[TowerTalk] Help; Coax Run

Fri Mar 10 12:53:56 EST 2006

Your idea of putting the tower up before neighbors have a chance to think about it has merit.  My problem is, to get a tower permit in Minneapolis MN where I live, there is a requirement to send letters to everyone who lives within a 3 mile radius of where my tower will be, telling them of plans to put up a tower.  The city will send out the letters (for a big fee and I have to make arrangements with the city to do it).  

In many ways, Mpls treats ham towers just like commercial towers.  Someone at the Mpls city planning office actually told me that Mpls doesn't want ham towers because they fall down all the time and the FFC has rules against hams putting their towers in their back yards.  There was more, and I finally was pushed too far.  I told the guy speaking to me that towers don't fall, they fold, and the FCC encourages hams to put up towers.  He got up and walked away.  

Fortunately he is not the person I'm working with.  The person I'm working with is trying to be very helpful but she understands nothing about ham radio or towers (as apparently is true of everyone there).  I've spent a lot of time explaining things to her and I will have to jump through a LOT of hoops to get the permit, which I believe is worth having when I put up a tower.  A lot of people don't get a permit, but then they can be in big - and expensive - trouble if a neighbor takes a notion to complain to the city about the tower.

I have to pay $450 to the city before they will even review my application.

I wasn't a ham when I bought my house in Mpls.  Had I been a ham then, I would've moved to St. Paul or any number of suburbs which are not as hard-nosed as Mpls.  But I'm fixing up the house and am attached to it, so will try for the permit.  I already have a Rohn 25 tower laying in my backyard.

73 de Orcy  WØQT
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: K6XN 
  To: WarrenWolff at aol.com ; towertalk at contesting.com 
  Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 10:52 AM
  Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Help; Coax Run

  Warren

  I was able to solve a problem with one of my adjacent neighbors by agreeing
  to have two trees planted near my property boundary in a strategic location
  selected by her (and agreed to by me) to block her view of my tower. It took
  several years for the trees to grow tall enough and wide enough to
  completely block her view but over the last 15 years it has worked *great*.
  My neighbor had (and still has) a favorite position in her living room and a
  particular line of sight from that position. We simply had her sit in her
  position and look at the tower and I was able with her help to locate the
  exact spot near my property boundary where we could plant something to block
  her view of my tower from her preferred viewing position. 

  The hard part was getting her to even consider an alternative solution and
  to get her engaged in working with me to find a solution that would work for
  her other than removing my tower. Unfortunately she wouldn't even consider
  thinking about alternative solutions until the city backed me rather than
  her when she tried to get the city to force me to remove my tower (as I had
  a building permit and I had followed all the city guidelines and
  requirements).

  Unfortunately, if you anticipate that your neighbor will be in a seething
  rage or otherwise be unwilling to work with you (as mine was initially) you
  may wish to first make sure you have all your building permits and whatever
  else may be required in place and the tower up before you "waken any
  sleeping dogs". Getting a *complete copy* of all the applicable regulations
  at the time you put up the tower and safeguarding them and all your
  contractor documentation to prove that you are in complete compliance with
  all city and county regulations for subsequent disputes is a good idea too.
  I would recommend also taking pictures of the hole for your tower base after
  it is dug, rebar, the concrete being poured and various stages of the
  installation etc as you may have neighbor problems and disputes years after
  you put up your tower.

  Planting some trees either on her property or on your property to block her
  view may not work for you but it is worth a thought...and my angry neighbor
  apparently finally stopped actively hating me (I think) a few years after I
  planted the trees. In any event she stopped petitioning the city and
  threatening law suits.  :-) The cost of the trees and planting them was a
  lot less than litigating the issue in court....even if you are also a lawyer
  :-)

  Your plan to find ways to be considerate of your neighbor's concerns prior
  to putting up your tower is a good one and a great long term strategic
  investment both as to her and vis a vis your other present and future
  neighbors.

  GL and 73, Ted, K6XN

  -----Original Message-----
  From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
  [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of WarrenWolff at aol.com
  Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 8:08 AM
  To: towertalk at contesting.com
  Subject: [TowerTalk] Help; Coax Run

  Back again, TTalkers,

  I received lots of encouragement on the subject
  of BuryFlex  and QSL's.  Appreciate all the help,
  too many to thank individually.

  Now, I would like to fine tune how to run these
  two runs of  coax plus rotator control cables.

  Although Lake Havasu City is lenient on tower
  heights, I am  trying to be very considerate of
  one of my neighbors; he has a nice view of  the
  lake; I do not.  My original tower location (Plan A)
  would be on the periphery of his (her) view and
  "she" feels a bit stressed seeing any of  my
  tower, at all. My Plan  A would place the tower
  right by the shack.

  Plan B would place my stack and HD-70 tower
  at the opposite  end of my lot from his view.

  This means that the line of sight run would be
  around 95  feet.  If I were to route the cables "around"
  the edge of my slab, it  would be around 25 feet longer
  with the attendant 90 degree turn (90' + 30',  linear).
  I am thinking two parallel runs of 4 inch PVC.  Of
  course,  running it around the slab might make the
  underground utilities man and the  plumber much
  happier.

  My questions include:
  What is the best  way to run the cable?  Under the
  slab?  In the slab?  Around  the corner?  Should I
  try to have the center of the run "droop" a bit,  with
  a couple of drainage holes at the bottom of the droop?
  What is the  best way to handle a 90 degree turn if I
  go that route?

  Appreciate any advice I can get before meeting with
  my  builder.

  Regards, Warren Wolff; W5KKW;  WY7L
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