WRQM FM 90.9 Tower lighting

[Deleted member 112817]

Did the FCC relax its rules concerning height/lighting? Because half of WRQM tower is barley lit up at night and does The FAA or FCC know about this yet??

 

[awsherrill]

There is an active NOTAM for the inoperative lights, so yes the FAA has been informed.

 

[Deleted member 112817]

There is an active NOTAM for the inoperative lights, so yes the FAA has been informed.

Thank you! The tower isn’t lit up at all right now totally dark. I sure hope the FAA gets down to the bottom of this quick!

 

[secondchoice]

I sure hope the FAA gets down to the bottom of this quick!

They filed the "notice to all airmen". They are "legal".* What is the FAA going to investigate? Most likely the repairs will require a tower climb or ordering parts or they would have been done by now.*. Not sure of the lead time now but it was 3 months several years ago to get a tower crew to show up.

Filing fraudulent paper work with the US Government can be expensive and possibly result in jail time. Supposedly some folks get away with it but at a nonprofit you would be stupid to risk it.

 

[Deleted member 112817]

They filed the "notice to all airmen". They are "legal".* What is the FAA going to investigate? Most likely the repairs will require a tower climb or ordering parts or they would have been done by now.*. Not sure of the lead time now but it was 3 months several years ago to get a tower crew to show up.

Filing fraudulent paper work with the US Government can be expensive and possibly result in jail time. Supposedly some folks get away with it but at a nonprofit you would be stupid to risk

And if your tower aren't lit, then you are ASKING for a visit from Norfolk. Its the same as driving your car without the license plate.
Sooner or later, you will be pulled over. And the trooper will look for other violations.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

And if your tower aren't lit, then you are ASKING for a visit from Norfolk. Its the same as driving your car without the license plate.
Sooner or later, you will be pulled over. And the trooper will look for other violations.

Uh no. Not exactly how this works.

I worked for an AM that had 2 owers and for about a year, once every other month or so, id arrive at 530 am to find the tower lights out.. a disconcerting thought from 1/2 mile away and you don't see lights where they are supposed to be.

Id get in the studio and first task of the day was to call the FAA NOTAM line with our tower registration numbers, let them know the lights are out and to issue a NOTAM.

It happened two more times before we figure out what the issue was. Each time, Id call, get the NOTAM issue. After we rectified the issue each time, I'd call them back and tell them they could drop the NOTAM. and there was never any repercussions or follow up from the FAA or any government alphabet agency

We eventually figured out the fuse was blowing ...at random.. one every other month or so.. when the lights tried turning on. I dont recall how we permanently fixed it, because this was 16 years ago.

 

[secondchoice]

And if your tower aren't lit, then you are ASKING for a visit from Norfolk. Its the same as driving your car without the license plate.
Sooner or later, you will be pulled over. And the trooper will look for other violations.

Who do you want in handcuffs and taken to jail: University President or Governor?

They are following the law what more do you want?

For you information, the tower is listed as being 630 ft. This could be a multiple bay antenna so for easy math, 650 ft. FAA requires at least a 1000 elevation over towns unless landing or taking off. 3 letter Federal and State agencies, State and Local law enforcement plus medical helicopters are exempt. Air safety is a multiple layer process. This tower's lights would come in to play only if someone is below FAA minimum altitude. So there is a 350 foot buffer. Also all pilots are supposed to read the NOTAMs for wherever they are flying.

Every pilot I know does not want to be the first one at the scene of the accident. They read the NOTAMs.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Who do you want in handcuffs and taken to jail: University President or Governor?

They are following the law what more do you want?

For you information, the tower is listed as being 630 ft. This could be a multiple bay antenna so for easy math, 650 ft. FAA requires at least a 1000 elevation over towns unless landing or taking off. 3 letter Federal and State agencies, State and Local law enforcement plus medical helicopters are exempt. Air safety is a multiple layer process. This tower's lights would come in to play only if someone is below FAA minimum altitude. So there is a 350 foot buffer. Also all pilots are supposed to read the NOTAMs for wherever they are flying.

Every pilot I know does not want to be the first one at the scene of the accident. They read the NOTAMs.

Tower lights come into play if your tower is 200 feet or taller.. it requires painting at lighting at 200 or more feet... only time it hasnt is if, say youre an AM and theres a shorter tower in the multi tower array and the tallers are lighted... 1510 Denver was that case awhile back, dunno if it still is.

Thats why some towers.. not many but some at 1900-199 ft

 

[Deleted member 112817]

Tower lights come into play if your tower is 200 feet or taller.. it requires painting at lighting at 200 or more feet... only time it hasnt is if, say youre an AM and theres a shorter tower in the multi tower array and the tallers are lighted... 1510 Denver was that case awhile back, dunno if it still is.

