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Title: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: John Fruits on June 04, 2018, 06:49:51 AM
I snagged this from blue-room.org, I guess "pigeon poo removal specialist" would be the job description.
https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/575144982858536/
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: TrevorMilburn on June 04, 2018, 09:14:39 AM
Wow! I'm starting to feel my age - I remember seeing this clip when it was first shown on Blue Peter back in the seventies. John Noakes who co-presented Blue Peter from 1965-1978 was the action man in the team trying everything from free-fall parachuting (he held the world  record for the longest free fall for a civilian for a while) to bobsleighing as well as this cleanup job on Nelsons Column. He died just over a year ago in tragic circumstances in Majorca where he lived.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Nathan Riddle on June 04, 2018, 10:28:18 AM
What's more amazing to me is the cameramen/women. They go up first, get crazy shots over the edge, etc.

Just a little rope between you and oblivion.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Stu McDoniel on June 04, 2018, 10:36:34 AM
I snagged this from blue-room.org, I guess "pigeon poo removal specialist" would be the job description.
https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/575144982858536/
I remember a friend and I roofed a church 16 years ago.  I thought that was insane.

This brings insanity to a new level.


Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Stephen Swaffer on June 04, 2018, 12:42:03 PM
So who installed the ladders?  How did they get up there to tie them off?
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Kevin Maxwell on June 04, 2018, 03:56:46 PM
I snagged this from blue-room.org, I guess "pigeon poo removal specialist" would be the job description.
https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/575144982858536/

My palms sweat just watching that. I used to be afraid of heights, now I am just afraid of the sudden stop at the end of a fall. 
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Dave Garoutte on June 04, 2018, 05:16:30 PM
My palms sweat just watching that. I used to be afraid of heights, now I am just afraid of the sudden stop at the end of a fall.
Yeah, I couldn't even watch it, and ladders don't bother me.
It just looked so rickety.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Bob Leonard on June 04, 2018, 09:32:32 PM
America = power washer and done. England = Spoon and bucket, life time job scraping shit.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Kevin Maxwell on June 04, 2018, 11:55:22 PM
Yeah, I couldn't even watch it, and ladders don't bother me.
It just looked so rickety.

Actually I am not afraid of heights anymore, now I am afraid of widths.  ::)
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Matthias McCready on June 05, 2018, 12:00:34 AM
Actually I am not afraid of heights anymore, now I am afraid of widths.  ::)

I was just listening to that Steven Wright sketch yesterday :-)
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Steve M Smith on June 05, 2018, 05:52:03 AM
That's nothing.  Do a search for Fred Dibnah Steeplejack.


Steve.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: TrevorMilburn on June 05, 2018, 09:55:17 AM
America = power washer and done. England = Spoon and bucket, life time job scraping shit.
Great idea apart from 2 minor problems. First, the column is almost 170' tall so it would need a major pump to get the water up that high and second, you would need about a ton of hose and electrical cable to get to that height - factor in the weight of 170' of water inside the hose and you have a huge mount of weight up aloft that would need to be supported. It was steam cleaned in 2006 but that cost about 2/3 Million dollars and needed a huge scaffold tow to be erected. Much simpler (and cheaper) with a spoon and bucket especially if it keeps someone in work! ;) (The amazing thing is that numerous people have climbed the column without the aid of the scaffolding including several base jumpers. Idiots!)
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Dave Garoutte on June 05, 2018, 02:47:56 PM
How about a rope from a helicopter?
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Michael Lawrence on June 05, 2018, 03:32:11 PM
Or you could do this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFMHjDqHL_Y). Climb a 1700 foot tower to change the bulb at the top. Just, you know. Just climb up there.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Tim McCulloch on June 05, 2018, 06:25:54 PM
Or you could do this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFMHjDqHL_Y). Climb a 1700 foot tower to change the bulb at the top. Just, you know. Just climb up there.

