Cell Tower Inspection

[aerialimagery]

I might have an opportunity to do some.

I was just trying to get an idea of what's involved and how long it usually takes.

 

[BigAl07]

It depends on the client(s), how much equipment is on the tower and what the client's expectations for DATA are. You need to start at the other end of the equation and work from there. Some towers will have equipment from several clients on it and some will be dedicated to one or two clients.

It's like asking, "How much is a bag of groceries and how much does it weigh?" Is it loaded with marshmallows or rib-eye steaks? You gotta have the information at the end of the equation and work it backwards.

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

You have received good info from @BigAl07. To add to that you may be hired by the Tower owner or by one of the many carriers that could be on the tower or a third party (most likely). Sometimes just gaining access to the gated compound can prove to be a challenge. You may have the lock combination but the locks may or may not be marked

You might be asked to enter and photograph the interior of the building that has the equipment inside the compound. You might be asked to open equipment cabinets and take photographs. Be sure to have a handful of tools for that, keys are not always available. You may be asked to get images for one particular carrier, choosing the correct antenna aray can also be a challenge. A simple job can become more than you expected very quickly.

Proper training by the company contracting you is very important.

 

[BigAl07]

Thanks @Florida Drone Supply for the kind words.

Your input is Spot ON and the images provided push that point home.

Tower Inspections can go from "Cash Cow" to "Money Pit" in a matter of 30 seconds depending on the location, the equipment, and the needs of the client.

I think the #1 point to take away from this is.... "Qualified and EXPERIENCED Training". If you want to make decent money you've got to know what you're looking at and know how to provide meaningful data that justifies your work to your client. Too many are trying to get on the "Inspection bandwagon" and honestly causing more harm than good. Remember that if you screw up and fly your sUAS into that equipment the cost to replace/repair and potential down time could be mind boggling.

NOTE: these house very sensitive yet High Power equipment and as such they are dangerous for you and your sUAS if you're not prepared. Make sure you are WELL insured just in case. . .

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Thanks @Florida Drone Supply for the kind words.

Your input is Spot ON and the images provided push that point home.

Tower Inspections can go from "Cash Cow" to "Money Pit" in a matter of 30 seconds depending on the location, the equipment, and the needs of the client.

I think the #1 point to take away from this is.... "Qualified and EXPERIENCED Training". If you want to make decent money you've got to know what you're looking at and know how to provide meaningful data that justifies your work to your client. Too many are trying to get on the "Inspection bandwagon" and honestly causing more harm than good. Remember that if you screw up and fly your sUAS into that equipment the cost to replace/repair and potential down time could be mind boggling.

NOTE: these house very sensitive yet High Power equipment and as such they are dangerous for you and your sUAS if you're not prepared. Make sure you are WELL insured just in case. . .

We have a new acronym, BCPT, I hope I never have to use it!

 

[aerialimagery]

I'm still trying to get a handle on the time involved. I understand it depends upon various factors, but some examples would be nice. I can't imagine that the outfit which approached me has not already considered all the hazards, etc. Anyway, it seems like a lot of hard and tedious work for not much money, and nowhere near as fun as the regular drone photography work I do. I in no way am trying to jump on a "bandwagon" but was just considering it to cover some of my down time, though if I can get an realistic of idea of how much time is involved, and if it seems excessive compared to the return, I'll pass on this opportunity and use that time to market my regular work which pays a lot better.

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

How much time involved depends on what you are being asked to do. Most contractors will be given a "Shot Sheet" describing what they want you to capture images of whether it be still photos and or video. Without seeing that it is impossible to give you an accurate assessment of how long it will take.

A guy wired tower will take longer than a monopole or lattice framed tower. Some inspections/imaging that we have done can be completed on a single battery from a P4P, a 600 foot guy wired tower with a split rad configuration could take 4-6 P4P batteries depending on the "Shot Sheet".

The questions you are asking should be asked to the people offering the job to you. Flying towers is work, flying close to guy wires is not for the faint of heart. It is something that needs to be learned and approached cautiously.

 

[BigAl07]

How much time involved depends on what you are being asked to do. Most contractors will be given a "Shot Sheet" describing what they want you to capture images of whether it be still photos and or video. Without seeing that it is impossible to give you an accurate assessment of how long it will take.

To slightly expand on what FDS posted:

We use a "Shot Recipe" (I didn't coin that term but it's what the client sends me to there LOL) and it can vary from: "quick give me a few shots of this device and mounting points" to "We need stills from 8 different points around the tower at 5' distance going up in 6' increments along with 4K video orbiting the tower 4X climbing each rotation". And every client has different terminology and requests but after a while you learn to "interpret" what they are asking for.

