Can you really burn an "A"?

[tonyg]

We're getting lots and lots of new jumpers in our area lately. I'm not complaining cuz I love having people to jump with all the time, but with the way the scene is growing around here some of us are starting to wonder if we need to worry about our objects.

My favorite jump is a little freestander. It's visible from the highway and has some neighbors fairly close by. The other day someone said that they thought it was probably only a matter of time before someone was seen or busted messing around on it and it might be burned.

It got me wondering, what could they possibly do to really stop us from jumping it? I mean we already have to do it in the dark. We already have to climb the barbed wire fence to get to it. WTF else could they do? It seems like they'd almost have to have a guy sitting there all night to keep us out.

So, has anyone actually seen an antenna made un-jumpable? Is there anything they could really do to ruin it for us?

[stitch]

It got me wondering, what could they possibly do to really stop us from jumping it? I mean we already have to do it in the dark. We already have to climb the barbed wire fence to get to it. WTF else could they do? It seems like they'd almost have to have a guy sitting there all night to keep us out.

If the company that owns the tower really wanted to be dicks, they could just install motion sensors and possibly some sort of video survellence on the object. There are already towers in central Florida with motion sensors on them.

[Ben Hall]

a tower nearby keeps having guys steal copper wire from it, so they increased police patrols . . surveillence and whatnot. It can happen, but a few caught jumpers should be not too bad for it . . .

[Tree]

They say there are no dumb questions, but..... Razor wire, more lights, motion detectors, web cams, security patrols, prosecution to the fullest extent of the law, restitution for damage to the propery even if you didn't do it. That about covers it. Yes, you can burn it.

[hamsandwich]

good to point out that there's no they against us, etc. There's no evil empire fighting to keep a brotha down. You're talking about trespassing and possibly B&E on other people's property and if you are a business owner you know that you wouldn't like that one bit if it was happening to your property even if they said "but bro, we just wanted to borrow some altitute".

If you're doing it right, leave no trace, harm no property (including locks doors fences), and you'll never have a problem.

If your area is getting congested with jumpers, make sure to explain the big picture to them. Don't just right the fjc-noobs off because they'll go jump those objects in the day so they can get rad video and post about it on myspace. sometimes it seems like some people will jump just so they can say they do. they don't even enjoy it but they look at it as risk they have to take to earn the right to say they're in the club. fuck, while i'm ranting... what happend "go find an object, jump it solo, and never tell anyone about it"... now its "if you didn't put it on youtube, it never happend".... sounds like abig bottle of weaksoss to me.


tony, come visit with hoyt and bring your winguit bitch.


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[Zoter]

In a word...'yes'
In two....'very easily'

There is a well worn object....around my area.
In days of old...you could just walk into in and climb it (long before my time)
Then locks went on the gate......and people found away around that
Then high fences went up around the base....people found a way around that
Then they electrified it.....people found a way around that
Then they installed a very comprehensive IR CCTV system ,wireless transmitter and strobe light.....people looked at it for a little bit longer, shrugged and eventually just carried on going in.
Then they installed a secondary , angled , electrified perimeter fence....
and people still found a way to keep going.

The increases in security may well have been the results of a fatality there...or the huge traffic it used to get....or the fact its visited by local chavs and pirate radio station guys as well.....who knows....but I doubt it was all just a spontaneous increase in security prescence by the people who own it.
But I reckon as security goes up/traffic goes down......the maintenance/enforcement of that security becomes less important in time ,with fewer numbers of visitors.....so the object might be 'down' for a while....but it doesnt all spell eternal doom and gloom.....


If numbers are increasing.......best thing you can hope to do is use your increased knowledge of the object/security etc....to 'educate' those coming along to use it ,in order to maintain its longevity....get 'em on your side.
We all know 'dictating' how it should be done on 'your' object dont work....no matter how passionate you are about it or how many years you have been jumping it......surprisingly some people still think thats the best/only way..I disagree

just an opinion....

[Tree]

There is an A in central MD, 800', right next to a major highway, high profile, and certainly the most jumped local object. I started jumping it nearly 10 years ago, and it had been first jumped in the early 80's. The locals take great pains to keep that object cool. There have been many near misses, a new tower built next to the old, a new housing development built accross the street, and dozens of jumpers have come and gone over the years. No one wanted to be or wants to be the guy that fucks things up at this tower. Its just too sweet an object, the history on it, and the bar just 5 minutes down the road. I hope that in 20 years I can go make a jump off of that tower, hopefully with another new jumper just getting started. It will only be possible if everyone remembers that this isn't your or my A. Someone owns this A, and they don't want us on it. We must always do whatever we have to, whether that means hiking in instead of driving to the base (in the good old days), getting ground crew and getting dropped off, making sure we talk to all the locals to avoid having other jumpers open up as we are climbing up, or passing around the combinations to the locks to avoid damaging the the fences (and being detected).

Here is how I look at objects & jumping:

This was all going on before I got here,
I want to make sure its here for the next guy

[stitch]

I hope that in 20 years I can go make a jump off of that tower, hopefully with another new jumper just getting started.

Don't forget your Geritol.

[panavision]

I I burn objects just of nerd jumpers!
There are a lot of nerds.
RIOT

[tonyg]

Yeah, kind of a dumb question. I guess I should have been asking "what are they likely to do" instead of "what can they possibly do"..

Zoter's post is kind of what I'm talking about though. He started out saying it can be burnt "very easily", but the whole rest of his post goes on and on about the things they tried (IR CCTV, Electric fences, Angled fences, wireless transmitters...) and people finding a way around it. So it's still jumpable right? And that was at a place that had a fatality and "chavs and pirate radio station guys" (whatever that is). I was just worried about what happens if a farmer sees people climbing or a canopy in the air..
Probably worrying about nothing I guess. Any other stories out there about burned A's?

Thanks for the replies.

[Zoter]

'That' object is still jumpable....but requires a much bigger/time consuming effort for access compared to what it used to be like.....which no doubt has reduced the traffic on it considerably.

We dont even know for sure what caused the security hike on it.....it may have been 'us'.....it may have been other groups who visit it......but with any increase in numbers on it from whatever group....it was a given that sooner or later somebody would make it much harder to get in.

[sky4meplease]

Not to change the subject on this vary serious thread but somebody ask TonyG what his new dogs name is.

[stevenm]

TonyG, what's your new dog's name?

[sky4meplease]

It's SNUGGLES!

[Chuck Lowenpull]

Only with lighter fluid or gasoline. Antannae can't catch fire on their own. Even when they are hit by lightning. Pretty resistant suckers they are. You should know this. What a stupid question anyway. Geeez. Some people.