this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
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Typically towers are simple structures to elevate the actual antennas high up in the air. The towers aren't live wires, they're ladders with rungs for mounting.
Not AM. They’ve got an insulator at the base, the entire tower is live. There’s so much energy being transmitted you can get sparks off the fence surrounding the tower.
https://youtu.be/Aax-ehkRTnQ
There was another video where a guy clamped a wrench to ground with a jumper cable and held it (wearing insulated gloves) within arcing distance of the tower. The power transfer of the arc was enough that you could audibly hear one of the transmission frequencies just in the arc along. Those AM towers are no joke.
Surely there's an easy to find switch to cut power and make it safe.