Of course, they also try to do it to power lines. Show them a transformer inside a box of hurricane fence and all they see is hundreds of kilogrammes of money waiting to be “appropriated”.
EV charging stations, too. I’ve seen a couple of videos where the driver of an EV tried to plan a cross-country road trip by mapping out all of the EV stations along their route, only to discover along the way that half of them were out of service because the charging cables had been hacksawed off and stolen for the copper.
It takes longer to build a house now because the wiring will usually be stripped out at least once before construction’s finished. When I had my hundred year old house rewired, the electrician was practically drooling over all the old wiring. I said ‘just leve it behind the walls, nobody will notice, but he collected every strand and took every inch of the leftover wire, that I’d paid for, to sell as scrap.
Once upon a time, brass was going for 70 cents a pound and the Base I was at had a large Air-Ground Range that the A/C we were flying at the time had no use for but we often hosted ‘gun camps’ at for a couple of F-5 Sqn’s…
F-5’s keep the links from the cannons but dump the brass overboard…the run in lanes for the strafing targets sparkled in the sun by the end of a ‘camp’ and four 20mm casings make a pound.
We used to have a ‘range clearing’ every Spring after the frost had brought stuff to the surface. That funded the best Armament parties ever held 😉 it also ended up with a little EOD work since the range had been in use since before WW1 for artillery and there was almost always a few old shells that needed attention as well as Aircraft rocket heads and practice bombs. Twice that I was personally there for, WW2 and later vintage 250 and 500lb live bombs came up, they go in pretty deep at impact if the fuze malfunctions. We generally cleared any ‘duds’ as soon as possible but sometimes you dig for days and still can’t find it so have to leave it ‘for later’ which is why ranges are a good place to stay away from, even if the fishing is usually pretty good.
When I was stationed in Turkey, they couldn’t string new phone lines between Incirlik AB and Adana City because the copper wire was being stolen at night as fast as it was strung during the day. Many hammered copper trays in the Bazaars started life as TTC phone lines.
I used to work at a radio station who’s studious in one location and the transmitter and tower in another. They were connected by coaxial cable. At least once a month we’d go dark because someone cut our cable for the copper.
It’s been said “they’ll steal anything that isn’t nailed down and they carry a hammer to pull nails”
Tomorrow being your major Holiday, we had ours Tuesday, and seeing as how terrorists love memorable dates and fireworks cover up shots…keep your eyes open, your powder dry and your exit routes clear…and try not to have so many wobbly pops you can’t distinguish a threat cearly…or to be extra safe, BBQ pork chops and ham slices 😉
12 Comments
You mean ILLEGAL aliens.
Yes! They’re hardly ‘undocumented’; some have more documents than I do–3 or 4 SS numbers, 2 or 3 driver’s licenses, etc.
Not to mention a rap sheet as long as your arm.
Of course, they also try to do it to power lines. Show them a transformer inside a box of hurricane fence and all they see is hundreds of kilogrammes of money waiting to be “appropriated”.
Often, what they get is Instant Karma.
clear ether
eon
EV charging stations, too. I’ve seen a couple of videos where the driver of an EV tried to plan a cross-country road trip by mapping out all of the EV stations along their route, only to discover along the way that half of them were out of service because the charging cables had been hacksawed off and stolen for the copper.
I don’t know why I couldn’t get Anyone to help pull cable out on the airfield. Heh!
It takes longer to build a house now because the wiring will usually be stripped out at least once before construction’s finished. When I had my hundred year old house rewired, the electrician was practically drooling over all the old wiring. I said ‘just leve it behind the walls, nobody will notice, but he collected every strand and took every inch of the leftover wire, that I’d paid for, to sell as scrap.
Once upon a time, brass was going for 70 cents a pound and the Base I was at had a large Air-Ground Range that the A/C we were flying at the time had no use for but we often hosted ‘gun camps’ at for a couple of F-5 Sqn’s…
F-5’s keep the links from the cannons but dump the brass overboard…the run in lanes for the strafing targets sparkled in the sun by the end of a ‘camp’ and four 20mm casings make a pound.
We used to have a ‘range clearing’ every Spring after the frost had brought stuff to the surface. That funded the best Armament parties ever held 😉 it also ended up with a little EOD work since the range had been in use since before WW1 for artillery and there was almost always a few old shells that needed attention as well as Aircraft rocket heads and practice bombs. Twice that I was personally there for, WW2 and later vintage 250 and 500lb live bombs came up, they go in pretty deep at impact if the fuze malfunctions. We generally cleared any ‘duds’ as soon as possible but sometimes you dig for days and still can’t find it so have to leave it ‘for later’ which is why ranges are a good place to stay away from, even if the fishing is usually pretty good.
Po-tay-to, po-tah-to, call it what you will, same thing.
When I was stationed in Turkey, they couldn’t string new phone lines between Incirlik AB and Adana City because the copper wire was being stolen at night as fast as it was strung during the day. Many hammered copper trays in the Bazaars started life as TTC phone lines.
Zar Belk, Effendum!
I used to work at a radio station who’s studious in one location and the transmitter and tower in another. They were connected by coaxial cable. At least once a month we’d go dark because someone cut our cable for the copper.
Chris….Could you please delete this last entry? I thought my translation post had deleted my Turkish post to MD! *Facepalm*
It’s been said “they’ll steal anything that isn’t nailed down and they carry a hammer to pull nails”
Tomorrow being your major Holiday, we had ours Tuesday, and seeing as how terrorists love memorable dates and fireworks cover up shots…keep your eyes open, your powder dry and your exit routes clear…and try not to have so many wobbly pops you can’t distinguish a threat cearly…or to be extra safe, BBQ pork chops and ham slices 😉