In the state of Texas, county government’s are prohibited from requiring permitting or inspections on any construction with a few exceptions. Sewage & septic systems, waterwells, some land use coverage (dealing with storm water runoff) Roads as in subdivisions. Cities, can require permits and inspections & can pass requirements on construction of just about anything. A subdivision by a private contractor can for HOA or deed restrictions rules, you accept them when you buy a home there. There are a lot more rules covering business in the state, air quality, hazardous waste, utility use, etc. There are also some rules that apply to any cities ETJ which apply to 1 to 5 miles around a city. These rules also deal with land use (coverage) and roads & utilities, but not rules most home owners have to consider. If you live in a Texas county, you can collect all the junk you want, cover you lot with rigged up antennas & live happy in a trash dumpster, as long as you got a permit for your septic system, well, & none of your waste is flowing off your property or damaging the ground water. Robert KD5YVQ
From: BVARC <bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org> On Behalf Of JP Pritchard via BVARC Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 12:28 PM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <bvarc@bvarc.org> Cc: JP Pritchard <jppn...@comcast.net> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers The carbon fiber masts offered by Gigaparts looks really great but they’ve doubled in price over the past year. I think Jason at Ham Radio 2.0 has a YT video on them. JP Sent from my iPhone On Mar 31, 2022, at 10:45 AM, Neal Naumann via BVARC <bvarc@bvarc.org> wrote: I would plead Ingorance to permits. I grew up in "the country " . I never heard of getting a permit to do stuff. I just do it. Are you saying I need a permit to put up a TV antenna? I imagine I will look for direction if that is the case. But not until it seems to really matter. Neal N5EN Get Outlook for Android <https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg> _____ From: BVARC <bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org> on behalf of Jonathan Guthrie, KA8KPN via BVARC <bvarc@bvarc.org> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 10:17:26 AM To: Neal Naumann via BVARC <bvarc@bvarc.org> Cc: Jonathan Guthrie, KA8KPN <ka8...@ka8kpn.org> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers Did you permit the project to erect a tower and antenna? On 3/31/2022 9:41 AM, Neal Naumann via BVARC wrote: A TV antenna is permitted by law (which was drafted by the advertisers running ads on the over the air television stations). My Hygain TH-3JRS is is TV antenna. 33 feet is a height I require for good reception. A flagpole is permitted by law. If you choose to run a wire to it is your choice. 73, Neal N5EN _____ From: BVARC <mailto:bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org> <bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org> on behalf of Jeff Greer via BVARC <mailto:bvarc@bvarc.org> <bvarc@bvarc.org> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022, 9:16 AM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <mailto:bvarc@bvarc.org> <bvarc@bvarc.org> Cc: Jeff Greer <mailto:gree...@hotmail.com> <gree...@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [BVARC] masts & towers Well, my CC&Rs are not vague - they say explicitly no antennas unless we're required to allow the antenna by law. Having said that, I already have an antenna for HF. There will be one for VHF and UHF. The question is about how to build it... I think I've settled on doing the tetherball base. Now I just need to figure out if it will be a push up mast, a crank up mast, a tilt over mast, or some combination, and I need to figure out what to make it out of... Lighter is better, I think, as it'll be less likely to cause damage should it ever blow over (or get knocked over). I may put this thing between my house and the neighbor's house, and I don't want it breaking stuff. I was looking at carbon fiber telescoping masts last night, and that may be a good option. They're pricey, which I'm not thrilled about, but they are supposedly stronger/stiffer than aluminum. -j _____ From: Neal Naumann <mailto:n...@outlook.com> <n...@outlook.com> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 7:05 AM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <mailto:bvarc@bvarc.org> <bvarc@bvarc.org> Cc: Jeff Greer <mailto:gree...@hotmail.com> <gree...