How Long does it Take Part 3

Here's the long awaited part 3 where everyone gets to watch me climb down a tower using 100% connection. This is part 3 or an experiment in which I upload unedited to test viewer acceptance of the method. So, we'll just have to see, won't we. :-)

[@on4amg]

The fun part about unedited videos is that one gets to see all of the details while you are doing what you are doing, watch and learn ;-) Keep the videos coming John, have enjoyed every single one of them so far!

[@michaelclement4961]

You are amazing!!! Bet you are a great boss and a joy to work with.. thank you for your videos!! Keep them coming boss

[@alanpeterson2160]

I think it's cool and amazing that at 72 years of age you still enjoy and can do work like this. Rock on !

[@jhettish]

Actually I can physically do it at 76 also.

[@FoxyHam]

I just finished watching all three videos! At least you are doing what you love best, Mr. Hettish! Climbing towers to pause and see nature's beauty! Thank you for the videos! I've shared the link with our friend, Paul Lambert, at Cook's Comm, Fresno, CA! Thank you again and keep on climbing!

[@jhettish]

I have no plans to stop, even at 73. So far the most recent climb was about three weeks ago. I either climbed 120 feet on a water tower or 310 feet on a broadcast tower. One came before the other but I don't remember the dates. I often answer the question, "Are you still climbing" with "I haven't climbed anything in over a week. Maybe I'm retired". However I have no plans to retire from work. I will be 78 before my wife qualifies for medicare (if it's still available). She has had cancer twice so far the last being breast cancer in 2007. She has tried literally hundreds of times to stop smoking and knows she needs to stop but is quite addicted to smoking. Her father and best friend both died of smoking related causes but an addiction usually wins. This is one of the major reasons I keep working. Also I love my work, virtually all of it and it's not all tower related. Some people are addicted to some damaging substances, others are not. Those who are not like to say, "All they have to do is quit". Addictions are rather mysterious. I think the only reason I can still do what I do is the fact I'm classified as a "never-smoker". John

[@Fireship1]

A John Hettish video is never boring! I find all of your videos to be very well explained by you and the climbing part is always exciting. I’m living vicariously through your videos John, because I know I could never climb quite that high myself!

[@jhettish]

I may have already answered this one but I will iterate or reiterate that I appreciate the comment. Climbing is the transportation that gets us to the work that needs to be done. The work is what it's all about, not the climbing. John

[@Keith_1]

Very interesting learned quite a lot from all 3 parts of video. Keep making videos they are so good

[@jj-js5sx]

I enjoyed all 3 parts. Thanks for including the interesting comments such as welding the sections of an AM tower. I have no experience and found those insights those very interesting. Nice video..

[@jhettish]

Thanks JJ. I appreciate the comment. After so many years of doing this I have a lot of knowledge that I take for granted that others also have but obviously that's a false assumption on my part. I talk to some people about electronics or tower work and can see their eyes glaze over. If someone doesn't like my video they can merely back out of it but the people who comment apparently like what I'm doing so I'll keep it up. At 72 I might be considering retirement but since I haven't climbed anything since yesterday I guess I'm not retired yet. John

[@k.c.lejeune6613]

Nothing boring here Mr. John! Actually there has NEVER been a boring video from you ever! I just cannot see how any climber, whether it be a 100' or a 1900' tower, NOT stay attached 100% of the time, it just boggles the mind. Free climbing, to me, is a huge NO-NO. Once you lose grip and fall off with no arrest laynards of any kind attached, well, I bid you adieu! Enjoy your last skydive, I say. I know that sounds rather cryptic but in all seriousness, it's the truth. My attitude is STAY FOCUSED AND STAY ATTACHED TO THE DAMN TOWER!!!! Mr. John, you have been such a huge inspiration and in a way a mentor to ever since I found your channel(s). Thank you sir and may you be blessed with safety and success by the Good Lord! I look forward to each new video every day. Sincerely, Kevin L. in Southern Louisiana. (P.S.) Hope to find you on amateur radio soon (HAM), starting up my own setup! Cheers!

