On 03/29/06 10:27 am Jim Lux wrote:
> At 03:20 PM 3/28/2006, Doug Renwick wrote:
>> You are to be commended for sharing your experiences and I
>> agree with your philosophy. A lot don't share their
>> experiences because they get chastised by people who throw
>> around words like 'unsafe'. Have these people ever heard of
>> 'risk analysis'? Really...how much will your tower
>> withstand can only be determined by 'product testing to
>> destruction'. If your tower arrangement has survived for 25
>> years then IMO you have a safe installation. Great job!
> Well.. there's really two aspects to these kinds of things..
>
> The first is your personal risk acceptance posture. If a tower or antenna
> failure affects only you, you get to get decide how strong or rickety you
> want to make things. In this context, all the manufacturers'
> recommendations, and various and sundry engineering discussions here and
> elsewhere, basically go to make you an "informed risk taker", but
> ultimately, you get to make the decision.
>
>
> The second aspect, and one that is sadly becoming more important, is the
> increasing regulatory environment, and the assumption of the responsibility
> for failure by others (e.g. a city, your insurance company, etc.) 30 years
> ago, I'll bet nobody ever asked for wet stamped drawings for a amateur
> tower. You went out, dug the hole, put up the tower, and were done with it.
> Certainly, that's what my friends and family did. These days, though, you
> have to get a building permit, and that might require engineering analyses,
> etc.
That is still not universally the case. Many of the municipalities in W.
Michigan specifically exempt from all their other regulations towers and
antennas for TV reception and those used by FCC-licensed amateur radio
operators -- provided that the towers etc. do not exceed a certain
height, typically 70ft.
Holland Township does not want to see a drawing or inspect the
foundation or any other aspect of the installation. "As long as it's not
over 70ft., just do it" is the gist of what they told me.
Alan NV8A
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