Tower sites contractors or field techs: Ever had any (unwanted) visit...

The short answer is: Carry a weapon, know how to use it, and be authorized to use it..
Take two people - don't go alone.
Also: Don't make waves. Check out where you're going first, if unfamiliar. There are sites where we have asked for (and received) police escort.

To your point about unwanted "visitors": I will tell you a quick story.

I was at a rural site some years ago, alone, at night, and the power was out.
It was a safe area, so I was not too concerned. More upset that I got called out so late.

Anyway, I got to the site OK, figured out why the generator wasn't running, and got it started, etc..
However, being a "city-folk", I hadn't thought twice about leaving the fence gate open. When the generator came on, so did the exterior lights -- and that attracted all the cows that were grazing nearby. Not that I knew it at the time, 'cause I was still inside finishing up.

I set the alarm and locked the door, walked toward the truck and saw, I don't know, maybe 10 cows!! Having no idea how to get them out of the compound, and fearful that they might knock over the generator or damage the air conditioners (they did seem awfully interested in those...?), I decided that if I turned off the lights that attracted them in the first place, maybe they would just leave. And of course, they had to leave - I couldn't lock the fence with them inside!

Well, you can see (er, rather "smell") where this is going.
I turned off the lights, walked back to the truck and SPLAT - right in a big ole mound of cowpie!!!
Yep. Pretty stupid.

 

I've been mugged/held up twice while working at night. I've walked in on three or four convenience store robberies in progress, again while working at night.

As for walking up on people, I've encountered two copper thefts in progress. Both times I got the plates, stayed back and called the cops and both times the suspects were arrested shortly thereafter.

I can't even tell you how many times I've had people walk up to me in the truck and ask me for help with their bill or phone...

 

I've got a cow one for you... there's a site I've been to a number of times that is on a cattle ranch. You're dodging cows every trip up the road and typically there are many grazing around the site when you get there. One trip last spring I had a whole herd follow me up the last 1000' of road to the site. When I got out of my truck, most of them were about 100' away but a few got the nerve to walk up towards me. Between us was a telephone pole that one decided to hide behind while looking at me. She'd crane her head around the pole and when I looked at her she'd duck back behind it. I guess she thought if she can't see me... I can't see her!

I've attached a picture though it's sorta low res.

c

 

Many years ago as a telephone repairman I was working on a line concentrator. The unit was mounted on the field side of a pole backed up to a fence. It was just barely daylight and I felt a warm breath on the back of my neck and something pushed me. Needless to say it scared the crap out of me. Just an old horse trying to be friendly and he never would go away and let me work.

Most of you are not aware of what a line concentrator even is. A relay device that takes 100 telephone lines in a rural area and concentrates them onto 15-20 pairs going back to the central office. This type of concentration would never fly today. This was in the pre-cell days back in the late 60's.

 

I take it that this device predates the Western Electric SLC-96 Digital Loop Circuits? I've seen 96 lines have just 48 dial tones available.

COtech

 

That was concentrated SLC(pronounced "SLICK", it was not used in my area, Connecticut (Southern New England Telephone>SBC>AT&T). Line Concentrators predate SLC by 30+years.