My first job in communications was tower work.  Free climbing 300-700 ft towers?  Routine.  Stuff like this 1700 ft?  Nope.  The climber pulling himself up past the top beacon was the end point for me.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: David Buckley on June 05, 2018, 06:38:00 PM
That's nothing.  Do a search for Fred Dibnah Steeplejack.

A man from a bygone age. 

And what's funny is that Fred just gets on with it; you never feel that he is one of those chaps that needs a truck for his massive balls.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Scott Holtzman on June 05, 2018, 07:19:08 PM
My first job in communications was tower work.  Free climbing 300-700 ft towers?  Routine.  Stuff like this 1700 ft?  Nope.  The climber pulling himself up past the top beacon was the end point for me.
Are you sure we are not twin sons of different mother's? I climbed from 1980 until 86.  Mostly under 500 land mobile stuff.   Scariest thing we had to do was go out on an arm to aim/swap an antenna.

That video of the climb, which seems quite old says he earns 20k to do that job.  I highly doubt that.




Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Stephen Swaffer on June 05, 2018, 07:25:29 PM
My first job in communications was tower work.  Free climbing 300-700 ft towers?  Routine.  Stuff like this 1700 ft?  Nope.  The climber pulling himself up past the top beacon was the end point for me.

If you fall, what difference does the extra 1400 feet make?  Other than a little more time to think about your misstep?
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Tim McCulloch on June 05, 2018, 07:36:44 PM
If you fall, what difference does the extra 1400 feet make?  Other than a little more time to think about your misstep?

None at all.  You're equally dead with or without the last hundreds feet... it's the psychology of how small the stuff below you starts looking, I think.  For this particular climb I'm also wary of the climbing pegs in the last 100 ft or so, having found some of them bent on towers I'd worked on...

Mom begged me to quit tower work and I did as soon as I paid off some bills.  The last tower I built was only 500 ft, but in Kansas winter, trying to get the next section (with the guy wires) stacked before the storm hit.  Nothing like 80 ft of unsupported tower with a 40 ft gin pole/rooster head, pulling that 20 ft section up in windy conditions.  As soon as we had the bolts tight I rode the winch line down.  It took a couple of weeks for the weather to cooperate again and we stacked the top 100' and I retired from tower builds.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Bob Leonard on June 05, 2018, 09:44:08 PM
I've erected plenty of 50-100-150 foot towers in my HAM heyday. It became apparent to many people that I always worked as much as possible on the structure side of the tower, the side close to the building or house. There was a reason for that. If I fell I was hoping to hit the roof and not the ground.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Bob Leonard on June 05, 2018, 09:49:51 PM
Great idea apart from 2 minor problems. First, the column is almost 170' tall so it would need a major pump to get the water up that high and second, you would need about a ton of hose and electrical cable to get to that height - factor in the weight of 170' of water inside the hose and you have a huge mount of weight up aloft that would need to be supported. It was steam cleaned in 2006 but that cost about 2/3 Million dollars and needed a huge scaffold tow to be erected. Much simpler (and cheaper) with a spoon and bucket especially if it keeps someone in work! ;) (The amazing thing is that numerous people have climbed the column without the aid of the scaffolding including several base jumpers. Idiots!)

Not really suggesting running 1700' of hose. More to the point I'm suggesting that with todays technology there are much better ways to clean the shit than by using a spoon and bucket. But of course it's England and the old ways are still the best ways. Is there an apprenticeship for this type of work over there??
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: David Pedd on June 05, 2018, 11:31:20 PM
I've erected plenty of 50-100-150 foot towers in my HAM heyday.

I used to sell tower.  That's as close as I wanted to get.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Scott Holtzman on June 05, 2018, 11:53:32 PM
I've erected plenty of 50-100-150 foot towers in my HAM heyday. It became apparent to many people that I always worked as much as possible on the structure side of the tower, the side close to the building or house. There was a reason for that. If I fell I was hoping to hit the roof and not the ground.