[@jamesboberg]

You are so awesome. I can't to waiting to go the training the Tower Technician next summer!.

[@skylaneav8r902]

Enjoy all your videos. As a power lineman for 12 years I can relate somewhat, but I’ve never climbed a pole more than 75’. That was enough for me! I could never do what you do, much less at 70+. Good Luck and God bless!

[@trevorvanbremen4718]

Firstly, I like it more to see the WHOLE (a.k.a. unedited( trip both ways. Secondly, I'm glad to see that I am not the only guy who complains to himself about his boss... (Also self employed here)

[@makeitrightb6550]

I love your your shows. Keep up the good shows

[@jhettish]

Thanks for the comment. I aim to please. John

[@jhettish]

I wish I could post more. My videos are edited and I try for there to be a focus (story line) in each of them. I don't just put raw video on KZbin but since last year's accident (fell from a tree while trying to rescue a kitten) I've had Clay and Garrett quit and go to a local company that just found a source of cash. 67% of that company's stock now belongs to another company with a really deep pocket. My pockets are deep but they all have holes in them it seems. The long an short of it all is that I have two news guys working for me and I'm training them all the time. It definitely keeps me busy. :-) John

[@bobbymancini9069]

Thank you for taking the time and effort to do these videos. I found all three very interesting. Take care and God bless

[@jhettish]

I enjoyed doing it. After uploading more than 100 edited video to this site I just latched onto the idea as something different to do. Thanks for noticing. John

[@TerryMcKean]

Thanks, John..I like the continuous second-by-second presentation, too. With no sudden scene changes to interrupt the life-speed flow, it definitely gets more real. :-)

[@jhettish]

Thanks Terry, When I edit to shorten a video I try not to make sudden scene changes usually cross fading one portion of the same action into another. Still, editing takes a ton of time. Not editing, except perhaps for captions, doesn't take nearly as long. Time is something I seem to have very little of. I'm going to try to try to select continuous scenes that will tend to lend themselves to an unedited, presentable, video. John

[@TerryMcKean]

Right on. You're welcome, John :-)

[@royamberg9177]

Job well done. An hour goes in a hurry when having fun lol. It goes even faster when something doesn't come apart or unexpected comes up.

[@lewiemcneely9143]

You did good as always. Whoever does that freeclimbing can have it. It'll be fine till they mess up. Then they can kick their own butt all the way to the ground but they better do it fast! I was asked if I wanted the boulder hole to order me a lanyard and I told them not to even THINK about it. I was too old and awkward to even be around such silliness. It was all I could do to get in the equipment when arthur was showing hisself. Glad for the singing too. Not the same without a little music!

[@dennishamilton772]

John said this video might be a bit boring, but he showed and talked about allot of good safety points during his climb back down. Good work John.

[@ianrobinson151]

None of the three parts were boring, the last one was just as good as the first and the first was excellent.

[@SteveHolsten]

Thanks as always John.

[@jhettish]

NO, thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate all comments both positive and negative. Fortunately I don't get too many negative comments. :-) John

[@keithcope8113]

Enjoyed this one as much as all the others

[@jhettish]

I could take that either way. :-) However since you watch the other two and this one you must have like it. Thanks for the comment. My earliest videos on this channel feature the "Cope Brothers" . I had all three identical triplets in their early 30s worked for me Between 1999 and 2007. They were quite competent and nice to be with. I'm still in contact with them occasionally but like many who have done tower work these guys have moved on. Another guy who worked for me when the Copes were here quit suddenly and disappeared. He called me about a year ago. He had gone back to college and got an engineering degree. He now works for a manufacturer not far from here. It's like "my kids" have gone into the real world and made their way. John

[@gekkedirkie]

no boring videos from you.

[@dennisqwertyuiop]

thank you John have a nice Thanksgiving and be carefull

[@JanStaes]

Maybe the most important lesson I learned from your video's is to stop rushing and take a break at certain points. Think about what you are doing and make sure you have a safety line in case something goes wrong. And I'm not talking about climbing here. Thanks a lot mate.

