[TowerTalk] FCC Chaurman needs to be a ham

[ny6dx at netscape.net]

"K8RI on Tower Talk" <k8ri-tower at charter.net> wrote:

>If I'm going to install a tower, I really don't have to know anything about 
>the engineering of a tower.
>It helps, but it's not necessary.
>I do have to know who does know, or how to find who knows.
>I need to know where to find the information for guying and concrete, or who 
>to ask.
>It helps if I already know, but again it's not necessary.
>
>I do need to know it's highly advisable to talk to my zoning board if my 
>township (location) has one.
>They will tell me if any zoning applys to my proposed installation.
>They will tell me if I need a permit.
>
>There are only two regulations here.  "Set back" limitations for safety. 
>Don't bother even trying to get past this one even if you have a small lot. 
>Set back is safety and no other regulations over ride safety.  The second is 
>any thing over 80 feet requires a permit and must be properly engineered. 
>80 feet and under doesn't even receive a building permit. It doesn't even 
>matter if is sets in 80 yards of concrete, here it won't get a permit.  How 
>high should I put each antenna and how far apart?  I ask or look it up, but 
>I dont have to know it.  I am required to know about RF safety regulations. 
>Even then all I have to know is how to plug in the numbers to an on-line 
>calculator.  I do not have to do the actual calculations or even any 
>precision measurements.
>
>Yes, it would also be in my best interests to talk with my insurrance agent 
>as to what they'd like to see.  The question often arises as to whether the 
>tower should be attached to the house or not. In my case it's not attached 
>and I can insure it as an additional structure for an additional charge. 
>Most companies will insure it for 10% if attached just like any other 
>attached structure for no additional charge.  I have a small home and a big 
>tower.  I'm far better off with it as a  seperate structure.
>
>OK... In another life I worked my way up to project manager.
>Again, It *helped* that I knew the work flows and my degree is in computer 
>science, BUT I was paid to know who to get to do each phase of the projects. 
>I was paid to know who to get to do the FDA validation. This is not the 
>validation most engineers think of.  The higher I moved up the ladder the 
>more I was managing people and the less I used my own knowledge of the 
>subjects.  That I knew the subjects and work flows helped me evaluate what 
>the engineers, techs, and consultants told me though.  They had a much more 
>difficult time with the old, "If you can't dazzle them with briliance, 
>baffle them with BS" as I could tell what shown and what smelled.
>
>IOW I was paid to know who knew each phase of the project and how to get it 
>done.  If I neede to know how some particular lab test was done I either 
>knew who to ask, or how to find who to ask.  I did very little hands on work 
>with the projects.  Managing them I had no time for the actual "people 
>work".    I had to manage the peole who knew where to get the information 
>and those who did the work.
>
>There is no way a manager can know every phase of an operation, unless it is 
>a small operation, or one that produces few and similar products.  Even 
>conputer science has become such a large field we all specialize in some 
>phase, or aspect.
>
>The same is true in communications and in government.
>Yes it would be nice to have some one as chairman who is knowledgeable and 
>in favor of amateur radio, or one who understands the physics of how this 
>stuff works, but as long as he, or she has no  personal agenda  they should 
>be able to rely on the knowledge of others.
>
>OTOH we should always be on the watch for some one setting the stage for 
>their own advancement at the expense of amateur radio once they leave the 
>position.
>
>Roger Halstead (K8RI, EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
>N833R, World's Oldest Debonair (S# CD-2)
>www.rogerhalstead.com 
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>
>See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
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>

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