10 Year Old's Ham Radio Tower Must Come Down

[Sam KS2AM]

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/96513304.html

[WD8BIL]

Neighbors say the radio tower interferes with their tv and phone signals.

I'll bet most of the neighbors have cell phones and cable/dish TV!
I'd make'em prove their claims!

[W7TFO]

Time for an attorney and PRB-1!

DG73

[The Slab Bacon]

Been There, done that!! A run in with one neighbor some years back got me into a run in with the local zoning board. After being cited with a $12,800.00 fine, I declared war on the whole neighborhood. I was literally threatening death and dismemberment to whoever did this to me. (Keep in mind that at that time we has 3' of snow on the ground, and I was recuperating from 2 herniated disks in my lower back) I was unable to do anything at that time.

Finally the one who did it to me fessed up to it. When I told him about it (the fine)he was actually the one who helped me out of it. He brought a bucket lift truck home from work and sawed off the top mast section (and all of my VHF antennas) and layed it on top of the snow for me.

To this day I have never put the VHF antennas back up. And I am now live on 75 running all of the power I can muster just to piss the rest of my neighbors as much as I can since zoning cant touch me anymore.

the zoning inspector told me "we have got to get those antennas down lower so these people can watch their televisions" Little did that dumb ass know that the problem was caused by the wire antenna tied to the side of the tower.

So Now I run as much power as I can muster just about anytime I'm on the air thanks to the zoning inspector, and out local cable provider going all digital.

Telephones, stereos, and baby monitors dont count   

                                                       
                                                                              The Slab Bacon

[The Slab Bacon]

Oh, yea, furthermore, you will always have some miserable S.O.B. neighbors who just cant stand to see someone have a little good clean fun. Some of these people are just so nasty they cant even stand themselves!!

[WQ9E]

I suggest the tallest antenna that will fit within the "legal framework", a good receive antenna with preamp to make up on the receive side and then a nice Alpha 77SX (dual 8877) to make up for the reduced transmit efficiency.   Perhaps it is time for the neighbors to learn just how bad their cheap Chinese electronic c**p is in a truly strong RF field.

 

[Ed/KB1HYS]

People suck...  

unfortunately they didn't get a permit to erect the tower. This gives the city the legal basis to have it removed if they wish.  If it had been a full up permitted install then they probably could have told the neighbors to pound sand.  Now they city has a lever and a couple of bored housewives that have nothing better to do than to stare at someones tower all day and think about how ugly it is. 

What amazes me is that the neighbors can even see the tower with their heads so far up their collective a$$.

[flintstone mop]

Does anyone know if the ARRL has gotten involved?
There may be a loophole or might get grandfathered.
There wasn't much info if it was one of those communist neighborhoods

A bunch of prickly neighbors

The kid's nam is SAMM ........hmmmmmm

Fred

[Ed/KB1HYS]

The kids call from QRZ - KC9POP .  His bio says  Mom, Dad and Grandpa are all hams as well and he works 6 & 10 meters mostly and that he's planning to upgrade to general.

I'm not sure what the ARRL can do, without the permit, the village(?town?)  has the upper hand. Maybe they can file a "friend of the court" style brief, but dealing with a small town board is tough as they will just pick the easiest way out for them - tower comes down.

Maybe the kid should pull the tower, erect a low loop and run a tetrode with handles on 80m.

The lesson here is check the local building codes/statutes prior to erecting a tower, do it all legal like and then you can tell the old lady neighbors to piss up a rope.

[W1RKW]

I'm sure they can return the favor for all the cheap consumer part 15 crap that is radiating and interfering with their licensed equipment.

[k4kyv]

Oh, yea, furthermore, you will always have some miserable S.O.B. neighbors who just cant stand to see someone have a little good clean fun. Some of these people are just so nasty they cant even stand themselves!!

Makes me feel glad I live on some acreage out in the country where no-one can tell me what I can and cannot put up on my own property.  When I put up my 127' tower in 1981, I checked with  the county just to make sure, and they told me I didn't even need a building permit.  If anyone has complained about it since then, I have never heard anything about it.

My only restriction is that I would have to light the tower beyond 150' because of the helicopter activity from the nearby army base.  But I don't complain about the helicopters any more because they had plans to run a HUGE cross-country high tension power line about 1/4 mile off the boundary of my property, and I was concerned about electrical noise it might generate, although they don't usually create as much of a problem as do local distribution lines. They decided to run the lines a different route down in the southern end of the county to stay away from the helicopter traffic.

