My first tower climb was the KCAU TV tower in Sioux City, Iowa in June, 1986. At 11:30 pm, after the station went off the air, we left the diner after having coffee and pie. We rode the tiny elevator (2 peeps inside & 2 on top) up to about the 1,700' level, then climbed up the ladder another 180'+ feet to the actual antenna, then climbed the bat wings to the top, 2,001' to change the light bulb. There were 4 of us, only me an Al McGraw went to to the top. The KCAU tower was built from 1965 to 1967 and is 609.9 meters (2,001') high. It is tied for the tallest structure in Iowa and is one of the tallest structures in the world. Yee haw... Fun night. Note the lightening pings on the cap...
As a drone pilot thank you Thankyou for providing a safe environment for us and all the other type of pilots out there Thankyou for doing what no ones want to for the safety of everyone
The video with the guy changing the bulb on the 1999ft tower makes this look like a kitty ride. Dude was literally above the clouds in the other video.
You know what matter? Lets say they both falled out, do you think either of them would live after that fall? Nope? So yea your statement is completely wrong they’re both risky and deserves the same respect.
I remember my first time to do this. It was back in 1982. And the tower was an old one that was built back in the early 60s. The light system was pretty old too. I had never seen one before of any kind. So it was scary to me just to open it not knowing if it had a henge plus it was heavy too. But I manage to get it opened and to my surprise the lower bulb was busted and the power to it was still on i received a good electric bite from the broken bulb I had to shout down below and tell them to turn the power off to the lights. Once that was achieved the rest was a piece of cake. The climb was scary because it was my first time to climb that high. going down wasn't as bad. I had to climb it again on two occasions the following year to change the bulb again it was a 300 foot A M Radio transmitter. I remember at the base they had a stack of pallets .to step up on before touching the tower. Otherwise you'd get fried from the R F Power. I did a lot of tower climbing over the following years through out the south. I'm retired from it all now. My last climb was in 2015. A private ham operator tower of about 90 feet tall. . I'm thankful I'm still alive after all those years of climbing towers. ✌🏾😎
Congrats, nice video. Great views up there! Old tungsten incandescent light bulbs, decades of bright service. It all comes down to price and reliability. Vintage lamps still kick ass in some niche markets. Telecom managers, usually keep a reserve stock of consumibles and systems. They keep using it, until eventual future technology offers more for less $$$$$. LED lights, light emitting diodes, produce electronic light, pretty nice, but always sensitive components. They will get there one day, sooner than later, but at a fat price. Resilience and long trouble free service life, goes hand in hand with good engeneering. An antenna flash beacon is a critical task, no room for "trial and error", and going up there frequently, is bad business... Just imagine the extreme temperatures and vibrations during all the service life of the lamp system. Neon or Xenon flashers and under driven tungsten light bulbs, are established standards, proven by its historical contribution to air safety. 💡 Nice video, please put a close-up of the lamp etch and box next time. Thanks! Cheers from 🇵🇹
Yeh, I saw one of these and thought it was crazy til I saw that 2000 feet video. Dude didn’t even have hooks to put his lanyard to, just straight pieces, so if he fell his land yard could possible slide right off. Insane My uncles dad died falling off an oil rig a few hundred feet in the late 1970s.
I climb towers and I change internet antennas and rewire things, similar to this. And my biggest concern is dropping something, like a tool or equipment, from this height. The climb is fine. There is enough safety gear to keep you from falling and if you do, it's due to your own error. I drop my phone while I'm walking on solid ground..... height + butterfingers = good luck so far.
first you tie yourself off to the tower then you tie your knees together and to the tower. this prevents the tower from vibrating all over from your knees shaking. then you close your eyes and hope its just a bad bad dream.
I climbed a 50 foot tower once. I was scared shitless. I was changing some baseball lights and fuck, they were a pain in the ass to change considering I couldn't turn them facing me so I had to reach outwards to even get the bulb out.
Nice video, thanks for posting! Just wondering....is it possible to test the bulbs on the ground, or can you only find out if they're defective after you climb up there, and then have to go down again for replacements?
