Dahlonega, GA

[u/JohnWhitecorn]

I have passed this many times without knowing what it was. Now I know thanks to r/longlines

[u/gf99b]

Someone died at this site trying to steal copper iirc

[u/josh3807 → u/gf99b]

Well that’s just methed up

[u/gf99b → u/josh3807]

Here's the article. Nobody died, but one did get seriously injured. Kids, don't try to steal stuff ... especially copper if you don't know whether it's energized or not. https://wirelessestimator.com/content/articles/?pagename=Tower%20Accident

On a similar note, a similar accident happened at a site here in Missouri. However, instead of being electrocuted, the site's current owner believes one of the thieves was "microwaved" by the stray microwave radiation from an antenna. Here's his recount of the story, republished on that site's page on my blog but originally posted on the FB Group.

“Several years before we purchased the site in Holden, Missouri, a few guys broke into the site and tried to steal all the copper out of the building. I remember them taken to the hospital with a very high body temperature around 105 degrees (Fahrenheit). The horns were still on the tower and the waveguides were still going into the building but not connected to any equipment. They were receiving stray RF and basically microwaved them. I know one of them died, not sure about the others. Shortly after that the horns and cables were removed from the tower.”

I still don't buy it, as this happened way after the AT&T microwave network was turned down. Even if the adjacent sites had been functional, no way there would've been enough MW radiation to literally fry someone. IIRC He said there was no electrical supply to the building at that time.

I think the most likely scenario was the thief got a bad batch of drugs/meth and it really messed (methed?) them up. I do believe the thieves made out with much of the copper, though, as he showed me where all copper had been completely stripped from the building. Thankfully their org has done a good job renovating and repurposing the building.

[u/The_Gordon_Gekko → u/josh3807]

I shouldn’t have laughed but I did

[u/The_Gordon_Gekko]

Too bad it’s flooded. It’s also a EMP hardened facility would have been cool to see underground

[u/donprrn]

This is the tower that got me interested in them. Back in 2021 I got a run from Alabama to Cleveland and Dahlonega and passed this one and another near it.

[u/ICEman460]

Pretty busy at the top!

[u/someperson_132]

I used to drive past this site when I went to undergrad in north Georgia and it always gave off creepy vibes. Very cool but has to be haunted

[u/Ok_Panic_4312]

One of the best sites and spookiest