[TowerTalk] TOWER LIGHTS

[Jeff DePolo]

> After lots of BS and wrangling, it appears I will probably get a permit for my
> tower in Belize.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that although  I am
> far from any airport the authorities want this tower lighted up.  Although the
> tower is 135 feet they want a "high intensity" light at the top and another in
> the middle.  

It is unclear from your email if you are talking about daytime lighting/marking or nighttime lighting.  Here in the US, high-intensity is a white strobe, used only during the day, and only on tall towers (> 700' AGL).  Red lights are only viable for use at night; they are not used during the day (paint or strobes mark/light towers during the day).  Day and night marking/lighting are, for the most part, unrelated to each other.  

So, are you being required to light the tower during the day with high intensity strobes (white)?  If so, what are you required to use at night?  It almost certainly wouldn't be high-intensity, as, at least here in the US, it is not permissible to use high intensity at night.  If the tower has high-intensity strobes required for day, stepped intensity reductions during twilight and night are required.

> Since all the authorities are far away (at least 80 miles) they certainly aren't
> going to be able to tell a high intensity from a regular red light.  To top it off,
> none of the towers in the area are lit.
> Any ideas?  Litigation is not a viable option as I am a gringo in Belize.
> Bill K4XS/V31XX

Authorities might not be able to tell, but aviation certainly will.  I have no idea what things are like in Belize, but here in the US, penalties for not marking/lighting a tower in accordance with its FAA approval comes with hefty fines.

I really have a hard time believing anyone, anywhere, would want high-intensity strobes on a 130' tower.  Maybe go back to them and see if that's truly what they want.  Or maybe Belize has some kind of high-intensity red lighting that we don't have here in the US.

	--- Jeff WN3A (currently at a broadcast tower site, in the middle of a tower lighting system replacement project)