Thats why some towers.. not many but some at 1900-199 ft

WRQM

Effective Radiated Power	7500 Watts
Height above Avg. Terrain	191 meters (627 feet)
Height above Ground Level	192 meters (630 feet)
Height above Sea Level	220 meters (722 feet)

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

WRQM

Effective Radiated Power	7500 Watts
Height above Avg. Terrain	191 meters (627 feet)
Height above Ground Level	192 meters (630 feet)
Height above Sea Level	220 meters (722 feet)

Yeah... and?

The previous posted, secondchoice seemed to imply tower lighting didnt matter if youre above FAA minimum flying height.. and i was trying to say thats not true, but I may have mis understood what he was trying to imply

 

[Deleted member 112817]

You just miss understood! Maybe look what Allen Sherrill post ABOVE!

 

[Deleted member 112817]

Yeah... and?

The previous posted, secondchoice seemed to imply tower lighting didnt matter if youre above FAA minimum flying height.. and i was trying to say thats not true, but I may have mis understood what he was trying to imply

There is an active NOTAM for the inoperative lights, so yes the FAA has been informed.

Some radio guy just in case you can’t read this.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Some radio guy just in case you can’t read this.

I Can........and i saw this.

Youre the one who made a bigger deal out of this than need be and i was simply trying to explain while its important, its not earth shatteringly urgent... yet.

 

[Deleted member 112817]

I Can........and i saw this.

Youre the one who made a bigger deal out of this than need be and i was simply trying to explain while its important, its not earth shatteringly urgent... yet.

Bigger deal??? See that’s what is wrong with the world you don’t know what you don’t know.

 

[kwthom]

Bigger deal??? See that’s what is wrong with the world you don’t know what you don’t know.

Yet, you're the one dogging the professionals about this topic. SMH

Did *you* contact the station? Or, simply post your observation and hope like hell that the CE for the station just so happens to be surfin' forums about work-related topics.

If not, *and* the NOTAM is filed (even with a government shutdown, this is life safety stuff, so it continues), there's not a lot a normal Joe is gonna do about the situation.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Bigger deal??? See that’s what is wrong with the world you don’t know what you don’t know.

No, you see, I am and have been a broadcaster for 22 plus years.. I've filed NOTAMs as an employee of stations and even once as a casual observe when I found tower lights out and called the FAA to confirm no NOTAM Was issued. I know the realities of things.... and that is unless its in the flight path of an airport and or its a constant problem, its not that big a deal right away. If theyre a flagrant violator and have let this drag on for ages, then it might be a problem. But if its a fresh NOTAM and only a few weeks old... well, not abig deal. Takes time t oget these fixed, sometimes because they r equire a very expensive climb from tower companies that arent nearby and are busy.

Some NOTAM's have very long end dates, looking some up in the region of this tower have 2027 end dates, some are permanent... I had trouble locating this towers NOTAM, even though they have one.. but thats only cuse i dont have time to dig through FAA legal ease to find it

 

[Deleted member 112817]

No, you see, I am and have been a broadcaster for 22 plus years.. I've filed NOTAMs as an employee of stations and even once as a casual observe when I found tower lights out and called the FAA to confirm no NOTAM Was issued. I know the realities of things.... and that is unless its in the flight path of an airport and or its a constant problem, its not that big a deal right away. If theyre a flagrant violator and have let this drag on for ages, then it might be a problem. But if its a fresh NOTAM and only a few weeks old... well, not abig deal. Takes time t oget these fixed, sometimes because they r equire a very expensive climb from tower companies that arent nearby and are busy.

Some NOTAM's have very long end dates, looking some up in the region of this tower have 2027 end dates, some are permanent... I had trouble locating this towers NOTAM, even though they have one.. but thats only cuse i dont have time to dig through FAA legal ease to find it

22 years?? Really have you ever owned a radio station before??

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

22 years?? Really have you ever owned a radio station before??

I've come close a time or two and several of the radio stations I've worked at, I ran them like I owned them because I was involved in ALL Facets from engineering to office to to on air to programming to sales to fiscal management. I've worked for several owners who taught me and showed me anything I wanted to know and I often went with owners to the tower site while we fixed stuff.

 

[Deleted member 112817]

I've come close a time or two and several of the radio stations I've worked at, I ran them like I owned them because I was involved in ALL Facets from engineering to office to to on air to programming to sales to fiscal management. I've worked for several owners who taught me and showed me anything I wanted to know and I often went with owners to the tower site while we fixed stuff.

Well then! You don’t know what you don’t know!

 

[vchimpanzee]

I've filed NOTAMs as an employee of stations and even once as a casual observe when I found tower lights out and called the FAA to confirm no NOTAM Was issued.

I can see the red lights of a cell tower from my house. Several times I've seen a white blinking light and there is a number to call on the fence. I've called it when that happened.