i don't know how that would be interpreted by FCC. it may pass muster as the neutral and hot might act to help neutralize ground lead, power, and audio radiation or heavily minimize it.
After thinking about this rooftop situation for awhile, I have reached a decision.
I have come to the conclusion that a rooftop is no different than the ground...... it is a surface the same as if you put car-jacks under the dirt and cranked the earth 25-feet in the air, or brought in trucks of dirt and built a mound 25-feet above average terrain.
Subject to the approval of a building engineer, here is the plan. You meet with your roofer and tell him to pull-up the roof-tiles and install copper screen over the entire surface of the roofing boards. Then they will replace the roofing tile over the screen, and there will be a connection point right by the chimney for attaching your 4-inch transmitter ground to the "earth-ground" under the roofing tiles.
The AM stick of course mounts on the chimney.
Not finished yet. To make sure the whole thing is as safe as possible, you call in a lightning-arrester specialist to run very thick lightning-arrest cables down four sides of the building to ground rods in the soil below the house.
Upon FCC inspection, no inspector will tear your roofing tiles to see what's underneath, no more than they would dig up your yard with a shovel to look for ground radials. And you are advised to have no knowledge of anything that is not in view.
What is the worst that could happen? A swat team may break your door, shoot your dog, pepper spray you, and your picture will be in the paper as "pirate radio ringleader."
Don't forget to notify us so we can avoid making the same mistake.
i don't know how that would be interpreted by FCC. it may pass muster as the neutral and hot might act to help neutralize ground lead, power, and audio radiation or heavily minimize it.
I don't get it Rev.. Why not? I'm not quite grasping what your saying.
As Hamilton pointed out (quoted in my above post), this seems an ideal solution which appears to be backed by the fact it is the same exact way the certified Talking Houses are designed to make ground for the last 40 years or so. Why do you suspect an FCC would interpret it negatively?
And Crow, that secret setup file is cool and looks very offical. However, I'm trying my damndest to somehow insure a legal install - as emphasized by this post: http://www.part15.us/node/3217#comment-16551
And Carl.. you idea is my next option.
i simply stated i don't know how the fcc would interpret that install. i'm thinking running all the wires together should neutralize any ground radiation or severely limit it. which should pass since ground lead radiation seems to be a primary concern with the inspecting agent. i would also consider putting a metal pipe sleeve over the pvc. don't connect either end to ground. this should block alot of ground lead radiation and appease the inspecting agent. radio8z would be the one to ask if my theories are on target. maybe he will insert his opinion on how to minimize ground lead radiation in that install. as i said earlier it sucks. fcc should just uniformly interpret ground lead as the short piece of wire connecting Tx chassis to local ground and tell the licensed stations your legal there's nothing they can do and to go pound salt!!!! but that is just my opinion. i actually would consider applying for a job to the fcc if an opening here in denver appeared. make change from within 😉
"i actually would consider applying for a job to the fcc if an opening here in denver appeared. make change from within"
That would be great! But unfortunately would not do much, wrong place. The place to be is in the chairman's chair up in Washington.
From that list of NOUO's, they cite both a field strength and length violation. Well the field strength readings mean nothing and are unenforceable as there are NO field strength limits in 15.219.
However the exceeding length limit CAN be enforced...and was and rightfully so.
As I already explained it several times in the past and present, the longer the ground path is, especially if it is up in the air such as a support mast or a wire dangling down the side of a tree, it will become a radiator. That excess length ground path is what got tagged. The noted field strength readings are the result of that excess length ground path which became a radiator.
Here we stand at that fork in the road. Which way is right and which way is interpreted as being legal.
I think there has been enough examples to date, as well as clear evidence in the NOUO's themselves, that you had better stay within the 3 meter limit regardless if your up on a roof or sitting on dirt.
The "secret setup". The only thing that will result with that is the AC hot's and neutral along with the conduit will resonate by induction. Do not think it wont. Power lines effectively collect and re-radiate even flea signals a considerable distance. That secret setup will do the very same thing and do nothing different than a TX in a box sitting up on a pole in the air using the mast as its conductive path for the return path of the RF circuit. Legal interpretation.....exceeding the 3 meter limit.
At least that is the interpretation of it now, and for the foreseeable future. It is the never ending debate on what the rules mean by "ground lead".
I wont argue it back and forth because I will not be the one to argue with when the knock comes at your door. Feel free to debate it with the inspecting agent all you like when they arrive. Hopefully you can convince them that your setup is 3 meters in length.
Good luck!
RFB
got to start somewhere to make change and it's usually the bottom.
I knew that that setup still exceeds the limit, the point was to hide the wire, they cannot cite what they do not see.
Don't make them get out the tool box...
"Don't make them get out the tool box..."
...or get a court order to tear up your wall, roof, rip out wiring, burn the place down. 😮
RFB
Or even an FCC Certified X-Ray Machine used to find wires!
They're Coming to take it away ha-haa!
LMAO!!!!
one of these days i will drop by fcc HQ in lakewood co and snap some pics of roof top building and some other things in the immediate area 😉
A roof top building??
i think they are on the top floor. it's the bank of the west building at s wadsworth blvd and alameda ave in lakewood colo they have a load of discones, lmr antenna's, hf log periodic on a tower on roof with a rotor, ota tv antenna's on towers with rotors. and there was a dark brown suburban parked there when the offices were closed i can only assume this was the monitoring/df'ing truck
Seeing that rooftop would be very interesting, and seeing that truck would be good to.
Watch out for security madness when someone sees your camera.