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Posted By: Jim M Wiring America - 08/31/05 10:20 PM
Tonight on the History Channel at 9 pm EST is Wiring America. Below is a summary of the show.

We begin with electrical linemen perched precariously out a helicopter door, repairing 345,000-volt high-tension power lines. They are part of an army of technicians and scientists we'll ride, climb, and crawl with on this episode. They risk their lives so that we can have the services we take for granted--electric power and 21st century communications. They lay and maintain the wire that connects us one to another, as well as America to the rest of the world. The hardwiring of America is a story that is nearly two centuries old. And though satellites and wireless systems may be challenging the wire, it's not dead. Fiber optic cable, lines that transmit light, became a player in information delivery in the late 1970s. We may be entering a "wireless" age, but the infrastructure of wires laid by visionary scientists and industrialists are still vital to America. Wire technology will be with us, continuing to provide service, well into the next century.
Posted By: electure Re: Wiring America - 08/31/05 11:27 PM
The program that precedes it is "Helicopter Linemen, which is a good one also
Posted By: John Crighton Re: Wiring America - 09/01/05 05:00 PM
Did anyone else watch this? Those helicopter linemen are something else.

Imagine getting dropped onto a 345kV wire 100 feet above the ground, then watching your ride fly away while you take X-rays of the wire saddles. And you're wearing a stainless-steel and nomex jumpsuit.

Oh, and don't reach above the wire in the area of the "V" insulators.

What a job.
Posted By: mxslick Re: Wiring America - 09/01/05 06:25 PM
Excellent programs! "Helicopter lineman" also illustrated the importance of planning and carefully double and triple checking every detail.

One can only imagine how the guy felt when he realized he'd forgotten his bonding pigtail and the current began to crackle in his face!!

And when checking those saddles, to be only two "bells" from a fatal flashover, wow.

Hats off to those guys!
Posted By: Larry Fine Re: Wiring America - 09/01/05 11:24 PM
I saw that same episode about ao month ago, and TiVo'ed it. Man, oh, Maischewitz! That guy must have copper-clad cajones!

It does point out something we should all remain aware of: that it's not the voltage, but the voltage difference between two points, that induces current flow.

Remember, the "V-zone" was dangerous because a grounded surface was at the other side of it.
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