161–170 of 259 posts
Is anyone here familiar with structures like these? Do you have any theories how this could have happened?
Theft like this is suprisingly common, usually everybody assumes it's people doing their job.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 aw…
It's a small tower, but I'd think it'd probably still weighs a couple thousand pounds. I could be way off there and it's smaller than it looks in the CNN photo, but you're likely looking at using a construction helicopter and needing experienced people capable of rigging the tower and actually lifting it without killing everybody. My guess is that they just dropped it and chopped it up. A helicopter seems ridiculousl…
I think we have our answer. Obviously that station was spreading the wrong ideas to the public, and now they are not.
Is anyone here familiar with structures like these? Do you have any theories how this could have happened?
You could rent all of the equipment for a few hundred dollars: a 3/4 or 1-ton truck, a 30-40’ flatbed trailer, and a few portabands/angle grinders.
Hi-vis vests and hard hats also lend an air of legitimacy.
> 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 r…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 aw…
> 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 r…
Their FM station is a "translator" which listens to their AM station and rebroadcasts it. Translators are a secondary service that must only rebroadcast their primary service.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 aw…
I don't think the helicopter was meant to be a real suggestion, just relaying an example of some of the calls and emails they've received. I think it was meant to sound silly but just show that people are interested, including people with no real idea. All in all, the physical theft looks almost trivial to me going by the pictures of the actual site. What mystifies me is how it went unnoticed at the electrical level,…
Wow. My feeling is that metal theft is getting out of control. If the news reporting on it is to be trusted, cases are in fact rising. Thieves have probably always hit junkyards and stolen wire, but now there seems to be more and more infrastructure hit as well. The oddest aspect of this is that scrap steel isn't even worth that much. How many tons could that be? Let's say it's 400 tons, that's maybe $100k. And it se…
Criminals don't make sense to you because you're trying to explain their behavior with your own thought process. You're likely much smarter than they are, with a better understanding of risk vs reward and lower impulsivity. Also you can't explain criminal behavior with purely financial motivations. Car thieves are not making $33k per car. A lot of them don't even sell them, just steal what's inside and use them for a…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Their FM station is a "translator" which listens to their AM station and rebroadcasts it. Translators are a secondary service that must only rebroadcast their primary service.
Why would someone design a radio system this way (instead of independent signal to the FM) and what is the risk of running an FM station without rebroadcasting that lead to these rules?