[@jhettish]

There's a Buddhist monk in Perth Australia who describes traffic lights as Green-Go, Red-Rest. He also categorizes the yellow light as "get ready to rest". Resting is good. I basically am on full throttle most of the day but on the tower I take my time. Rushing will not make me more money and there's no way, after a five or six hour job, that I'm going to pack up and go to another tower anyway. I'm quite patient which helps. Patience is a necessary characteristic of anyone who calls himself a technician. Almost 46 years of bench and tower work have proven that to me. My wife could never be a technician. She generally has zero patience. John

[@donedeal2057]

I am finally getting into this career. Tomorrow I climb just to prove I am not scared of heights. Watching your videos really helped push me to start doing this

[@jhettish]

Very good. Take it easy and remember every move on a tower should be a conscious thought. Also, falling is not an option. John

[@jhettish]

I forgot to mention that looking up a 100 foot tall tower it doesn't seem very high at all. When new to tower work most people find it surprising how far down it looks after they get to the top. My first 1300 foot tower took me about 55 minutes to climb. I hadn't climbed anything taller than 500 feet before then. I remember getting to 600 feet, looking up, and thinking, "I'm higher than I've ever been and I have another 600 feet to go." I didn't climb a tower greater than 500 feet until I was over 40 but I can remember looking up a tower, seeing the antenna I needed to fix/swap and thinking that it didn't seem to be that far from the ground and then seeing the other perspective when I got up the tower when I was new, in my late 20s.

[@donedeal2057]

Well 300ft later... had an awesome time climbing. The boss told the the guy that went up with me to call him if I got scared and locked up. He wpuld go get some ropes. Self supported tower with a ladder. Really windy. Next weekend back up for some more training.

[@artimuspyle299]

Good video all of them are good.

[@jaesindnb6197]

Actually going down seems to me to be more tedious. Have you ever encountered a bad rung? Love the videos John!

[@stephenmoore2754]

Interesting Series. This takes me back to another day. You make it look easy, but I know how hard the job is. When I went to work in the communications industry, the climbers didn't use fall arrest at all. They just used a body belt. Luckily no one I knew ever fell. Things are a lot better these days. Is there a reason you wern't wearing gloves? Thanks for posting!

[@jhettish]

The army taught me not to wear gloves when rock climbing. They wanted me to "feel" the rock. The reason I probably wasn't wearing gloves this time was probably that I had forgot to add them to all my bits of protective equipment. Once I get to about fifty feet and realize I forgot my gloves I don't go back down and find them.

[@johnteague136]

Nice job...😇

[@shanemarcotte2062]

I am intrigued by what you guys do! I could never do what you do.......my fear of heights simply wont allow it. I have though jumped from an airplane at 18,000 feet..........couldn't see the ground so it didn't bother me. I kn ow, I'm weird. Thanks for the videos.........so at least i can see what it's like.

[@jhettish]

My father was a several thousand hour pilot and yet had a fear of heights. Your experience is much like that of others who claim a fear of heights. I'm a pilot also but have been working on towers longer than I've been a pilot. A pilot who claims a fear of heights us understandable to me. A pilot in a cockpit is sitting in his office, so to speak. He can only fall out of his seat. I would not have a problem jumping out of a plane but the most likely scenario for me would be skydiving since private pilots (including me) rarely wear a parachute or even have access to one. As far as skydiving goes I have a money to fun ratio. Once you've jumped out of an airplane the trip to the ground in a stearable parachute takes about 5 minutes. I don't know the going rate for a jump but I'm guessing it's over $125. That's too little fun against too much money for me. The flight to 10,000 feet takes longer than the time spent under the canopy. When I was in the Army they required me to take Ranger Training but would not let me take Airborne training. I would have preferred airborne because it was only three weeks, was all about physical conditioning and I would have got the experience of falling out of a perfectly good airplane while someone else paid for it.

