New FAA regulations require towers under 200′ to be marked

I just spray around the place with giraffe repellent.

Haven't EVER seen a giraffe here, so it must work!

 

You seem to forget things like Apollo 11......

 

Ok team, answer this question!!!!!!

First you need to read the ARRL/FCC link that's available in the previous post pages.
Then let's see what everybody's response is.

I have eight wooden utility poles averaging about 90 feet out of the ground.
They're holding cables for my rhombic antennas, would you consider the polls popsicles I have a utility line not far from me with 125 foot poles. Which is currently not on any FAA navigation chart.
The question is:
Do I need to paint or identify these poles under these new regulations, what's everybody thoughts, this should be interesting???????
For the sake of this discussion let's assume I'm not on or near an airport.

 

That one's a thread killer.... HAHAHAHA. I think you should paint Every one of your poles Purple and Green Barber Pole... Light each one with Christmas tree lights and have them blink in sequence. You should do that whether required or not as it might be the cool thing to do. Santa should fly along the antenna wires between poles like he can't find a decent roof to land... Might as well have some fun with it.

 

How far are the poles from the house and other outbuildings?

 

Ho Ho Ho.....Pole....Ho...Pole.....Ouch!

 

K0UO -
I really don't think I'd do anything different until I was spacifically told to do so by the FCC/FAA. That's the serious answer.
What you really ought'a do is sell advertising on those poles! Non-electrical of course.

 

Q

Q az

Good question, well first to put up a rhombic like mine they that up 7 acres each, they're 1000 thousand foot apart!

 

I just put fluorescent light bulbs out there and when I'm transmitting they light up like Christmas trees

 

Santa already hit the wind farm!

 

Wow, 1000 thousand foot apart? That’s 189 miles! You sure have a lot of accommodating neighbors.

 

The solution is to take this one step further: if the towers are registered in a database, they could be made available as "waypoints" or "points of interest" to aviation GPS manufacturers and users, with a mandatory update scheme for users. This way, any first responder with a GPS on board can see the towers on his GPS map. Technology is available, it just needs implementation and enforcement.

 

Very good point MHS! I'm still in the Pre-GPS stone age thought process mode. Look over at an enroute chart and JEPP plates... What did you do last night he asks, thinking you hit the club and partied down... I did this month's Jepp updates, what did you do? With modern navigation technology of the 21st century... GAAK they could have flags for low obstacles alert if you were choppering your way between a forest of galvanized steel and whoop whoop blades that make yours look like a windup toy.... Poor Santa, his approach plates were expired and he assumed zero bias...

Very sad... I saw a huge University flight department just auctioned off their antique LORAN C receivers a few months ago. I remember when we got our very first one installed in our Cross Country Aircraft in the 80's that same model now completely worthless junk...

Erika DD

 

I have read the FAA regulations, the new law, and the ARRL's response. I'm a life member and the ARRL has NOT done its job on this one. All they did was get "most" AR towers exempted from marking requirements, not registration. I personally get a little irked with the government anytime I am told I have to register something. What bugs me most is that FAA has set such ridiculous requirements at 50ft minimum, especially since private aircraft cannot fly over a private residence below a certain altitude unless they meet a restrictive exemption. There are many abandoned rural TV antenna towers that are much taller in rural areas that will never be registered so nothing is really gained on the backs of AR ops. All of my towers (4) with antennas are in my backyard (I am rural) with antennas are under 65 ft, which are about 20 feet taller than the tree in my back yard. My antennas in my backyard are visible on Google Earth. Any GOOD/SAFE agribusiness pilot who sprays crops will make a preflight visual check in person of the area he is going to spray along with checking Google Earth. NO plane should EVER fly over my house at under 200ft for any reason unless they are making an emergency landing in my field and a 50ft tower registration will mean nothing at that point. Our modern culture of create government data bases and laws for every reason to protect a micro-micro number of people from doing something stupid is, itself, very stupid. It is just a way to cost the tax payers millions of dollars and it will not accomplish anything. My house is 300 yards from a 300 ft gas pipe line microwave tower. We have had pipe line flights twice a week for more than 60 years and those are at around 300-500 ft over the pipeline right of way, which is 250 yards away and they simply fly between my house and the tower. That is the lowest and closest flight that should ever come even close to my under 65ft antennas. Unless I receive an official letter from the FCC that says I have to register my towers that they know I have on my property, they will not be registered. As tight as the FCC is on funds, I do not see them sending out a letter to each and every licensed operator and neither the FCC or the FAA have the funds to chase out unregistered towers. They are pushing mandatory but voluntary registration (is that an oxymoron?). Regarding the comment about first responders: I have been a First Responder and I am LZ trained having spent 20 years in a volunteer FD. The GPS units we use in our VFD are cell phones, Garmin dash units that sell for about $150, and Google Earth. They do not show towers on the road maps or points of interest. Listing every 50ft tower in the USA would be a huge expense to the companies, not to mention probably could not be legally forced on the companies. LZ's are not set up by using visual maps on a Garmin. We set them up visually with multiple responders making sure the LZ is clear and then transmit the live GPS coordinates to the chopper pilots with visual descriptions of the LZ before they do a fly over before landing.

 

My tower, ever so small compared to the large green 100 foot trees is of no threat to anyone, even the USFS helicopters, EMS helicopters and other such private pilots who fly over my house at less then minimum altitudes.
I am not going to paint it off colors, add it to anyone's database, nor put a marking light on it as no pilot could see it anyway since it is below tree top level.
There are other towers in the immediate area, IE; cell towers, and commercial towers that I guarantee will not be listed either.

The local liberal faction and, "not in my neighborhood" whackadoodles want the new cell towers subdued colors so no one sees them.

So, FCC and FAA, go 'bark" up another tree-