Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Someone stole a Jasper radio station’s 200-foot tower, owner says

al.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 259 posts

Re: Someone stole a Jasper radio station’s 200-foot tower, owner says

#141

Post by rapjr9 »

cf100clunk wrote: post #100
imglorp wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few guys with plasma cutters and a winch could have that pieced and loaded on a flatbed in no time.

Almost certainly that tower was of galvanized steel, so if the mystery adbuctors had knowledge of welding or metallurgy (no idea if that was the case) they'd know that plasma cutters would be toxic overkill unless they knew how to paint/paste where they cut. Portable chop saws would do just fine. I witnessed pros take down a radio tower by remote-controlled chop saws cutting the guy wires sequentially.

Off topic, but why are there no remote control chain saws? Seems silly to stand next to an engine driven chain that could fly off at any time.

Re: Someone stole a Jasper radio station’s 200-foot tower, owner says

#142

Post by beAbU »

mynameisnoone wrote: post #131
beAbU wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In south africa we have multiple stories of people destroying massive power transmission systems for the smallest piece of copper pipe or conductor thats exposed on the side of a transformer. Metal theft is almost universally not accompanied by common sense.

South Africa is one the most unequal and dangerous advanced economies where middle class white people almost universally live in fortified compounds. Desperation, unemployment, and crushing poverty is what drives such property crime. A friend of mine lived in the suburbs of Moscow in 1991. The family was watching TV when suddenly the power went out. It turns out someone stole the power lines to sell for scrap. Infras…

Im sad to admit that this has happened about a dozen times in my life since the 00s, in South Africa.

Re: Someone stole a Jasper radio station’s 200-foot tower, owner says

#143

Post by jacquesm »

cyberax wrote: post #104
mecsred wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You read this comment on a public forum.

Sorry, I meant to say on an official forum, where speakers are identified by name.

Plenty of us are identified by name.

Re: Someone stole a Jasper radio station’s 200-foot tower, owner says

#147

Post by arp242 »

thih9 wrote: post #144

Is anyone here familiar with structures like these? Do you have any theories how this could have happened?

The tower seems to be in a relatively remote field, and the tower seems pretty small (judging from [1]). Cut it down and in to pieces with a few battery-powered grinders, put in a van or two (or a small truck), and off you go. I suspect this may be easier than it appears at first sight.

[1]: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/08/us/stolen-transmitter-rad...

Re: Someone stole a Jasper radio station’s 200-foot tower, owner says

#148

Post by Stratoscope »

> The FCC also notified WJLX on Thursday morning that the station would have to go off the air because of the theft. While WJLX still has its FM transmitter and tower, it is not allowed to operate its FM transmitter while the AM station is off the air.

W.T.F.?

I've been following this story, and as a ham operator I am usually a big fan of the FCC. But I don't understand why the loss of the station's AM tower should require their FM transmissions to also be taken down.

I must be missing something here. Can anyone help me understand this?

Re: Someone stole a Jasper radio station’s 200-foot tower, owner says

#149

Post by diggan »

arp242 wrote: post #147
thih9 wrote: post #144

Is anyone here familiar with structures like these? Do you have any theories how this could have happened?

The tower seems to be in a relatively remote field, and the tower seems pretty small (judging from [1]). Cut it down and in to pieces with a few battery-powered grinders, put in a van or two (or a small truck), and off you go. I suspect this may be easier than it appears at first sight. [1]: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/08/us/stolen-transmitter-rad...

How realistic is the theory in the article regarding it being picked up by a helicopter? I don't know how much a tower like that could weight, nor how much a typical helicopter that a private individual has access to could lift.

But if they'd be able to collect a significant value after cutting it down into pieces somewhere else and sell the pieces, maybe it makes sense (from the thief's perspective) to helicopter away the tower after detaching it from the ground.

Post reply on HN