In article ,
says...
Hello All!

I live in San Diego and have been a PBS supporter for many years. An
article in this months "On Air" PBS magazine has made my day! The
article is on page #3. It is written by the General Manager of the tv
station. I have not read the document in question, but it does sound too
good to be true. How curious are you? If you live in San Diego, you
might find a copy in your local library.

In essence he says that the:

"...[Federal] government will defend your right to crawl up on the roof
and put up a BIG, HONKING antenna, despite the protests of nosy
neighbors, community planners, rental management companies, local
governemnt bureaucrats and other meddlesome busybodies."

Want to know how? Here is the URL:

www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

Now you may have to prove to "the opposition" that the antenna you have
erected can indeed receive "local" television stations, but that should
not be that difficult to do...

Apparently you didn't read the page to which you referred in your
message. OTARD covers video receiving antennas, like those from DirecTV
or Dish Network. It does NOT cover "big, honking" antennas such as
those for amateur radio. To quote from the FCC's website:

-=-=-

The rule applies to the following types of video antennas:

(1) A "dish" antenna that is one meter (39.37") or less in diameter (or
any size dish if located in Alaska) and is designed to receive direct
broadcast satellite service, including direct-to-home satellite service,
or to receive or transmit fixed wireless signals via satellite.

(2) An antenna that is one meter or less in diameter or diagonal
measurement and is designed to receive video programming services via
MMDS (wireless cable) or to receive or transmit fixed wireless signals
other than via satellite.

(3) An antenna that is designed to receive local television broadcast
signals. Masts higher than 12 feet above the roofline may be subject to
local permitting requirements.

In addition, antennas covered by the rule may be mounted on "masts" to
reach the height needed to receive or transmit an acceptable quality
signal (e.g. maintain line-of-sight contact with the transmitter or view
the satellite). Masts higher than 12 feet above the roofline may be
subject to local permitting requirements for safety purposes. Further,
masts that extend beyond an exclusive use area may not be covered by
this rule.

-=-=-

For that, you have to look to PRB-1, but the FCC says that does not
apply to deed restrictions (CC&Rs). There is legislation before
Congress at present to extend PRB-1's authority to CC&Rs as well as
local governments, but it has yet to be passed by Congress and be signed
into law by the President.

I doubt very seriously that you can convince any HOA that your tri-
bander beam is needed for receiving TV signals. A better, and more
honest, approach would be to explain to them how actively involved you
are with your local ARES or RACES group -- you ARE, aren't you? -- and
how vital a resource you can be if you have the necessary capabilities
to provide communications in the event of an emergency. Also:

- make your request reasonable
- offer to show them your station at home
- enlighten them as to what it is that ham radio is all about
- ensure they understand the difference between ham radio and CB
- assure them that they won't be opening up the neighborhood to
complaints about interference
- don't plan on running a kilowatt linear, as you will be
guaranteed to cause at least some interference with that much
wattage (with buildings as close to one another as you have in
most condo associations, you'll find that anything more than
250 watts is going to guarantee some complaints)

You know, the usual stuff. Right now I have a very agreeable
relationship with my HOA at home. I live in a condo in Fountain Valley,
CA. Our CC&Rs allow for an antenna mast attached to the chimney, not
more than eight feet above the highest point of the house. I can use
that to support the center of my G5RV when I can get up there to remount
it, plus I will be putting a discone atop that mast for VHF/UHF
communications and to feed signals to my scanner. I've had a shorty
G5RV up at home for the past couple of years, not mounted in the optimum
configuration but it does a fair job -- and I've never had a TVI/RFI
complaint in all that time. Using QRP power levels helps, of course,
but even with 100 watts I didn't have any problems.

--

-- //Steve//

Steve Silverwood, KB6OJS
Fountain Valley, CA
Email:
Web: http://home.earthlink.net/~kb6ojs_steve