Tag: KVLY TV Mast

How many men…

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…does it take to change a lightbulb?

Just one, although getting to the light bulb in question might take a while.

That’s Kevin Schmidt climbing up the KDLT TV analog broadcast antenna near Salem, South Dakota. It’s 1,500ft (457.2m) high.

Nope.

But Kevin’s simian antics fade in comparison to Nick Wagner. Because Kevin was on the KDLT TV analog(ue) broadcast antenna. That’s now outdated technology. And outdated height. The new KDLT TV digital transmitter is 2,000ft (609.6m) in height.

You can watch a 19 minute video of Nick checking the top of the new mast here.

The new mast is the tallest structure in South Dakota. But the tallest structure in North Dakota is the 2,063ft (628.8m) KVLY mast. That’s also the tallest mast in the world and the 4th highest structure in the world. Built in 1963 the first man-made structure to exceed 2,000 feet (610 m) in height.
It held the record for the tallest structure in the world from August 1991 until being overtaken in September 2007 by the Burj Khalifa.

But you’ll remember all that from my 2010 post on the subject (includes photo).

The KVLY Mast – soon to be forgotten

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Yesterday, the Burj Khalifa (or Burj Dubai, depending on who you’re reading) was officially opened in Dubai, breaking records all over the place. Stuff to do with elevators and concrete pumping, having lots of floors and a really high mosque.

Oh, and at 828m, it’s also the tallest man-made structure in the world, of course. 828m is a whole lot of height – the Burj would stand over 150m above the 669m Lion’s Head in Cape Town if it were built alongside it, although I’m pretty sure planning permission would be refused. 

And before the Burj came along, that record belonged to the  HUGE Taipei 101, the MASSIVE World Trade Center or the REALLY TALL CN Tower in Toronto. Or did it?

No.

Since the collapse of the Warsaw Radio Mast on 8 August 1991, the KVLY TV Mast in North Dakota, USA has been the tallest extant man-made structure. That was its claim to fame. That and the fact that it transmitted TV signals, but then other shorter masts do that as well.

And now that claim to fame has gone.

Still, at 628.8m high, the KVLY Mast is still tall enough to warrant lots of space filling if you decide to put a picture of it down the side of a blog post.

Lots of space filling. Loads. Big amounts.

More top class blogging tomorrow, then?

*ahem*

(…are you still here?)