schedule, you could climb and jump when the're off the air. Smaller AM stations often run at low power between sunset and sunrise, and many times shut down completely at certain times of the night. You should be able to look that up through the FCC web page.

Good luck with this one.

[RB]

thanks! Are people regularly jumping am antennas? I cheked and this is combined am and fm antenna. AM power is 5kW. How much is this?

[RB]

Anybody ever saw antenna with sets of lines going vertically around the structure. Why are they for? I took a foto of the A base. Anybody have a clue if I can touch it?

thanks!

[jason]

Think enough power to blow the fuse on a 240-volt stove. Then double it. THEN understand that the real killer here is voltage, and that there's no way the antenna is running as low as 240 volts.

Even a few millivolts, properly applied, is enough to stop a person's heart. How bad do you want this object?