Do you think the roof would cushion your fall?  Knowing you you put up Rohn-55 at your house but the twist of 25 always scared the crap out of me.

For some reason this reminds me.  I was at a buddies house and this guy was probably north of 350 pounds and we were running wire in his attic.  He slipped, went through the sheetrock ceiling, landed on the waterbed (it didn't break) but the base exploded in spectacular fashion.  Wish they had camera phones back then.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: TrevorMilburn on June 07, 2018, 05:28:39 AM
Is there an apprenticeship for this type of work over there??
Yes, there is. Third year you graduate to a spoon, second year you graduate to your finger nails...and don't ask about the first year - you wouldn't want to know! ;D ;D
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Steve M Smith on June 07, 2018, 09:45:56 AM
I'm suggesting that with todays technology there are much better ways to clean the shit than by using a spoon and bucket.

I'm sure there are - but this was mid 1970s.


Steve.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: George Friedman-Jimenez on June 09, 2018, 06:58:49 PM
Somebody builds these towers. A lot more serious risk than scooping poo or changing a bulb.
A guy with a power washer drone and an umbrella could make a lot of money.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Tim McCulloch on June 09, 2018, 11:02:03 PM
Somebody builds these towers. A lot more serious risk than scooping poo or changing a bulb.
A guy with a power washer drone and an umbrella could make a lot of money.

The only thing more intense than building a tower is moving the top antenna or taking the tower down a section at a time.  Watch the vids about "jumping" the gin pole...

I went down the Youtube rabbit hole watching tower work and I don't miss a second of it.  Two-ish years of part time tower work was enough for a lifetime.  Relamping a top beacon on a cable TV tower at night.  In the rain.  Lift line for the first 500 feet then 200 feet of manual climbing.  Did I mention "in the rain"?

I drove past that tower a couple years ago, it's 300 feet shorter and looks like a cellphone antenna porcupine.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Bob Leonard on June 12, 2018, 07:05:14 PM
I wouldn't build over 100', and not over 50' with Rohn tower section. You're absolutely right topping towers is scary. Most of the antenna's I put up had a main boom of 30-50', and elements 25-40' long. You can build in sections up top, or you build on the ground and swing the antenna over the guy wires while you jerk it up with a gin pole. Either way can kill you.

I still have the gin pole and my harnesses. If someone wants the gin pole I'll dig it out and they can have it. I'm done climbing anything higher than my own roof, and I'll keep the harness because I may need it if/as I grow older.
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Scott Holtzman on June 12, 2018, 07:21:28 PM


I still have the gin pole and my harnesses. If someone wants the gin pole I'll dig it out and they can have it. I'm done climbing anything higher than my own roof, and I'll keep the harness because I may need it if/as I grow older.

You should be proud your harness still fits.

When I look back that I climbed with a simple belt with a butt strap, center D rings with a big hook and a lifeline I shake my head.

Chest harnesses and fall guards (the metal cable run next to the climbing pegs or ladder that you clip a rate limited brake into) have really changed the business.

We had 200' of Rohn 85 at the paging company office.  It was a beefy tower but short guyed with caissons to keep the parking lot clear.  We had two sections of Rohn 45 at the top to give us 5 top mounting locations.  We used 72Mhz links to control the paging stations.

Anyway,  my g/f and I would go up 100' after work, marvel at the view and smoke a fat one.  Those were the days.  Young and dumb.

I am sure I have some pics riding the elevator to the 1400' platform at Christmas Florida.  We had rented space on that tower and had a 5 channel Johnson 800Mhz SMR system in outdoor cabinets.  With no feedline loss and low noise level on the RX side that bitch would reach out and touch someone.

 
Title: Re: Aren't you glad this isn't your job?
Post by: Steve M Smith on June 13, 2018, 07:47:46 AM
The steeplejack, fred Dibnah, who I mentioned earlier in this thread.

I don't think many of us would be happy climbing that bit of ladder overhanging the top of a chimney...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R3-YwDZrzg


Steve.