@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: masts & towers If you attend any area Hamfest with an ARRL forum, John Stratton N5AUS (ARRL board member and civil trial attorney) will tell you that an HOA is no excuse for putting up an antenna. He can feed you ammunition if there is an issue with your HOA. My HOA has a vague statement about antennas 10 ft higher than the highest point on my house. With that in mind and a "it's better to ask forgiveness than permission " attitude, for the past 20 years I have had antennas up to 20 ft in height attached yp my chimney. This past year I got tired of dealing with my extension ladder and put four sections of Motorola/ Rohn 35 in the ground about 6 feet. So that's about 34 feet above ground. I recently came across a good deal on a Hygain TH-3JRS and I also have a 4 element 2 meter beam side mounted. I have never received a complaint... except for grass growing in the sidewalk cracks. I also converted my 10 meter 5/8 wave Siro Toronado to a 30 meters and it's mounted on a 10 ft pole, so that's also about 35' to the top. My 12 meter diy vertical is also at about 30 feet. I'm working on a 60 meter vertical that will use an insulated push-up pole that will be about 43' high. According to N5AUS, all property owners in the United States are guaranteed the right to display Ol' Glory. That flag pole can be 33 feet tall and have coax attached. I hate stupid rules and enjoy pushing the limits. Some people drive the speed limit - I never have. For those that say "don't buy a house in a HOA" - I challenge you to purchase a (decent and reasonably priced) house in the Houston area, in an acceptable school district, and close to work, that's not in an HOA. 73, Neal N5EN _____ From: BVARC <mailto:bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org> <bvarc-boun...@bvarc.org> on behalf of Jeff Greer via BVARC <mailto:bvarc@bvarc.org> <bvarc@bvarc.org> Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 3:02 PM To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <mailto:bvarc@bvarc.org> <bvarc@bvarc.org> Cc: Jeff Greer <mailto:gree...@hotmail.com> <gree...@hotmail.com> Subject: [BVARC] masts & towers Hi, BVARC! I'm curious as to what others are doing for masts/towers. I'm in an HOA ("no antennas") with a tiny little yard. Nobody has complained so far about my homebrew "DX Commander" style fan vertical, which looks like a 31' jackite pole (because that's pretty much what it is, with some 3d-printed wire spreaders). I was holding that up w/ a 5' piece of 3/4 copper water pipe driven halfway into the ground. Worked for several months, but the wind finally bent the pipe. I have some 5' electrical conduit that looks a little tougher, but I may resort to guying. The metal inside the bottom of the fiberglass pole, I suspect, interferes with my 10m element, anyway... I'm also wanting to put my Ed Fong DBJ-1 (which looks like a 5' PVC pipe) up with the feedpoint 25-30'. I picked up a couple of old tires, and I'm thinking of filling one with concrete (think tetherball pole) and mounting a couple of pieces of angle iron in the concrete, so I can drill holes, put some sort of mast between them, and make a "tilt over" base/hinge for the mast. Has anybody built a self-supporting (non-guyed) 30 foot mast out of, say, some sort of stock from Home Depot/Lowe's? The internet has lots of stories about using chain link fence top rail (10' sections), but most say that 2 of those (20') is all you join before it gets super wobbly. Would love to use some sort of square tube - maybe nesting sections - but not sure where to get 10' sections, and not sure aluminum would be strong enough or steel would be light enough... Anyway, that's where I am. I thought I'd float this out there to benefit from the experience of those who have been there and done that. Hope y'all can help me come up with something that will work while avoiding poor choices that could cause damage or hurt somebody. Thanks! -Jeff, W5JEF ________________________________________________ Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club BVARC mailing list BVARC@bvarc.org <mailto:BVARC@bvarc.org> http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org Publicly available archives are available here: https://www.mail-archive.com/bvarc@bvarc.org/ ________________________________________________ Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club BVARC mailing list BVARC@bvarc.org http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org Publicly available archives are available here: https://www.mail-archive.com/bvarc@bvarc.org/
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