In Belize it is necessary to get approval from all kinds of places. First, you
have to get a "no-objection letter" from the sub-division head in which the
tower is located. That was obtained easily from her as part of the purchase.
You must also get a letter of no objection from the commercial broadcasters
association. Bizarre, but obtained.
Then you must get a letter of no objection from the Civil Air Board of Belize.
You pay $350 USD to a retired general who comes out to the site to "approve it.
He was the one who wanted the lighting. Since I am noit currently in Belize
it is difficult to work with him on this matter at this time. I forgot to
mention they want the standard FAA paint job. I was thinking ahead on this one
and already painted it a few months ago. $350 USD is about what most of the
people make in a month. Ah, the perks of being a retired military in a third
world country.
Making this more interesting is there is a WISP 100 ft tower less than 1/2 mile
away with no lights. Not put up by Gringos.
Since we are dealing with a third world country, here is the path I'm heading
down. I want to give them what they want...sorta. I purchased two side lights
for $30 USD each which will be modified to mount in the tower. They never
stipulated other wise. At Home Depot they have 4000 lumen LED bulb for $19
each. The guy will come out to inspect in the daytime, but should be able to
see how bright they are in the daytime. Since I'm in a part of the country far
removed from his government office (almost a 2 hour drive) and where he lives
I'll never see him again. I guess with the tropical environment, the lights
could easily not work quite quickly. (Smile) And, getting repair parts does
take a long time.
One would think putting up a tower in a third world country would be easy. I
put up half a dozen 200 footers in FL and it was easy. The two in Hawaii were
more difficult (2.5 world country). But by far, the most difficult was a 130
footer in Belize.
I love V31 , but it is third world country.
Bill K4XS/V31XX
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|