[@MARYLOUBANDO]

Boring? HA, Not to me Mr. Hettish. I would rather see the entire video from start to finish. I would also like to see a peek at the transmitters that feed the towers and antennas you work on. Regarding the trouble you had with the broken bulb. Years ago, an electrician taught me when a bulb breaks off like that, to use the new bulb to unscrew the " shell " of the old bulb from the socket. Most of the times I tried it ,, it did work. A pair of needle nose pliers would have came in handy too. Don't get me wrong,,, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job. Great videos Mr. Hettish, please keep them coming. This i the first chance I have had to watch them in a while here in November. I hope you and your family have a great holiday season. Regards, Joe K. In Butler, Pa.

[@jhettish]

Thanks for the comment Joe. I've said time after time that I had an idea for a broken-lamp-base removal tool. It would simply be a 1x1 piece of wood about 6" long. You jam it into the broken lamps base and twist. Of course I've never completed such a simple task; I've just talked about it. I use the really good lamps in the towers I maintain. Since I do use good lamps it is extremely rare for me to run into a broken lamp. The lamps we use use pyrex glass. I can drop a beacon lamp fro 250 or 300 feet and as long is it lands in grass the envelop portion of the lamp won't break. Of course the filament and the filament support do not survive. I've got to remember to make my tool as I've been saying for the last 20 years or so or at least try your suggestion of using the new lamp to remove the old base. Still, I wonder when me or one of my guys will run into another broken lamp. John

[@jhettish]

By the way you seem to live about 80 miles south of the town where I was born but never lived, Erie aka the "Mistake on the Lake" I think there might be a competition between Erie, Cleveland and perhaps Toledo for that same description. John

[@1RadioShowHost]

Viewing the climb and descent in real time adds authenticity to the video.

[@jhettish]

So this might be called "Reality Television"? I do appreciate the comment. I obviously did edit the video in a certain sense. I didn't chop it up but I did add comments and that's also editing, though much quicker than the chopping method. While watching the video during that process I realized that I was missing certain aspects of the view. When I'm straightening out fall lanyards for instance you don't see what's going on behind my back. I'm going to try to set up a way to do that as well. What would really help would be a really stable drone, flying just six feet over my head and ascending with me. That's a bit much though. :-) John

[@1RadioShowHost]

As long as the video doesn't " drone on and on ". . . .

[@jhettish]

That's my fear. A friend of mine uploaded a video of a job in Mobile Alabama from 2004. I was operating one of two hoists on that job. The video ran for an hour. I've never had a good enough internet connection to upload something that big and I sure didn't have the patience to watch it. I was there and knew everything I would have seen in the video anyway. I like to keep my videos between 15 and 20 minutes. Actually I'd like to keep them shorter that 15 minutes but it just doesn't seem to work out. John

[@1RadioShowHost]

When I first started climbing towers, the only time I was tied to the tower was when I reached the level where I would be working.The two way radio repair shop that employed me claimed that climbing the towers " was part of my job " and refused to pay me extra. One of their customers showed me a invoice with a charge for tower climbing, so I went looking for a different place that would pay me extra for climbing. Amazing I survived those early days, but It Was the end of the wild and crazy '60s.

[@gabrielg7248]

Exelente ! Saludos desde Uruguay!

[@jhettish]

Gracias. Espero que te gusten los videos. No planeo dejar de cargar en cualquier momento pronto. John (Traducción de Google)

[@infinitecanadian]

Fall lanyards that are old can still be used for things like hooking up to a winch and towing something, from what I heard. When you said halfway down, it looked closer than that.

[@jhettish]

Half way down meant that lighting on a 200 foot tower would have steady burning red lights at the half way point. It's part of the lighting rules. Also the halfway lighting is a convenient place to stop and rest while climbing the excuse being "I'm changing the lamps".

[@infinitecanadian]

@@jhettish Ha ha, that's true. Haven't heard from you in a while.

[@2flyabove]

Just curious, John, have you done any mountain climbing? Going up cliff-faces? I'm kinda thinking you'd have been great at it. Thanks!

