I live in 3 land too and used prb1. And put an antenna. The township first said no. Then I headed their lawyer prb1. He said we can fight it but we will lose.
The key to this is to petition your local state legislature with a similar bill. I did this in Missouri (see my QRZ profile). I had over 30 State Representatives co-sponsoring my bill. The first time it was presented it passed all the way through the House but was stalled in the first Senate committee by the committee chairman who had been bought off by the HOA lobby. The second effort met with less success as it never reached the House floor for debate and vote. I still believe, however, that if the battle can be won in one state, other states will follow. I will tell you that the hardest battle was getting sufficient support from the local hams. For sure the ARRL provided little, if any, support. In fact, they basically called for me to stop my campaign. This issue is an information problem. A majority of licensed amateurs live in the suburban/urban areas and are thus, restricted on outside antenna useage. Unfortunately, many hams have now bought into the mantra that we don't have any rights, that we are infringing on the public with our hobby and that all we need is a little wire hidden in the attic to adequately operate. Until we as hams decide to be proactive in our advocation, education and promotion of the hobby, it will go the way of baseball card, coin and stamp collecting!
I don’t share your view that we are all so naïve and unsophisticated. The reason why hams who live with antenna limitations aren’t all loudly complaining is much simpler - we/they are either well aware of the limitations and still made a conscious decision to live where they do or they don’t care.
I lived in an HOA and went around to every home owner... told them I was a Ham, worked in emergency services and would be there to get messages out to their family in any emergency. They approved me in a heartbeat... BUT...DO WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVE. It's important!!! 73
They approved what specifically? And did your HOA also approve whatever you described? I admit embarrassingly to using that emergency comms excuse too but know it’s largely hyperbole as in any disaster of a magnitude as to destroy commercial communications, my antenna and those of other hams would be the first thing to go. I tell anyone concerned to buy a spare cell phone battery and a satphone.
I agree/Now days that happens about every time I call CQ. The rest of us should get an award for being able to hear them.... ..
But I bet if you had a similar weak DX signal make contact you would pass him around like there’s no tomorrow. Be careful with the elite attitude - big antennas, amps, multi radio setups, studio grade audio … not everybody goes that direction or even cares , not even related to being in an HOA - some like it simple. For many it’s a HOBBY , not a way of life. From what I see it’s a dwindling hobby with younger folks and urbanites - many who DO face HOA restrictions to reasonably pursue their careers and family needs. You should welcome everybody who wants to participate in whatever way works for them.
Unfortunately, some people have to make that choice as they have no other housing options available. They want to be near their jobs, good schools for their kids, and access to medical care needs, etc. It's all about setting priorities. Homeowner Associations are quite prevalent down South. Not so much here in the Northeast.
I must say (write) I haven't found this to be a problem. We just bought a home in FL with no HOA, it was really easy and they're generally nicer homes...slightly more expensive, but not a huge difference. I bought the house by searching on line only, then sent my daughter to look at it (she already lives there), and she brought in a realtor friend of hers to gain access. Sent me dozens of pictures and four long videos. We bought it without ever actually seeing it in person. The "brand new" houses are mostly in HOAs, but I didn't like any of them (after looking at literally hundreds). We bought one built in 2001 and it's new enough, no HOA and no CC&Rs but had about everything we were looking for. To be close to great hospitals and medical centers, just be in or very close to a big city and that solves that. Those who like "country life" more may run into problems on that front. Great schools for the kids are rarely in remote areas, but great students can be anywhere. We're moving in April, and this will be the sixteenth house. Should be the last one.
In all this negativity toward HOAs and other covenant neighborhoods (they are not limited to HOAs BTW) we tend to overlook the reason they were created. Have any of you dealt with the following: 1. A neighbor who has accumulated a bunch of vehicles on his property...none of which are currently registered or on the road...a literal junk yard. And I don't really care how much the owner claims they are worth. 2. A large RV permanently parked in a location which blocks neighboring driveway views of the street. Once again I don't care what it may be worth. 3. A neighbor who decides to paint his house like a Jackson Pollock painting. I don't care if he may be an art lover. 4. A neighbor who decides to run a MC repair Shop in his garage drawing a large number of loud MDs day and night. 5. A neighbor inviting 50 of his closest friends over for a BBQ with loud music blaring until 2:00AM....I really don't care if they are "beautiful people". 6. A neighbor selling drugs out his house prompting a parade of weird vehicles and people at all hours of the night and day. Some of the parade consist of Police Vehicles. 7. A residence in the neighborhood suddenly housing a family of 32. None of which make any attempt to converse in English with neighbors. 8. A neighbor who sets up a target range in his back yard. Quite frankly I'll put up with a few inconveniences such as number of flower pots on my front porch or banning unsightly radio antennas if the above issues are also banned. Number of flower pots or unsightly antennas don't really interest me. I am just as interested in being a good neighbor as I am in ham radio! And although I am fully vaccinated I support those who don't wish to be vaccinated. I would not compare personal decisions regarding one's body with real estate decisions.
Nope, never in my life. Nope, never in my life. Yes! I loved it, and so did pretty much everyone in the area. No, never in my life. No, never in my life. Nope, never in my life. No, never in my life. Of course not. Everywhere I've lived there are municipal ordinances -- not covenants or deed restrictions -- prohibiting these things and nobody ever did them...except for the wild house color paintings, which frankly I support and enjoy and wish more people would do that.
over the decades, we’ve suffered through most of those. While muni ordinances apply to some, so too do HOA rules -a difference with little distinction except that it’s harder to enforce muni ordinances than it is HOA rules. the reason HOAs are such a contentious subject here is simple - it has nothing to do with the examples you cited. Rather, some simply prioritize antennas over everything else.
Our muni ordinances are strongly enforced by people paid to do that, called the police, the health department, the fire department, et al. -- taxpayer money and they are very active in such enforcements. Our "noise" laws are very strongly enforced. No noise that could be heard by neighbors between 11 PM and 7 AM, and boy is that one enforced. We had a party here a few years ago with some music, dancing, laughter and at 11:15 PM the police were at our door telling us to shut it down or pay a $750 fine, and their summons book was at the ready. No HOA, no covenants, just muni ordinance. We moved the party inside. If you let your grass grow taller than about 4 inches, the LAFD (fire department) will warn you and if it's not cut within a couple of days, they'll come and cut it themselves. They have lawn mowers. They charge $300 per 1/4-acre and leave you a bill. If you don't pay that, it becomes a tax lien on your home so you can't sell without paying it, and the interest accrues. Ordinances are enforced with vigor. Actually, everywhere I've lived that has been the case -- but I've never lived "in the country" (farmland, etc) so have no idea what it would be like there.