That's twice in about 15 years that someone has thought they had a better use for my property that I do. The first time they wanted to run a highway right smack through the middle of it.  It would have barely missed my 160m radial system, and would have taken out my dipole and beverage.  Luckily we managed to convince them to run the highway along the edge of the army base where fewer houses,  farms and businesses would have been affected.  The reason they didn't propose to run it there in the first place was that the state bureaucrats were too scroteless to deal with the federal government over right of way, but after we got together and contacting state legislators and the governor, armed with specific federal regulations that addressed the issue of right of way and federal property, they re-routed it there.

[w1vtp]

The one thing that hasn't been pointed out is that the higher the antenna the less RFI you usually cause your neighbors. Normally if your antennas are too low RFI is a bigger problem. If you can get it up high enough and well above everyone’s roofline it gets better. 65' should solve most of the problem.

If I was them I’d just lower it down to 18’ and run more power. Then let the neighbors find out what a big mistake they made

The higher height of antennas as a benefit for neighbors has been used successfully by ARRL and others in defending the  use of higher rather than lower amateur radio towers.  I checked for my mere 45' tower in this area and the only regulation is the fed regarding the nearby Manchester airport.  Needless to say, I'm not beginning to be the equivalent of a gnat to them.

Damn shame how ignorance rules in many areas of our lives

[K5UJ]

Funny how people just don't get that if their TV or telephone is acting like a radio receiver, then it's broken and needs to be fixed.

If they get a freezer and turn it on and it acts like an oven they have no hesitation about returning it right?  But with a telephone or TV and hams oh no.  Why?  Because blaming someone else is easy.  It is always easier to make something someone else's problem. 

[W1RKW]

Funny how people just don't get that if their TV or telephone is acting like a radio receiver, then it's broken and needs to be fixed.

If they get a freezer and turn it on and it acts like an oven they have no hesitation about returning it right?  But with a telephone or TV and hams oh no.  Why?  Because blaming someone else is easy.  It is always easier to make something someone else's problem. 

Yeah, especially when they think just because they can hear you over their junk equipment that you're the cause.  Just because it seems obvious it must be the reason why so they blame the obvious.  It's just like everything else in the US.  The simple minded seem to be so superior. To much TV.  If its on TV it has to be true.

[Jim, W5JO]

Most of this is caused by lack of knowledge or poor education by the high schools not requiring basic science classes.  The balance is the neighborhood busybody who has a husband that is afraid to call her out.  Anything that doesn't please her eye is crap to be doomed.

I had a neighbor like that in Las Cruces, NM but I  had the permit.  My wife caught the crap from her while we were erecting the tower.  My wife hates towers but defends me so she told the woman to eat S&*%.  I laughed all the time we were there..

[WBear2GCR]

I thought that the courts had determined that the federal regs trump the local zoning laws when it comes to ham erections... no?

             _-_-bear

[k4kyv]

It's just like everything else in the US.  The simple minded seem to be so superior. To much TV.  If its on TV it has to be true.

Most of this is caused by lack of knowledge or poor education by the high schools not requiring basic science classes.

The simple minded and the ignorant have the right to vote, and elected politicians make the laws that we all have to live under.  Politicians who cater to the ignorant and simple minded have always had the advantage with a large segment of the population.  Many candidates running for office go out of their way to demonstrate anti-intellectualism during campaigns, and intelligence and education are looked upon with suspicion by many voters.

I recall during a major national election campaign not too long ago, one of the candidates actually tried to conceal the fact that he was a fluent speaker of French.

I always found it amazing that people take PRIDE in their ignorance.

As for science classes, who needs science when we can have lawyers?  Just ask the FCC.  I'm sure the same is true with other federal and state agencies as well.

[KA2QFX]

Bear, in a word, no.  PRB-1 is about as effective at trumping local ordnance as the 2nd amendment is at permitting you to carry in NYC.  IMHO  People suck and ghum'int pukes suck more.  IMHO.

[KB2WIG]

" I always found it amazing that people take PRIDE in their ignorance."



Ignorance is Strength


klc

[WBear2GCR]

Bear, in a word, no.  PRB-1 is about as effective at trumping local ordnance as the 2nd amendment is at permitting you to carry in NYC.  IMHO  People suck and ghum'int pukes suck more.  IMHO.

I am pretty sure I read about court cases some years back, like just before this century where the ham prevailed on that basis.

