Is this true?

[Ben Framed]

AM Radio tower receives an incredible amount of energy, while not being connected to any energy source. Is this real or fake?

https://youtube.com/shorts/NHgQyLQsIxA?si=z5CPS4NpB2L3vIj-

[Michael Bush]

What kind of energy?  A tree in my woods received an incredible amount of energy a few days ago.  Like a bolt from the sky.  Actually it was a bolt from the sky... but the sky is always full of electricity.

[animal]

yes.. real
the brown cylinder at the base of the tower is the insulator
the disconnected cable laying on the ground would normally be connected to the tower to energize it for signal transmission (it goes to the transmitter) The other towers of the antenna array are still connected and transmitting.

so .. the disconnected broadcast tower acts as a receiver tower (big antenna) and is energized by electromagnetic waves from the other towers

close proximity to the broadcasting towers (where the em flux is highest) and the tower being really long ... the longer the antenna and closer to the source .. the greater the energy induced in it.

Once the arc is established, the plasma created around it oscillates in relation to the amplitude  .. so it acts sorta like the diaphragm of a speaker, and why you can hear the radio signal being broadcast by the other towers. 

There are a few videos on YouTube that show this effect way better ... using a crane close to a radio station that show the effect and with clearer reception ... but can't post links because of bylaws and the fact that construction guys like me are talking in them

[animal]

And what Michael Bush said is also true.. And ...even without lightning or differences in voltage potential at different altitudes, an antenna can also become charged with static electricity (contact electrification by air molecules passing by it) Some would say through friction, but friction doesn't actually produce a static charge(even the word static is irritating and not really correct, but everybody uses it)
In this case though, the induced charge/current from the broadcast towers is the overwhelming factor.

this and my other post are not precise, but hopefully accurate enough to get the points across ?   
... haven't actually dealt with stuff for years and too lazy to get all my ducks in a row.

[Ben Framed]

Thanks for explaining this animal..

[animal]

Thank you ! ... it brought back a few memories .. of college in EE and radio days.  Among other things at the time, I was a dj at an AM station after dropping out of college to take care of my sister. When I found out how much they paid for changing the light bulbs on the towers. I was like "I'LL DO IT !!!"

and it turns out they would pay way more under the table in cash if you were willing to do it without powering down .. a leap from the top of the equipment shack to the tower by day, or climbing by night if the station wasn't 24 hours. Proper procedure was to kill power to the tower, ground it and then climb but the money was way better the improper ways, The view is wonderful during the day and amazingly strange at night (in a really good way).
but the FAA and FCC changed regs and bulbs got better so that extra cash dried up

I would like to do it one more time before kicking off, but I'd do it the right way... getting wimpier as the years go by.

[Ben Framed]

lol doesn't sound wimpy to me!! I have seen pictures of the view from the top of those tall radio towers and I doubt I would have done at the age of 16, even if I had a parachute! lol

[animal]

nah, a tower is easy and you can clip off as you go up.... steel is trustworthy.

people that climb trees and poles amaze me. I tried it twice with some 50+ year old climbing spikes.. not good either time as I got up there and both legs fell asleep both times. .. that's an irritating feeling .. and turning your belly into a giant raspberry is not fun either

(the spikes weren't 50 years old at the time, but they were used and an older style even back then. The spikes part was almost straight and a guy said mine were really more for poles and showed me some with curved spikes that stuck out more .. but I had had enough by then, lol)

[animal]

Picture climbing a radio tower at night with the top lights out.
You can see the ground and the tower, but the low angle ... between the line the tower makes, and your sightline up to the top of the tower ... combined with the low light .. makes it where you can't really see that the tower ends.
It's quiet except for the wind and the noises you make yourself. The tower is gently swaying. So .. your mind wanders like you're going for a walk until it settles on Led Zeppelin.

so now, just like 40 or so years ago, "Stairway to Heaven" is stuck in my head. 

kinda nice at first, but I'll probably be cursing you later

It's something I wish everyone could experience, but most wouldn't have it if they could.

[Terri Yaki]

Yeah, it's a hard pass for me and I have a bit of respect for those who can do it. I have a friend who worked in coms in the AF and he's told me some stories about building towers and changing those bulbs. He acted like it was nothing but he didn't like the way the bulb was just kind of loose and if he dropped it, he'd have to go all the way back down to get another one. And as for the views. I own and fly a Cessna 172 so I can top any view from a radio or fire tower.

[BeeMaster2]

Some of those transmitters put out a thousand watts of power. With that much power being radiated, it would be very easy to pick up power from the air. Those 2 balls are there to short out lightning strikes to ground to try to protect the transmitters and receivers. They wi also have a carbon element that will burn open to also protect them.
In the video they show the tip burning but not the thin threads that are touching the other ball. Doesn?t seem right.
Many years ago a guy installed wire in a big spiral loop on his ceiling and hooked it to a ceiling light bulb and had free power until he started bragging about it. The power company got wind and called the police and had him arrested for stealing power.
Jim Altmiller

[animal]

Beemaster, that's a 10,000 watt station, the same power as the one I worked at and the first one I messed with the towers on. At night, they probably drop it to 1,000 watts as WMOX was required to do. A 1KW station is a baby one. At WMOX, the transmitter was between 50 and 100 yards from one of 4 towers, in a concrete block building. There was enough rf that 2 of the computers had to be shielded or they would randomly do strange things or lock up.
Screw threads ... yeah, it doesn't seem right, but nature is strange sometimes ... threads make contact with the ball, then you slowly push the tip towards the other ball. The arc happens just before the tip contacts. As long as you have fairly clean surfaces and you hold the threads firmly to the ball, it'll act just like in the video... maybe a spark or two but that's it. If you actually touch the screw tip to the second ball, it'll weld and probably then burn the threads enough to arc and maybe weld. ... sorta like a welder .. you hardly ever see a spark at the ground clamp teeth unless you stick the rod and have a bad connection at the clamp .. or the clamp slips off while you're working a stuck rod loose.   

WMOX is a talk station now... When I was there, they still played music and only did a morning and afternoon local talk show...  then Rush Limbaugh started up.

... the big daddy AM stations in the US are 50KW