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Documenting an 1115 ft radio tower climb

Some broadcast engineering tasks are a bit too daunting for me to consider. Climbing the massive towers that power radio and TV stations is one of them! Recently, local engineer Aaron Cox had the perfect set of conditions for a drone flight to capture some of that risk, as the weather and timing of an antenna inspection lined up perfectly with his schedule.

They move with spider-like, intentional action, adjusting their three points of contact during the entire inspection... and that's after lugging 50 lbs of climbing gear vertically, 1115 ft (340 m)! But when you're talking about a multi-million-dollar antenna system with as much complexity as the 'super tower', you need eyes (and sometimes hands) on the small detailed parts. Preventative maintenance means this antenna—installed in 2006—should provide FM and HD radio service to the entire St. Louis metro area for all 10 Class C0 and C1 stations broadcasting on the tower.

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