Crime Thieves somehow steal 200-foot WJLX radio tower

Police and radio station leaders now asking those with information come forward​

Thieves steal 200-foot radio tower

By Tristan Ruppert
Published: Feb. 5, 2024 at 6:50 PM CST|Updated: Feb. 5, 2024 at 6:51 PM CST

JASPER, Ala. (WBRC) - It is one of the weirdest and wildest thefts you’ll hear about all year. A 200-foot AM radio tower in Walker County is now gone, stolen without a trace.

WJLX’S AM Station signal has been greatly impacted by the theft. Station General Manager Brett Elmore remains hopeful that somebody will share information to help law enforcement find those responsible for the theft. Still, he is blow away by what happened.

“I have tried all weekend to figure it out and I just can’t. I have been in the radio business, around it all my life and then in it professionally for 26 years and I can say I have never heard of anything like this. I can say I’ve seen it all now,” says Elmore.

Elmore says they first learned of the theft on Friday. He says a bush hog crew went down to the WJLX tower site to clean up the property, but the thieves had already cleared it out.

“When he arrived he called me Friday and said, ‘the tower is gone.’ I said what do you mean the tower is gone. Are you sure you are at the right place, you know. He said ‘the tower is gone. There is wires everywhere and it is gone.”

Elmore says they are working with the FCC to get temporary authority to carry on while they rebuild the AM side of their operations. Still, its unclear just how long the rebuild efforts could take.

“This really hurts a small operation like this but like I said, I believe we will find out who did this. It is a federal crime and it absolutely will not be worth it to them.”

If you know anything at all, they are asking that you contact either Crime Stoppers or Jasper Police.

Source (Archive)

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I believe this is the tower that was stolen:


Google Maps

 

[1Tonka_Truck]

With heavy machinery and guys with reflective vests and construction helmets you can steal lot of infrastructure without anybody batting an eye

The way pros take down a tower and the way scrappers would take one down is basically the same; Cut a couple guy wires and drop it like a tree. The only difference is the level of PPE present.

With the tower only being 200' it wouldn't be that hard to disassemble with some knowledge and 2 pieces of specialized equipment. Hell, with the correct amount of bullshit paperwork a large crane rental isn't out of the question.

 

[JosephStalin]

there's a lot of speculation that this outfit had been neglecting some technicality stuff about not transmitting on AM as well as FM (which is needed from FCC regulations due to the way they're on FM), and gosh they just noticed the tower's gone shortly before they expected the FCC barking down their snorkel

Looking at the Radio Discussions thread, the FCC isn't cutting them any slack. The FM side also needs to be shut down since AM not transmitting, and no operation under a temporary permit while repairs are being made.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

Looking at the Radio Discussions thread, the FCC isn't cutting them any slack. The FM side also needs to be shut down since AM not transmitting, and no operation under a temporary permit while repairs are being made.

for what it's worth some of the nerds there live with the idea that there's FCC ninjas ready to deploy from the ceilings of every station in the USA
I don't follow their Alabama stuff (although some of the stories about the weirdness in that thread does lead me to feel like I should look more) but their Florida crew will often state (correctly) that suchandsuch thing is a gross violation of FCC rules, and (incorrectly) the hammer will come down NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW

pretty sure this would be abusing the translators to gyp them on some fees without doing the hoop-jumping to be a "translator" rather than an FM-original station, so this might see some real action compared to something like not powering down correctly at night and bleeding into an extra county but not impacting another station's broadcasts

 

[pikachudidnothingwrong]

Shoot them on sight, arrest whoever survive. This shit needs to be stamped out ASAP!

 

[KiwiFuzz2]

The amount and kind of shit that tweakers will steal is astonishing.

Met a guy at a wastewater plant once and he said that tweakers came in and cut up a $20,000 pipe that was waiting to be installed.

At my dad's office, a tweaker came along one night and tried to clean out the copper from the HVAC, because clearly fucking up a $10,000 HVAC unit for $20 worth of copper makes good business sense. The police caught the guy in the act and hauled him off. The next morning, one of the employees found a baggie of white powder, and then, get this: the tweaker shows up at the office that afternoon and asks if anyone has seen his drugs.

TTD.

 

[The Feline Solution]

Some tweakers will br getting high as FUCK this weekend. Curious if they find the scrapyard that took this shit off their hands.

The amount and kind of shit that tweakers will steal is astonishing.

Met a guy at a wastewater plant once and he said that tweakers came in and cut up a $20,000 pipe that was waiting to be installed.

At my dad's office, a tweaker came along one night and tried to clean out the copper from the HVAC, because clearly fucking up a $10,000 HVAC unit for $20 worth of copper makes good business sense. The police caught the guy in the act and hauled him off. The next morning, one of the employees found a baggie of white powder, and then, get this: the tweaker shows up at the office that afternoon and asks if anyone has seen his drugs.

