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I don't think the helicopter was meant to be a real suggestion, just relaying an example of some of the calls and emails they've received. I think it was meant

I don't think the helicopter was meant to be a real suggestion, just relaying an example of some of the calls and emails they've received. I think it was meant to sound silly but just show that people are interested, including people with no real idea. All in all, the physical theft looks almost trivial to me going by the pictures of the actual site. What mystifies me is how it went unnoticed at the electrical level, that a landscaper had to tell them. The location is remote and unmanned, but the station must know instantly when anything at all changes even slightly about the transmitter or antenna. Not because of webcams or anything like that either. The connections from the signal source to the transmitter and from the transmitter to the antenna are not just one-way and blind. Any change at the load directly and instantly affects the source. I mean obviously I must be wrong about that somewhere along the way. I actually had a ham licence but back in the 80s and I was only 11 or so. So my understanding is both educated and not.

stevetron 3y ago
I once worked at a company that put telemetry equipment out in the field. At a planning meeting for one project, some of the project's locations were not very accessible, i.e. one was at the top of a cliff. Someone made the flip remark about using a helicopter. The manager, who was an ex-seal, checked into it, and found they could afford it if they were strict about the flying-time, and that's what they used. The former manager, who had gotten the project for the company, would have had everyone using pack-mules, because he liked recreational backpacking.
Brian_K_White 3y ago
... and Jeff Geerling's dad confirms, NO WAY this happened without the head end knowing instantly, and not just because listeners will call in. And also, even as dinky as it looks in the pics, he finds it very hard to imagine how it could be moved in a night. The plot thickens a little.

stevetron 3y ago

I once worked at a company that put telemetry equipment out in the field. At a planning meeting for one project, some of the project's locations were not very accessible, i.e. one was at the top of a cliff. Someone made the flip remark about using a helicopter. The manager, who was an ex-seal, checked into it, and found they could afford it if they were strict about the flying-time, and that's what they used. The former manager, who had gotten the project for the company, would have had everyone using pack-mules, because he liked recreational backpacking.

Brian_K_White 3y ago

... and Jeff Geerling's dad confirms, NO WAY this happened without the head end knowing instantly, and not just because listeners will call in. And also, even as dinky as it looks in the pics, he finds it very hard to imagine how it could be moved in a night. The plot thickens a little.