Communications Tower Sabotaged

[xmo]

"On Saturday March 4, 2023, the Furnas County Sheriff’s Office received a report that the communications tower south of Oxford, owned by Strayer Communications, had been toppled and completely destroyed. Preliminary findings indicated intentional damage to a guide wire anchor that resulted in complete structural failure of the tower causing it to fall to the east."

Communications tower destroyed south of Oxford

On Saturday March 4, 2023, the Furnas County Sheriff’s Office received a report that the communications tower south of Oxford, owned by Strayer Communications, had been toppled and completely…

ruralradio.com

 

[trentbob]

Somehow I can't believe there's more to this story that is presented here.

Not looking into it at this point but let's see how the thread goes.😉.

 

[xmo]

It seems to me to be a rather unusual event. I don't recall past instances of vandals destroying communications towers.

Perhaps other members are aware of previous incidents.

 

[KK2DOG]

It's them pesky "guide wires" again.

 

[N6JPA]

It seems to me to be a rather unusual event. I don't recall past instances of vandals destroying communications towers.

Perhaps other members are aware of previous incidents.

Back in the early 2000's we had a schizophrenic in the Portland, Oregon area burning antenna towers and radio stations because the signals were putting messages in his head.

 

[PrivatelyJeff]

Back in the early 2000's we had a schizophrenic in the Portland, Oregon area burning antenna towers and radio stations because the signals were putting messages in his head.

The crazy part is that can happen with the right frequency and dental work.

 

[mmckenna]

It seems to me to be a rather unusual event. I don't recall past instances of vandals destroying communications towers.

Perhaps other members are aware of previous incidents.

It's happened locally around here twice in the last 10 years or so. Vandalism, those thinking it's evil 5G controlling their mind, people trying to steal copper for recycling. All it takes is one person with the right tools. Usually the sites are remote, so no one sees anything.

 

[chrismol1]

If nothing else, wouldn't be the first time a tower has been vandalized by the 5G crazies. They've been at it for a while now

 

[nd5y]

It seems to me to be a rather unusual event. I don't recall past instances of vandals destroying communications towers.

Maybe not in your area but it happens more often than you think.

Guy wires cut on two towers in Wichita Falls - one collapsed

Somebody cut guy wires on a 450' Mobile Phone of Texas tower, which collapsed, and the 1000' KFDX TV tower, which is still standing. The collapsed tower was home to NOAA Weather Radio station WXK31 and the 147.140 N5WF ham repeater. Newspaper article...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[StoliRaz]

Back in the early 2000's we had a schizophrenic in the Portland, Oregon area burning antenna towers and radio stations because the signals were putting messages in his head.

We all know of the "Florida man" meme...Portland really needs one as well.

 

[BrhatWeed]

Digital signals upsetting the lunatic fringe. Let's see how they feel about the EMT who never received the call to help one of their own because they destroyed the tower.

 

[R8000]

It would be nice if the courts actually handed out real punishments instead of catch and release. My guess is, the person who did it is a frequent flier with the courts. It's promising that the FBI might "consider" investigating. When word gets out these folks will serve serious jail time, maybe they will reconsider. But, I am not holding my breath on that one.
Until that happens, crimes like this and many other crimes we deal with will continue because pretty much all 50 states have given up on handing out real prison sentences.
CCTV technology has become much more affordable in the past 10 years. Even for remote sites. It's absurd in 2023 to now have a tower site that doesn't have CCTV. Cloud based storage, smart object detection, affordable cellular data plans can make it happen just about anywhere.

 

[eorange]

How do you not get seriously injured when cutting a guy wire? I'd think it would crack like a whip with all that tension.

 

[GlobalNorth]

1. Opponents of technology,
2. Environmental extremism,
3. Business rivals,
4. Insurance fraud,
5. The mentally disturbed.

 

[Chilledboost]

Someone wanted new equipment and couldn't get the commission to justify it? This seems to be an internal job.

 

[belvdr]

Someone wanted new equipment and couldn't get the commission to justify it? This seems to be an internal job.

That's making a lot of assumptions.

 

[mikewazowski]

How do you not get seriously injured when cutting a guy wire? I'd think it would crack like a whip with all that tension.

Most people cutting guy wires aren't smart enough to really think about that.

That said, this is becoming an all to common occurence these days.

 

[kd7one]

The crazy part is that can happen with the right frequency and dental work.

Are you talking about voice to skull technology?

 

[mmckenna]

Are you talking about voice to skull technology?

Old amalgam fillings would sometimes act like a non-linear joint and start receiving AM stations if you were in close proximity to a transmitter. Pretty rare, but reports of it happening. I've read that it would drive people nuts. Usually the filling would get removed and replaced with something non-metallic.

 

[BrhatWeed]

In all my time doing tower site management I have never encountered this type of destruction, the worst was a coax theft where someone climbed up and cut several runs of hardline and another was damage to the tower light photo control by some kids. I was shot at once while changing out the top light but nothing as serious as the full destruction of a guyed tower. Clearly those responsible have little to no real idea of the damage ripples they have caused but as mikewazowski pointed out this is becoming an all to common occurence. I don't know what their point is and I really don't care, destruction of others property is not acceptable. Now a crew has to risk their lives to rebuild the tower.

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