TTD.

Second story is typical tweaker retardation but the first one is a good pay day, don't even need to be tweakers neccessarily who picked that pipe up. It's sad that it's needed in the present day but you definitly need to invest in proper security with that kind of potential money just laying around.

 

[the_hidden_one]

Rookie shit. In Africa tribes will come out of the jungle and steal whole facilities with their bare hands, foundation and all.

I heard a story from someone in oil over there. They were doing rounds checking wells and came across a blowout. They went to investigate and found the well cap removed and a trail leading off into the jungle. Following the trail led to a camp with the chief sitting in front of said well cap. $20k later and they got the cap back.

 

[KiwiFuzz2]

Rookie shit. In Africa tribes will come out of the jungle and steal whole facilities with their bare hands, foundation and all.

I heard a story from someone in oil over there. They were doing rounds checking wells and came across a blowout. They went to investigate and found the well cap removed and a trail leading off into the jungle. Following the trail led to a camp with the chief sitting in front of said well cap. $20k later and they got the cap back.

Please tell me he didn't think that stealing the well cap would give him an oil well.

 

[drfuzzyballs]

Lets get a poll.

Tweakers trying to get scrap or preppers who want a fully functional tower for when shit hits the fan.

Ham radio users are already allowed to build fairly large transmitters so a prepper is unlikely.

 

[Dickens Cider]

Ham radio users are already allowed to build fairly large transmitters so a prepper is unlikely.

See that was my immediate thought- some ham operator decided he needed a bigger tower but couldn’t afford it and there you go. I know that’s probably not it but yea

 

[Yandex Captcha Solver]

Ham radio users are already allowed to build fairly large transmitters so a prepper is unlikely.

Those antenna towers ain't cheap. Seeing 15k on up. So it's not like it's some casual chump change to throw one up. Some HAM operators have the proper type of autism to plan out stealing one without getting caught.

 

[Jump]

A rusty old tower would fall apart when trying to take it down. So I don't think anyone stole it to reuse it.
Cut the guy-wires and down it will come. Maybe even fold in on it self in a neat pile. Then spend a few days cutting it up.

Small town local AM stations got a life line from the FCC a few years back and where allowed to put up what is called a "translator" on FM. So what ever is broadcast on 1240khz AM would be simulcast on 101.5 FM. You even get 2 call signs.
So WJLX 1240 AM would also be licensed as W268BM 101.5 FM. The translator was just supposed to be an addition to their flagship AM station. But lots of stations seem to abuse this and rebanded themselves as an FM station and just advertise the FM frequency. "Oldies on WJLX 101.5" or what ever, instead of "Oldies on WJLX 1240 and 101.5!"

Checking their website kinda makes it look like they are like this. WJLX is not the call sign for 101.5

Not really in the sperit of the translator law imo.

The AM transmitter is now just a technicality to them, and they let it fall in to disrepair. I'll bet they have no clue when it actually went off the air because they stopped paying the alarm company for the shack and don't pay anyone to monitor the output off the air anymore. Maybe the tower did fall down on it's own and they removed it hoping for a special auth from the FCC to let them run FM only. The wiki seems to insunuate the AM site was already having problems becuase of lack of maintance.

AM radio stations have special regulations. If you don't run your rated power, or your rated pattern, or your off the air; that's just as bad as running to much power. FCC will fine you for each day being off the air and then cancel your license if you don't fix your shit.

 

[Burd Turglar]

Ham radio users are already allowed to build fairly large transmitters so a prepper is unlikely.

Third option: Aliens.

 

[jertzog]

How many truckloads of scrap is that anyway? How much time and manpower to load it all?
Seems like a pretty tidy profit for maybe 10 grand of explosives.

 

[Jump]

How many truckloads of scrap is that anyway? How much time and manpower to load it all?
Seems like a pretty tidy profit for maybe 10 grand of explosives.

If you used 10k of explosives on this tower you just wasted $9500.


I don't blame anyone for thinking this is some grand big brained heist because all the lazy jurnoscum keep using stock tower images like this


To take the old rusty WJLX guyed tower down you didn't need c4, all you needed was this

 

[Damocles_Sword]

I for one greatly anticipate listening to the world's only true pirate radio station.

 

[1Tonka_Truck]

To take the old rusty WJLX guyed tower down you didn't need c4, all you needed was this

The battery powered grinder is one of the best and worst tools ever made.

 

[Homo neanderthalensis]

I bet this was stolen by some boomer ham radio hobbyist.

 

[Sexy Peach Emoji]

Please tell me he didn't think that stealing the well cap would give him an oil well.

He thought it would get him 20k.

 

[LeChampion1992]

If I had a Nickel for every time some Meth addict raided a radio station for its copper and equipment I would only have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's strange it happened twice.