Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: mhw@wittsend.lbp.harris.com (Michael H. Warfield (Mike)) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Sometimes a Rude Surprise for Telephone Line "Rustlers" Message-ID: Date: 10 Oct 89 03:29:49 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Reply-To: "Michael H. Warfield (Mike" Organization: Lanier Network Knitting Circle - Thaumaturgy & Speculums Division Lines: 32 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 439, message 6 of 8 In article kitty!larry@uunet.uu.net (Larry Lippman) writes: >surprise: some wire which they laboriously remove that *looks* like >copper, is really copper-clad steel - and is worth essentially >nothing. As related in "Broadcast Engineering" several years ago (more than twelve) a radio station had been having a problem with "copper rustlers" stealing their antenna grounding radials. These are conductive lines which radiate outward from the base of AM transmitting antennas to provide a good ground plane. (Note FM and TV do not require them because they are higher in frequecny, the "tower" is not the radiating element, and the antennas are structured differently.) This particular station had a marshly low land near it's antennas where the radials had to be elevated over the ground, thus making them easy prey. This caused frequent and severe distortions to their transmitted field, to say nothing of the frequent cost of replacing long stretches of heavy gauge (#12 or better) copper wire. A bright engineer decided to replace a significant number of the radials with barbed wire. The rustling stopped shortly there after, although evidence did show they tried (remember most of this was done at night and in this case over treacherous ground). Later "proof of performance" tests showed their radiated pattern still remainded well within FCC specs and the barbed wire remains there to this day. (Although some of the blood stains may have washed away :-) ). Michael H. Warfield (The Mad Wizard) | gatech.edu!galbp!wittsend!mhw (404) 270-2123 / 270-2098 | mhw@wittsend.LBP.HARRIS.COM An optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist is sure of it!