Yes, I was THAT ham, HI HI! Complex legal case that yes, I won, but
"I was ruined but twice: once when I lost a lawsuit and once when I won one." ARRL wasn't much help. Available for more-than-you-want-to-know consultations... 73, KB5F/mm Orin Snook 281-745-0539 ________________________________ From: BVARC <[email protected]> on behalf of D. Howard Bingham via BVARC <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 8:46 PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Cc: D. Howard Bingham <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers Didn't a BVARC MEMBER years ago take out a PERMIT in a Fort Bend County community to erect an antenna tower in his back yard, hire a contractor to drill foundation & erect a tower, & after permitted & constructed have a neighbor complain about the tower which IIRC was partially concealed by trees, to end up being taken to court & have the permit revoked & required to take it down..? IIRC, the case eventually ended up in FEDERAL COURT, yet to spite the operator WON IN THE COURT, was not awarded any damages & his wife who worked for either the CITY or COUNTY lost her job.! I forget the member, but recall it was subject to a BVARC CLUB MEETING.! D. Howard Bingham ke5apj BTW: My solution to a 10 meter ham antenna in my APARTMENT, was to install a 1/2 wave 10m Di-pole inside my apartment along back wall ceiling & enjoyed many QSO's on 10m & was an active participant on 10-10 SHOT NET .. --- On 3/31/2022 12:22 PM, Jonathan Guthrie, KA8KPN via BVARC wrote: I'm not saying anything. I asked a question. I've heard that you're supposed to get a permit before constructing a tower, even in the country. Is that true? I have no idea. A permit is just a piece of paper. I don't really care about it because it probably doesn't matter. What does matter is whether or not you took appropriate care in the design of your tower and antenna. Truth be told, I don't really care about that, either, but you should. Look, the human race has spent many hundreds of years figuring out how to make tall things that don't fall over. To that end, techniques have been established for constructing towers (just to pick an example at random) that aren't likely to fall over except under the most extreme circumstances. If you don't know what conditions would cause your tower to fall, then you should find that out and determine if those conditions are likely to happen. I happen to know a fellow who did not take proper care building a tower and antenna system very much like yours and his tower fell over and damaged his house. I wouldn't want to be that guy. Another understanding I have is that there are legal requirements for setbacks and such that are intended to make sure that your tower can't harm your neighbors even in the event of a failure. Part of the permitting process is to make sure all such legal requirements are met. Meeting those requirements can help keep you out of trouble should bad things occur. You may not be able to move to someplace that doesn't have an HOA, but you probably can choose a house that has a yard big enough to hold a modest tower. Neal, please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not saying that you did anything wrong. I'm mostly writing to the other people who might be reading this and thinking about putting up a tower. If this is you, please get some help if you don't know what you're doing. Actually, I think you should probably get some help even if you do. A second pair of eyes can make for some cheap reassurance, and a second set of hands will definitely make the work easier. On 3/31/2022 10:45 AM, Neal Naumann via BVARC wrote: I would plead Ingorance to permits. I grew up in "the country " . I never heard of getting a permit to do stuff. I just do it. Are you saying I need a permit to put up a TV antenna? I imagine I will look for direction if that is the case. But not until it seems to really matter. Neal N5EN Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg> ________________________________ From: BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> on behalf of Jonathan Guthrie, KA8KPN via BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 10:17:26 AM To: Neal Naumann via BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Cc: Jonathan Guthrie, KA8KPN <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers Did you permit the project to erect a tower and antenna? On 3/31/2022 9:41 AM, Neal Naumann via BVARC wrote: A TV antenna is permitted by law (which was drafted by the advertisers running ads on the over the air television stations). My Hygain TH-3JRS is is TV antenna. 33 feet is a height I require for good reception. A flagpole is permitted by law. If you choose to run a wire to it is your choice. 73, Neal N5EN ________________________________ From: BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> on behalf of Jeff Greer via BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022, 9:16 AM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Cc: Jeff Greer <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers Well, my CC&Rs are not vague - they say explicitly no antennas unless we're required to allow the antenna by law. Having said that, I already have an antenna for HF. There will be one for VHF and UHF. The question is about how to build it... I think I've settled on doing the tetherball base. Now I just need to figure out if it will be a push up mast, a crank up mast, a tilt over mast, or some combination, and I need to figure out what to make it out of... Lighter is better, I think, as it'll be less likely to cause damage should it ever blow over (or get knocked over). I