I have replaced countless bulbs in my career in maintenance work .Nothing comes close to this.This man has a head for heights.
no-really
Wait till you see the 1999ft one...
this one is nothing compared to the other one.... fucking sore loser
Considering I'm feeling discomfort by watching this video, in my bed, on my phone, and in portrait mode, I think this job is probably not for me...
sæm
On my I-pad I feel like I’m literally gonna fall to my death
@@blank.376. lol you're gonna fall through your iPad.
Money would make anything feel safe😂😂
I've done it and on a 300' tower, also.
My first tower climb was the KCAU TV tower in Sioux City, Iowa in June, 1986. At 11:30 pm, after the station went off the air, we left the diner after having coffee and pie. We rode the tiny elevator (2 peeps inside & 2 on top) up to about the 1,700' level, then climbed up the ladder another 180'+ feet to the actual antenna, then climbed the bat wings to the top, 2,001' to change the light bulb. There were 4 of us, only me an Al McGraw went to to the top. The KCAU tower was built from 1965 to 1967 and is 609.9 meters (2,001') high. It is tied for the tallest structure in Iowa and is one of the tallest structures in the world. Yee haw... Fun night. Note the lightening pings on the cap...
@rooster what was the pay back then???
@@randyhinds2873 that was about 1986, I believe we were salaried at $1,000/week. Not bad …
@@roostercogburn809 nice.i take it.your retired
@@randyhinds2873 yes, I retired last year from owning a construction company.
How much do you make these days doing this?
Thank you for taking the time to put this video up for us to view. It's really interesting to watch.
Those bulbs are General Electric Base type PS40, 620 watts and 120VAC for anyone interested.
And that brand usually last 3 to 5.000 hours.
Thank you! Was curious!!😊
А стоит сколько ?
Knowing me my slickass butterfingers would drop the lightbulb.
@Paul Chaisone he
Lmao same
Be like damn, gotta get another outta the truck
Lmao
I would drop a bolt or something just my luck lol. I would want to drop the old bulb though to hear it shatter
As a drone pilot thank you
Thankyou for providing a safe environment for us and all the other type of pilots out there
Thankyou for doing what no ones want to for the safety of everyone
I got the add the view is insane i see this from my drone all the time but being perch up there must be and incredible sensation
Putting in another ancient bulb design instead of led. Job security
Thanks for the tutorial, now i know how to next time i do this!
Much respect...you would NEVER get me to do that, lol.
Imagine he gets up there and realizes he forgot the new bulbs back at the truck.
Just got a job doing this. And watching this video makes me wanna do it even more
So how's the job going so far?
share the video pls
Imagine how much you pissed off when you forget new lamps on the ground
It s simple you dont forget... You cannot afford having no brain in that line of work, the consequences are you dying...
You will know what it likes if u are there! Have alot of respect for them!
I googled the pay levels for tower climbers. These fellows deserve way more.
Damn imagine if the new bulbs were cracked from all this climbing
The video with the guy changing the bulb on the 1999ft tower makes this look like a kitty ride. Dude was literally above the clouds in the other video.
Harambe Jr. hey remember triple ‘Rambe?
You know what matter? Lets say they both falled out, do you think either of them would live after that fall? Nope? So yea your statement is completely wrong they’re both risky and deserves the same respect.
Yeah I see the same. 2000ft...no way. 300ft. Maybe. Either way I'd splat if I would fall, but 300ft seems way easier.
@@dmntd1 this tower looks a lot easier and safer to climb as well.
@@camjohnson5517 A LOT MORE. The other one had him go on little knubs.
I fell while watching the video, look at the courage in the man
Time for 30,000 watt LED lamps ! Replace em every decade or two :)
I sure hope this guy gets very very well paid for this job and he should wow !!
He gets about 200k dolars for climing once a year
@@s1lfa_ where can i get this job pls
@@hfhf4u idk man, maybe look on the internet
@@s1lfa_ I smell bullshit
I salute him from🇮🇳 india, most dangerous zone
"Are you there today man?"
"Nah I gave to replace a light bulb."
"Oh, at home right?"
"300 ft above the ground."
i assume those FM broadcast antennas below you were de-energized.
This is insane but the guy who does this at 2000 feet. Now that is beyond insane.
