Back in 2012, I posted a video of the PBS
"Frontline" show (Cell Tower Deaths) that highlighted
the dangers cell tower climber technicians face while working for very low wages.
Other news stories since then have reported on new regulations from OSHA and other
agencies that have helped make the safety issue better, but I haven't seen anything
on whether the pay has gotten any better.
There are lots of videos and photos online of tower climbers all over the world,
but this one showing tower climber Kevin Schmidt making the ascension to the very
top of the now inactive KDLT TV analog broadcast
antenna near Salem, SD, is unique in that the recording was made from a drone platform.
It has more than 12 million views (posted in 2014).
Capturing this kind of video requires a drone with a wireless live feed so the
pilot (Joseph Thorin, of
PrairieAerial) can see exactly what is being recorded. The concept is called
"First-Person View" (FPV) and is nowadays a very common feature on drones costing
less than $200. The
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has enacted some rather draconian legislation regarding
operation of radio controlled (R/C) aircraft in the past few years, brought on primarily
by unscrupulous and/or irresponsible (aka idiotic) behavior by a relatively small
number of users. This is often the case. Anyone producing a video such as this one
needs to possess a commercial drone license (Remote
Piloting Certificate, $150, recurring every 2 years), which requires passing
a written test - but not a piloting proficiency test.
RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling
2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed
formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit
design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at
the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps
while tying up your telephone line, and a nice lady's voice announced "You've Got
Mail" when a new message arrived...
Copyright 1996 - 2026
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and text used on the RF Cafe website are hereby acknowledged.
All trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other rights of ownership to images
and text used on the RF Cafe website are hereby acknowledged.
This archive links to the many video and audio
files that have been featured on RF Cafe.
