Topic: Rf Engineering

Adam Curry recalls visiting the top of the Empire State Building in the 1980s with Z100 engineer Steve Pepe. He describes the small, round transmitter rooms and the spiral staircases leading to the spire. The discussion touches on the potential health risks of high RF exposure for those working near the building's powerful broadcast antennas.

The hosts debate the technical feasibility of claims made by author James Bamford regarding NSA satellite interception of point-to-point microwave transmissions. While one host dismisses the idea as "bullshit" due to the directional nature of microwaves, the other argues that atmospheric scatter and low-earth orbit satellites could theoretically allow for such collection.