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USA HR-4969
On 8/10/14, 12:08 AM, Bill Horne wrote:
I am, however, puzzled at *why* local governments would follow this path. The reasons for exceptions that allow satellite dishes or other TV antennas are obvious, and necessary - but I think the reasons that Ham radio antennas are being forbidden are not so clear. Really? Put yourself in the shoes of an average person. You know nothing more about ham radio than that it's a hobby that some people enjoy, like collecting stamps. You may know something about its reputation for providing communication in times of emergency. But as this average person, you've seen huge unsightly ham antenna farms. Yes, I used the word "unsightly". To the average person, the things that are a delight to the eye of a ham are ugly. And ugly things degrade property values. In the eyes of this average person, having a ham next door with a tri-bander on a 50' tower is approximately equivalent to someone starting a junk yard next door. Yes, I know that this example is the 1%. But it doesn't matter how common or uncommon the actually-unsightly antenna farm is; if our average citizen has seen just one, that has set the definition in their mind of "ham radio antennas". So of course the home owners are going to be eager to protect the value of the largest investment that they'll likely make in their lifetime. It is, after all, no skin off their elbow to prohibit these eyesores; they're not affected other than in a good way. Now I'm not saying that I endorse this discrimination against a minority, but I'm not in the least puzzled at why "radio antennas are being forbidden." 73, Steve KB9X |