It's nice to see some redundancy with them at least there's two of them
Just use a custom commercial led bulb no more climbing towers. Though maybe that defeats the purpose of seeing that badass view.
Job security
LED lights do not produce heat which keep the containers hot during winter conditions and prevent the build up of ice or even humidity.
@@sizedtoaster0278 can't we just install heating cables inside the thing?that worked in the army
Hell no
LEDs suck
I remember my first time to do this. It was back in 1982. And the tower was an old one that was built back in the early 60s. The light system was pretty old too. I had never seen one before of any kind. So it was scary to me just to open it not knowing if it had a henge plus it was heavy too. But I manage to get it opened and to my surprise the lower bulb was busted and the power to it was still on i received a good electric bite from the broken bulb I had to shout down below and tell them to turn the power off to the lights. Once that was achieved the rest was a piece of cake. The climb was scary because it was my first time to climb that high. going down wasn't as bad. I had to climb it again on two occasions the following year to change the bulb again it was a 300 foot A M Radio transmitter. I remember at the base they had a stack of pallets .to step up on before touching the tower. Otherwise you'd get fried from the R F Power.
I did a lot of tower climbing over the following years through out the south. I'm retired from it all now. My last climb was in 2015. A private ham operator tower of about 90 feet tall. . I'm thankful I'm still alive after all those years of climbing towers. ✌🏾😎
Crazy. Interesting that you don’t carry an extra up with you just in case. Ever drop one in the changing process?
We test them before going up. They can crack or the filament can dislodge though on the way up. In ten years I’ve only had a bad bulb three times.
Who knew that it takes
multiple skills and balls to change light bulbs
Congrats, nice video. Great views up there!
Old tungsten incandescent light bulbs, decades of bright service.
It all comes down to price and reliability. Vintage lamps still kick ass in some niche markets.
Telecom managers, usually keep a reserve stock of consumibles and systems. They keep using it, until eventual future technology offers more for less $$$$$.
LED lights, light emitting diodes, produce electronic light, pretty nice, but always sensitive components. They will get there one day, sooner than later, but at a fat price. Resilience and long trouble free service life, goes hand in hand with good engeneering.
An antenna flash beacon is a critical task, no room for "trial and error", and going up there frequently, is bad business...
Just imagine the extreme temperatures and vibrations during all the service life of the lamp system.
Neon or Xenon flashers and under driven tungsten light bulbs, are established standards, proven by its historical contribution to air safety. 💡
Nice video, please put a close-up of the lamp etch and box next time. Thanks!
Cheers from 🇵🇹
Thanks, I can replace my lightbulb 101 at 300 feet in the air now!
This feels simple and easy compared to the one at 2000 ft in the clouds lol
Yeh, I saw one of these and thought it was crazy til I saw that 2000 feet video. Dude didn’t even have hooks to put his lanyard to, just straight pieces, so if he fell his land yard could possible slide right off. Insane
My uncles dad died falling off an oil rig a few hundred feet in the late 1970s.
Imagine, you are on the top, but forgot a screwdriver 😂
I got on a chair 2' above the ground to change a bulb in the kitchen, and I wanted a medal for bravery :D Weak Sauce
😂😂
2:03 they can hear you all the way from up there? impressive. I'm thinking about using walkie talkie for this sort of job.
I was thinking "Come on, Steve... Don't let us down, Steve..." 😋
I would certainly hope by now (2023) there is an LED replacement bulb for this application that will last 20K hours or maybe more!
Thanks now I can go change my light bulb 300ft in the back yard.
Переживал за него, что упустит новую лампочку с рук. Слава Богу всё обошлось!
Я бы старые запустил бы вниз!
Nous avions des pylônes de 100m et j'ai toujours admiré ceux qui allaient changer les ampoules ! Отлично, Bravo
I climb towers and I change internet antennas and rewire things, similar to this. And my biggest concern is dropping something, like a tool or equipment, from this height. The climb is fine. There is enough safety gear to keep you from falling and if you do, it's due to your own error.
I drop my phone while I'm walking on solid ground..... height + butterfingers = good luck so far.
I'd be the one power climbing to the top and smashing my good bulbs against the tower. Then I'd probably freeze up top and be unable to climb down.
Sooo true!!!
Salute to such worker
Mmm. What if he drops that bulb?