may put this thing between my house and the neighbor's house, and I don't want it breaking stuff. I was looking at carbon fiber telescoping masts last night, and that may be a good option. They're pricey, which I'm not thrilled about, but they are supposedly stronger/stiffer than aluminum. -j ________________________________ From: Neal Naumann <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 7:05 AM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Cc: Jeff Greer <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: masts & towers If you attend any area Hamfest with an ARRL forum, John Stratton N5AUS (ARRL board member and civil trial attorney) will tell you that an HOA is no excuse for putting up an antenna. He can feed you ammunition if there is an issue with your HOA. My HOA has a vague statement about antennas 10 ft higher than the highest point on my house. With that in mind and a "it's better to ask forgiveness than permission " attitude, for the past 20 years I have had antennas up to 20 ft in height attached yp my chimney. This past year I got tired of dealing with my extension ladder and put four sections of Motorola/ Rohn 35 in the ground about 6 feet. So that's about 34 feet above ground. I recently came across a good deal on a Hygain TH-3JRS and I also have a 4 element 2 meter beam side mounted. I have never received a complaint... except for grass growing in the sidewalk cracks. I also converted my 10 meter 5/8 wave Siro Toronado to a 30 meters and it's mounted on a 10 ft pole, so that's also about 35' to the top. My 12 meter diy vertical is also at about 30 feet. I'm working on a 60 meter vertical that will use an insulated push-up pole that will be about 43' high. According to N5AUS, all property owners in the United States are guaranteed the right to display Ol' Glory. That flag pole can be 33 feet tall and have coax attached. I hate stupid rules and enjoy pushing the limits. Some people drive the speed limit - I never have. For those that say "don't buy a house in a HOA" - I challenge you to purchase a (decent and reasonably priced) house in the Houston area, in an acceptable school district, and close to work, that's not in an HOA. 73, Neal N5EN ________________________________ From: BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> on behalf of Jeff Greer via BVARC <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 3:02 PM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Cc: Jeff Greer <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [BVARC] masts & towers Hi, BVARC! I'm curious as to what others are doing for masts/towers. I'm in an HOA ("no antennas") with a tiny little yard. Nobody has complained so far about my homebrew "DX Commander" style fan vertical, which looks like a 31' jackite pole (because that's pretty much what it is, with some 3d-printed wire spreaders). I was holding that up w/ a 5' piece of 3/4 copper water pipe driven halfway into the ground. Worked for several months, but the wind finally bent the pipe. I have some 5' electrical conduit that looks a little tougher, but I may resort to guying. The metal inside the bottom of the fiberglass pole, I suspect, interferes with my 10m element, anyway... I'm also wanting to put my Ed Fong DBJ-1 (which looks like a 5' PVC pipe) up with the feedpoint 25-30'. I picked up a couple of old tires, and I'm thinking of filling one with concrete (think tetherball pole) and mounting a couple of pieces of angle iron in the concrete, so I can drill holes, put some sort of mast between them, and make a "tilt over" base/hinge for the mast. Has anybody built a self-supporting (non-guyed) 30 foot mast out of, say, some sort of stock from Home Depot/Lowe's? The internet has lots of stories about using chain link fence top rail (10' sections), but most say that 2 of those (20') is all you join before it gets super wobbly. Would love to use some sort of square tube - maybe nesting sections - but not sure where to get 10' sections, and not sure aluminum would be strong enough or steel would be light enough... Anyway, that's where I am. I thought I'd float this out there to benefit from the experience of those who have been there and done that. Hope y'all can help me come up with something that will work while avoiding poor choices that could cause damage or hurt somebody. Thanks! -Jeff, W5JEF ________________________________________________ Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club BVARC mailing list [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org Publicly available archives are available here: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ ________________________________________________ Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club BVARC mailing list [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org Publicly available archives are available here: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ ________________________________________________ Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club BVARC mailing list [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org Publicly available archives are available here: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ -- D. Howard Bingham - * e-mail: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> 2722 Wisdom Drive * e-mail: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Deer Park, Tx. 77536 * ph: 281-684-5301 (Voice - TEXT) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Supporting an Expanded Amtrak in Texas - www.TEXARP.org<http://www.TEXARP.org> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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