[Milsurplus] Book mini-review: Highways in the Sky by Maj. Louis Shores

[Gene Smar]

I worked on a cellular phone project in Haiti from 1998 - 2002.  We
constructed 20 cell towers about 200 feet tall throughout the Port-au-Prince
area.  Each tower was surrounded by a 10-foot high poured concrete wall.
Inside the wall was, in addition to the tower and diesel generator set, a
two room guard house.  The professional (uniformed) guards carried scatter
guns to ward off would-be thieves who were likely to be going after the
generators' diesel fuel as well as the copper wire ground mat.  

 

BTW - With our 50 kW generator at each of the 20 sites, we were told we were
the largest producer of electricity in Haiti.  A sad commentary.

 

 

73 de

Gene Smar  AD3F

 

From: milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Hubert Miller
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2019 11:59 PM
To: armyradios at yahoogroups.com; milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Book mini-review: Highways in the Sky by Maj.
Louis Shores

 

Don't recall if I posted this before, but on the subject of wire theft, I
was reading some old mag, maybe "Wireless Age" from the teens, I mean
19-teens, and there was an article on 

the construction of Navy radio NAA. The constructors had x ( i.e. many )
miles of copper wire being buried for the ground system. In addition, HV
power lines were being built to the

station, but not yet energized. It seemed a lot of the wire was regularly
disappearing, collected by locals of the underclass. ( That's what the
article said. ) The Navy finally responded 

with armed guards who were authorized to shoot thieves. The message was
understood in pretty short order. Times were different. 

 

I was coming to the Albany C.O. late one night and driving into the
unsecured parking lot when someone on a bike passed me in the outgoing
direction. From the fleeting look i got

as we passed, it looked to me like some traditional Okinawan farmer in one
of those long grass garments, looking almost like a bush with a head. In a
few moments I realized that the

guy must have harvested wire from out outside scrap bin and looped as much
wire over his body has he could carry and still bicycle. 

I also recall around maybe 2005 when a section of Eugene Oregon had a phone
system outage after thieves took down a long section of copper from poles
along a highway. How do 

people do this and no one sees them ? It took more than a day to restore
service.

 

I often do a beach walk here in Newport in the area of Don Davis Viet Nam
Memorial Park. The walkway down from the park level to the beach has walkway
guarded by a post and 

chain fence. I noticed a few months back that the lower section of chain, I
mean pretty good sized heavy chain, no home use, and this section out of
sight from the park and roads 

above, this section's chain had disappeared. I take it that the hungry metal
recyclers had added this poundage to their daily haul, for a few bucks
worth. 

 

Bob Dylan: "Jump down the manhole / Light yourself a candle / The pump don't
work/ 'Cause the vandals took the handles". I'd recommend shoot 'em on
sight.

-Hue 

 

 

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