He gotta get a new one
it breaks
Well, then you are fucked.
It will probably land on the spare bulb below, and break that
I love those radio tower
Do you parachute down when ur finished 😁
I hope he makes over 100k a year doing this, does it like nothing once I'm up there I will be to afraid to even try to come down
Gets to the top, “fuck I forgot the bulbs”
Great view, great video.
Eha bahut bipada kama manisa ra jibana jaipare Jay jagannath Jay jagannath Jay jagannath 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
One day a worker after removing the old light bulbs will realize he forgot to bring the new one's
If i m the boss and the ground crew forgot to double check my climber load out they are gone forever...
Hello new friend from Philippines
I clicked on the video and felt my stomach drop😂
Just thinking "Don'd drop it...don't drop it!"
Climbs to the top: “God dammit! Wrong size!”
Dangerous job
March 1st? That's my birthday lol, pretty sure i also had those same gloves that year
I could've pooped in my pants if someone leave me at this height
Damn Frawley your living room is fuckin' HUGE!
Wonder if anyone ever dropped a bulb by mistake? That would be a major bummer
Я бы на его месте, на всякий случай брал 3шт. Вдруг одну уронишь - быстро не поднимешь...
а внизу напарник)
I want this job!!!!!
Imagine dropping the good bulbs lol
Proof that 100% tie off is for administrative/entertainment purposes only
Imagine not tightening it all the way and your boss makes you do it again.
first you tie yourself off to the tower then you tie your knees together and to the tower. this prevents the tower from vibrating all over from your knees shaking. then you close your eyes and hope its just a bad bad dream.
Dropping a light bulb would be the WORST lmao
Welp, gotta run to the store..
How much does he make to change the lightbulbs and climb back down?
EXCELLENT
Respekt 👍😊
This what it feels like when you stand at the top of godzilla's head
How much sway do you think you're feeling up there? I'd like this job
Wow mantap x mas bro 👍
Imagine breakin the bulb while replacing it
Tnx for sharing this vedio
I was a tower worker for a few years if I didn't have a kid I would still be doing it ,, just way too much time away from home
How is the pay (sorry for my inglés i am latino)
Thanks. Now i can do it too
Почему именно лампы накаливания? Не светодиодные ?
Whether it’s 300’ or 30’, I wouldn’t want to do it.
I had a gun pulled on me working for a pizza company. I would rather die getting paid more in this job.
Would you get RF burns if it was operational?
Always test new bulbs before going up.
What kind of bulbs are these?
Those are General Electric Base type is a PS40, 620 watts and 120VAC, that brand usually last 3 to 5.000 hours.
Важно, не уронить новую лампу, чтобы не спускаться опять туда-сюда
Still no LED that will fit that?
it is at moscow idahao
He's the one who climbs me who's tense 😬😬😬
How many lighbulbs does it take to change a newfie
I climbed a 50 foot tower once. I was scared shitless. I was changing some baseball lights and fuck, they were a pain in the ass to change considering I couldn't turn them facing me so I had to reach outwards to even get the bulb out.
About how old is the beacon itself? And how long do those incandescent bulbs last?
3000-8000 hours on the bulbs, and these TWR beacons are from the 80's up to the early 2010's
IT'S OVER ANAKIN I HAVE THE HIGH GROUND
Must be a nightmare when you get to the top and realised you left the new bulb in the van
Залез на верх, а потом оказалось, что лампочку забыл.
O legal é se quando chega lá em cima,descobrir que esqueceu de trazer a lâmpada 😂😂😂
Very dengerous
I wonder how often those things get shot at and blown the pieces
Hell No! you got my RESPECT!
I gotta wonder...if you've ever dropped one of those Light bulbs from up there by accident lol.
should've done a edited cut pretending to launch the burned out one into the forest, just to collect angry comments and laughs
Question: Do you have to have a parachute with you just in case?
Nice video, thanks for posting! Just wondering....is it possible to test the bulbs on the ground, or can you only find out if they're defective after you climb up there, and then have to go down again for replacements?
There will be an alarm that goes off notifying the telecommunications owner and when you charge one bulb you Change them all to save future climbs.
imagine climbing all the way that, and forgetting the bulb