[IRCA] Towers and government

["Craig Healy" <bubba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> He used a helium balloon to raise the wire. Inspired. Elegant simplicity
of
> engineering. Sadly, he took no note of the season. A storm - In Southern
New
> England! Imagine that? - blew wire across power lines. Bad form.

Yes.  What he should have done is called every tower crew around until he
got the tower sections, and got it back up as quickly as possible.  Don't
even bother with permits.  Get it done.  Then deal with the aftermath.
There is a huge inertia in the process of dealing with governments.  If you
wait to get a job underway, it will be permitted and inspected to death.
Just get it done, if it's an exact replacement for an existing system.  A
hundred foot Rohn 25 tower could be erected in a morning.  I know.  I put a
50' Rohn 25 on top of a building in a morning by myself.  I had the parts
pre-made and just assembled it.  An experienced crew could have had a new
100' tower up before lunch - or before anyone could have stopped them.
Especially if they did the work on a Sunday morning.

Unfortunately, some like the KFI debacle are too complicated to just do.  If
there is one thing I have learned when dealing with situations like this,
it's that it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

The power that fed back into the transmitter from the HV line caused some
significant damage to WKFD.  That may have contributed to their demise.

>   Retired broadcast engineer living in Saunderstown, RI, posted letter in
> paper saying he'd never seen such truculence on part of piXXpot state
agency to a
> federally licensed facility re tower rebuild.
>
> Wonder who wanted the land?

I don't believe anyone wanted it.  It was just the rich people in Wickford
didn't want a radio station spoiling their view of the inlet.  And, there
was some grumbling about the problems that the 500w radio station was
causing (days only) to their telephones and whatnot.  A station that was
there likely before most of them moved there.  Pre-existing condition.
Pretty much the poster child for the NIMBY definition.

If I recall, Gene Faltus was their engineer before the fellow who did the
balloon trick.  Gene is a good guy, and did run DX tests from the place.  I
think Gene is in the Hartford area.  I should look up his ham call address
and drop him a note.  It's been years since I spoke with him.  There should
be a number of QSLs from Gene for WKFD.

The balloon guy is still in the industry, so I will not mention his name..

Craig Healy
Providence, RI

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