A guy wired tower will take longer than a monopole or lattice framed tower. Some inspections/imaging that we have done can be completed on a single battery from a P4P, a 600 foot guy wired tower with a split rad configuration could take 4-6 P4P batteries depending on the "Shot Sheet".

Words can not describe the "Stress" of flying with so many "obstacles" while trying to get the shot(s) you gotta get. This is also why we carry at least 1 backup aircraft in the vehicle (usually a couple LOL).

 

[R.Perry]

You have received good info from @BigAl07. To add to that you may be hired by the Tower owner or by one of the many carriers that could be on the tower or a third party (most likely). Sometimes just gaining access to the gated compound can prove to be a challenge. You may have the lock combination but the locks may or may not be marked

You might be asked to enter and photograph the interior of the building that has the equipment inside the compound. You might be asked to open equipment cabinets and take photographs. Be sure to have a handful of tools for that, keys are not always available. You may be asked to get images for one particular carrier, choosing the correct antenna aray can also be a challenge. A simple job can become more than you expected very quickly.

Proper training by the company contracting you is very important.

View attachment 539 View attachment 540

I have the tool for all of them, a bolt cutter.

 

[Bob L]

Curiosity question. What is the “minimum drone” needed for cell tower inspection and what is the “optimal drone” needed? TIA

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Curiosity question. What is the “minimum drone” needed for cell tower inspection and what is the “optimal drone” needed? TIA

For our contracts a P4P would be the minimum. The optimal.... that just depends on if the contract varies from the norm. Why fly an M210 if you can do the job to the clients specs with a P4P. It all depends on the clients requirements, not one drone fits all purposes.

 

[Bob L]

For our contracts a P4P would be the minimum. The optimal.... that just depends on if the contract varies from the norm. Why fly an M210 if you can do the job to the clients specs with a P4P. It all depends on the clients requirements, not one drone fits all purposes.

Thanks!

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Thanks!

You are welcome!

 

[Local UAS]

Overall, I really enjoy cell tower inspection work.

I agree that some towers can have a huge amount of requirements and have the potential to blow your schedule when you show up and see 8 sectors of antenna you only expected 1, etc... The pucker factor when flying in any sort of wind can also be pretty high. For a simple stationary steel structure, a tower can bring your AC down in a whole bunch of ways.

But tower work is so different. The towers are often in very rural areas that I happen to really enjoy flying and driving around in. Tower work can open up new areas to you that you may have never explored (find that old diner on Main St.?). I live in a large metro area and... well, it just feels great to fly in an area where the horizon is endless. I put a ton of miles on my car, blasted thru all my old NOFX albums and cobbled together a few mobile charging solutions that -pfft- are all pretty much garbage and still won't really get me infinite recycle power you need for an all day run.

Tripod mode is your friend. POI for orbits is helpful. But you will also find times where you just need to be a boss pilot and fly your machine in the way in needs to be done. And after flying within a few feet of an antennae you only later realize is larger than your car, most of your other flights will seem pretty tame by comparison. Get out there.

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Overall, I really enjoy cell tower inspection work.

I agree that some towers can have a huge amount of requirements and have the potential to blow your schedule when you show up and see 8 sectors of antenna you only expected 1, etc... The pucker factor when flying in any sort of wind can also be pretty high. For a simple stationary steel structure, a tower can bring your AC down in a whole bunch of ways.

But tower work is so different. The towers are often in very rural areas that I happen to really enjoy flying and driving around in. Tower work can open up new areas to you that you may have never explored (find that old diner on Main St.?). I live in a large metro area and... well, it just feels great to fly in an area where the horizon is endless. I put a ton of miles on my car, blasted thru all my old NOFX albums and cobbled together a few mobile charging solutions that -pfft- are all pretty much garbage and still won't really get me infinite recycle power you need for an all day run.

Tripod mode is your friend. POI for orbits is helpful. But you will also find times where you just need to be a boss pilot and fly your machine in the way in needs to be done. And after flying within a few feet of an antennae you only later realize is larger than your car, most of your other flights will seem pretty tame by comparison. Get out there.

Excellent points, we appreciate wide open spaces also!

 

[FlyaDrone]

For how ever long you fly cell comm tower inspection missions, one or many, you will forever be a better pilot after the training.

 

[dronie326]

Agreed with everything above. To help with the question about time, I recently completed 4 cell towers and it ended up being a little over 5.5hrs of flight time. That was making sure to capture as many angles as possible so that they could be stitched into a dense point cloud. Also taking several videos with the Z30 zooming into connections and labeling.
As mentioned, the client may not require all of that and then time in the field may be substantially reduced.

 

[Bob Stekeur]

I'd like to get into doing tower inspections, and advice on who to approach?