[@jhettish]

This comment reply is one year old and may never get to "Truth Provider". I learned rock climbing in the Army but I was climbing rock in caves primarily since I was about 17 or maybe 16. I'm old and don't remember. Rock climbing is great but once you're in business and making your living and providing jobs for other people there just isn't much time to do the fun stuff. I hope you get this comment. John

[@2flyabove]

@@jhettish Thank you very much John for your informative reply! A year later, and I'm still here. I enjoy your KZbin channel, and admire the work that you do. Cheers!

[@spiritwolf522]

Hi John. A couple questions for ya. If they had built that tower a foot shorter, they wouldn`t have to light it? What power is the transmitter? And if that station is on 560khz or whatever, it seems like that tower is way to short. They must have one hell of an ATU for it. Is there other towers in the area that the tower needs to be detuned for? Thanks. Brian, W8WLF from Ohio.

[@jhettish]

Taking it from last to first there are no cell towers close enough to have to be detuned in order to protect the AM's pattern. It doesn't take a lot to tune a non resonant piece of metal. Having opened this can of worms there's something I intend to investigate, namely what is the relationship between length of a radaitor, to frequency to impedance. I do know that one 800 foot tall tower has a base impedance of 150 ohms and it does have a "large" ATU. In fact it's in a brick building at the base of the tower. The size of the coils and the voltage ratings of the capacitors are due to the 50,000 watts at 650Khz. The tower in the video is running about one killowatt if I remember correctly. The transmitter has been detuned to lower than capable in order to create the 1KW. More to come, I hope. I might get distracted and forget my intention to determine the relationships I mentioned above. John

[@VE2XJS]

Hello John I would like to know if you can share where you get your safety equipment from? My harness is a DBI Sala Exofit equiped with a chest D-ring. Your big "belt hook" appears to be super comfortable. I feel that I would be comfortable with a similar big hook but at the chest level. The local provider i use does not seams to have a similar product at first glance. Thank you! I really enjoyed the video you share!

[@jhettish]

I get it from a variety of places like Tennessee Supply, Sitepro1 or GME. There are other places that sell the proper safety gear. I'll see if I can figure out where the good stuff is. I can't remember web sites at the moment. I'll send a second reply here, hopefully tonight. All our harnesses are from Elk River. Garrett and Clay have the Paragrine harnesses. My harness is a very old Elk River Tower Tech harness. People make fun of my equipment but it works and is as comfortable as 20 more pounds of weight can be expected. The big hook on my harness is attached to a spreader bar and is used primarily for positioning or resting. That's called fall restraint. In other words I can't fall. Of course I also have a split tail (twin) fall lanyard. For the fall lanyard to activate I would have to fall and in my company "Falling is not an Option." My harness also has a chest ring for mounting a cable grab (slider?). The tower in the video above has no safety cable. The last safety cable on an AM broadcasting tower that I encountered was so lose that it constantly through the antenna (the tower) out of tune so the owner had us remove it. In order to maintain 100% connection to an AM radio tower it's necessary to use either the two fall lanyards or some portion of fall restraint while placing one of the fall lanyards to continue the climb. In any event let me suggest you Google "Tower Safety Equipment". You might be amazed at the returns from the search you get. John

[@jhettish]

One more thing. I traded harnesses with a friend a while back. He was using the Exofit and I was using the harness previously described. After a month I decided I didn't like the Exofit, mainly because of the saddle and it's aluminum plate. I know now that the plate is removable. Knowing that I might have to revisit the Exofit. Our primary tower work is for broadcasters. a bonus's seat type of attachment to a harness gets in the way unless doing rope riding work. John

[@VE2XJS]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Very appreciated.

[@TM15R]

YOU'RE A BETTER MAN THAN ME. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

[@jhettish]

I don't know about being a "better man". You may be a much better man than me but have no desire to climb steel structures. It takes all kinds of people to create a society. I know that I get hungry occasionally and really appreciate the places where I can purchase food but I am quite grateful that I've never worked in the food-industry. John

[@actthree34]

Not boring at all, John. Now we understand something about the Two Lanyard Method. I wonder, does that station have another antenna to use while you are climbing?