                  _-_-bear

[Pete, WA2CWA]

PRB-1:
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=prb-1&id=amateur&page=1
And
http://www.arrl.org/prb-1

[The Slab Bacon]

The one thing that hasn't been pointed out is that the higher the antenna the less RFI you usually cause your neighbors. Normally if your antennas are too low RFI is a bigger problem. If you can get it up high enough and well above everyone’s roofline it gets better. 65' should solve most of the problem.

If I was them I’d just lower it down to 18’ and run more power. Then let the neighbors find out what a big mistake they made

The higher height of antennas as a benefit for neighbors has been used successfully by ARRL and others in defending the  use of higher rather than lower amateur radio towers.  I checked for my mere 45' tower in this area and the only regulation is the fed regarding the nearby Manchester airport.  Needless to say, I'm not beginning to be the equivalent of a gnat to them.

Damn shame how ignorance rules in many areas of our lives

that was my point about the zoning inspector being a dumb-ass! ! ! ! When he told me that you got to get those antennas down lower. So I did!! Baltimore county's statute says antennas cant be over 50' tall. The tip of the top of my 6M vertical was at somewhere around 65'.

I started to challenge his young stupid ass to climb the tower and actually measure it
He could not have known exactly how tall it was any other way. (But I did know) he taped the fine notice to my front door instead of knocking on the door and handing it to us. (we were home at the time) He didnt have the BA's to face me!

I am still debating on tilting the tower down and putting my full sized tribander on top of it just to make it look more intimidating. After all it wont change the height  

Just FWIW, I still keep the zoning citation (showing the fine I didn't pay) framed and hanging on the wall in my radio room.  

                                                                The Slab Bacon

[W9GT]

I'm sure they can return the favor for all the cheap consumer part 15 crap that is radiating and interfering with their licensed equipment.

This is the irony in all of the baloney about interference, or perceived interference.  Probably much more interference is generated by all the cheap cr&p that is out there these days.  The ambient noise floor must be a lot higher.

I once received complaints from a neighbor after I had put up a new tower with a tribander and a 6 m beam.  He complained that I was "screwing-up his TV".  Interesting thing about that was that I had not yet even been on the air!  

73,  Jack, W9GT

[The Slab Bacon]

I once received complaints from a neighbor after I had put up a new tower with a tribander and a 6 m beam.  He complained that I was "screwing-up his TV".  Interesting thing about that was that I had not yet even been on the air!  
73,  Jack, W9GT

Jack,
        Been there, done that I came home from work one day and found one of my neighbors waiting for me in my driveway. (an elderly woman) She was pissing and moaning that her TV was doing strange things all day and I should stop whatever I was doing so she could watch TV. Her TV was turning itself on and off and changing channels by itself. I wasnt even home. This one didnt end up well  

Another time I was standing in my kitchen cooking and one of my neighbors (another elderly lady) called me on the phone bitching and screaming at me that she wasn't able to watch TV all day. I told her that I had just gotten home and was cooking some pasta, If she didnt believe me, she could come over and have some. She was infuriated and really started screaming at me. She then got hghly offended when I then told her to go pound sand up her a$$. Another one that didnt end well   

And one more time comes to mind: One rainy saturday, I had the whole station pulled apart and everything in the shack disconnected and setting on the floor for a little operating position reworking. My phone rang, and a man's voice started cussing me out and then hung up. I did the *69 thing to get their numba and find out who it was. Once I called them back he couldnt figger out how I found it was him. He then appologized and never did it again

The old story of "the boy who cried wolf" comes to mind. So any RFI complaints to me usually fall on deaf ears, because except for 1 neighbor I just flat out dont care anymore.
the ambient noise from all of their low-grade consumer crap often plugs my receivers ears.
I just tell them to call the FCC and even give them the number!

                                                                   The Slab Bacon

[The Slab Bacon]

Oh, yea, another one that I forgot. An old buzzard thet lives 2 doors up from me hates my guts because "I ruined 2 telephones and 2 answering machines of his".
This miserable mother is so miserable that his kids and grandkids wont even visit him.
He has called zoning and code enforcement on me now 4 times, he goes to the other neighbors and starts to stir up trouble and rumors about me and my wife.

I now get along good with most of my neighbors and he cant stand it!! That came to a head last summer when he walked up and cussed my wife to tears and ran up and locked himself in his house and wouldnt answer the door. I finally cornered him out in the street that evening and told him next time I was gonna kill him!!

that was a great outcome!!