[@jhettish]

Some stations have auxiliary antennas. This one just isn't that important. The same program is carried on a higher powered FM station about 15 miles away, the station supplied with audio by the second STL dish at the top of the tower. John

[@qrplife]

Do you personally lockout the transmitter(s) or do rely on all personnel being aware that you're on the tower and not turning on the rig? Interested to know about that safety protocol.

[@jhettish]

I've had a 1st Class FCC Commercial License and I am an RF technician. Unless the station engineer is adamant about doing it himself I do everything.

[@joeblow8593]

How many watts does the station normally run?

[@bradwilmot5066]

Have seen it in several of your videos, and I'm curious... why do you leave the doors of your truck open?

[@jhettish]

So when it rains the seat will get wet. :-) I have often been half way up the tower and noticed rain in the distance and my truck doors open. I just don't seem to learn. As for security most of the towers I work with are in very isolated areas with no neighbors nearby. John

[@jhettish]

None of those. I'm just not bright enough to remember to secure things. My ground is expected to secure our equipment anyway. John

[@CHEFDALLION]

I like part three

[@PkwyDrive13]

I had to climb to the very top of a 350ft American tower guy tower the other day to hang a 450M, and I was so ready to get down I made it from the top to the ground in 4 minutes. But I had a cable grab so no fumbling the Y lanyards.

[@jhettish]

That was quite good time. Speed is good as long as you can't fall from the tower. Years ago I made it from 980 feet on a 1100 foot tall tower in a little over seven minutes. I was quite surprised when I looked at my watch as I step from the steel to the grass. This was around 1996 I think. There was no cable at that time, I was wearing shorts, a T-Shirt and a rock climbing harness. That was before 100% days. My assistant had taken so long to get to the work location and had done so little there that I had him carry the tools down. I was traveling rather light on that descent. Usually it takes me about 25 minutes to descend from 1000 feet as long as there's a safety cable. My biggest problem descending is my hands. The get quite sore and I have to stop just to give them a rest. About five years ago I made it from 1100 feet to the ground in about 15 minutes. The tower was equipped with a safety cable and I was dressed for cold weather. Clay and Garrett took a lot longer to get to the bottom. The job we were doing is actually on this KZbin channel but my descent was long after the camera batteries died. I was wearing the appropriate 20 pound harness which included my favorite DBI-Sala cable grab. The job video can be seen at the following link. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaCYap6anZZnf7s Clay and Garrett were doing all the work. I was just coaching. I'm actually seen in that video since Garrett also had a camera on his helmet. John

[@stoneman3079]

John good to see your still at it found a video about a guy you might know great videos you might get a kick from , Fred Dibnah steeple jack man merry Christmas

[@jhettish]

I never met Fred and only recently discovered his film to video myself. He died of some form of Cancer in 2004 and aside from that he lived in the UK while I'm in the US, Tennessee to be specific. I haven't watched all his videos yet but will continue to watch them. I noticed that one of the videos was titled "Last Chimney" which may shed light on his passing and how old he was at the time. In another 32 days I turn 73. I haven't climbed anything in two weeks so I may be retired. There's no way to know when I will have climbed my last tower. All I know is that in the area of flying airplanes the pilot's take offs mus match his landings. I fly airplanes and I also know that my ascent must be matched by a (successful) descent. John

[@johnteague136]

Actually the decent was intriguing...LOL

[@smithno41]

I noticed that it is a folded unipole. No isocoupler needed for the STL antennas.

[@jhettish]

That is correct. The tower is grounded so there's no need for the isocoupler. Of course the isocoupler is only used for adding other antennas to a "hot" tower. Even then the coax for the subsequent antenna must be grounded every 24 feet or so. The grounding however is not a big thing when installing a low power FM antenna on a hot AM tower. John

[@stevep2325]

John, do you get good money for this kind of work and do you travel to a lot of states?

[@jhettish]

I think I do but my wife thinks I don't. She doesn't have a job outside of home but she can purchase almost anything she wants when she wants it. I think "enough" is not in her vocabulary.

[@steelem422]

Why the difference between am and fm towers you touched on it but I didn’t fully understand. What’s the craziest thing you have seen while up in a tower. Sorry but I had two questions

[@bradwilmot5066]

A half-wave antenna in the FM broadcast band would be about 4.5 feet (they're larger than this for gain, but...), while a half-wave AM antenna would be about 470 feet... easier to use the tower itself as the radiator when the wavelength is that long...

[@jhettish]

An AM station's tower *is* the antenna. An FM station's tower is merely a place to mount the antenna. The higher the frequency, the smaller the antenna. I think I mentioned 560 Khz so I'm going to do a little bit of math. The formula is 300 (speed of light in km) over the frequency in Megahertz. If an AM station was on 1000Khz that would be 1 Mhz so 560 is actually .560 Mhz. Note the decimal point. By dividing 300 by .560 the result is around 536 meters. 536 meters = 1757 feet. In other words one wavelength at 560 khz is 1757 feet long. Most times we use one quarter of a wave length in order to create an universal antenna length that easily matches the 50 ohm output of most transmitters. Dividing 1757 / 4 (or multiplying my point 25) we get 439 feet. That's not all that convenient for a tower size so the towers are usually reduced in height as a mater of cost and real estate on which to place them. In order to make the shorter tower match the 50 ohm output impedance of the transmitter to the higher impedance of a shortened antenna there are a series of coils and capacitors inside a weatherproof housing on the ground that will take 50 ohms in from the transmitter and "match" the tower to the transmitter. Making the shortened tower match the transmitter involves a bunch of math, electronic design and a lot of tuning on site in order to make it all work. Once tuned it will usually stay that way for years. So, we find that 560 Khz has a wavelength of 536 meters. Let's look at an average FM band frequency of 105.5 Mhz. 300/.105.5 =2.8 meters or 9.3 feet. Obviously a really low frequency has a much longer wavelength than a higher frequency. All ham radio operators would know that 145 mhz = 2 meters. If they don't they should turn in their ham radio licenses. At 145 mhz a quarter wave antenna would be .5 meters or 1.64 feet which breaks down to about 18". I'm only talking about a 1/4 wave antenna. There are other designs that serve other purposes. I hope this helps and causes you to look more closely at the relationship of frequency to wavelength and wavelength's relationship to the size of the radiating elements of antennas. John

[@Buldgr]

I'm sure you've covered this a million times, but I haven't been able to find it in the comments. Whats the reason for the red/white colors on a tower?

[@mountain177]

They're height indicators. If I remember right, towers like that are painted in alternating red and white 50 ft sections.

[@jhettish]

There is a manual that tells the painting interval which is determined by the overall height of the tower. The sections always start Orange and finish Orange. The FAA Manual is available online at the following link mt2w.com/Files/AC_70_7460-1L_.pdf The Rules at the FAA site start with -1A and now they're up to -1L due to changes over the years.

[@jhettish]

@@mountain177 That's almost right. The intervals are different for different heights. For instance a 700 to 1000 foot tall tower has 7 color bands. The air charts (maps for pilots) show towers over 200 feet and by the total height. So (hopefully) if a pilot sees a tower with 7 bands and looks at his chart and finds a 900 foot tall tower is close he can divide the 900 feet by 7 to confirm it's the right one. for a 900 foot tower with 7 color bands the length of the color bands would be about 130 feet each. mt2w.com/Files/AC_70_7460-1L_.pdf

[@gazoo11788]

Quick question, why are you not 100/100 at all times?

[@jhettish]

I believe I am but I do make mistakes. Point out a video, by the time I may have messed up, and I'll give a better answer. John

[@makeitrightb6550]

John how tall was this tower?

[@jhettish]

200 feet

[@jhettish]

The tower is exactly 200 feet above the concrete pad it sits on. Sometimes tower height is measured with a long tape measure or even a chain, similar to the chain used to determine "first down" in US football. The easy with this particular tower is it's constructed with ten (10) foot sections and it has twenty (20) sections. Therefore 10 X 20 = 200. John

[@freeman3061]

First!