Cell Tower

Trev · Dec 19, 2002

But now the power companies are more competitive and quicker, so maybe there is an alternative, i.e. get the cell antennas located on an existing (power line tower) structure.

My wife is from Canada, and she tells me that up there they will often put the cell equipment in the top of church steeples and that sort of thing. Does your town have a tall steeple with maybe a little extra room in it?

Anonymous Poster · Dec 19, 2002

The antennas you're seeing appear on the top of distribution towers are the rollout of a new carrier entering the market.
They are also at a different frequency of operation, 1.9ghz.
The main reason 900mhz systems didn't locate on distribution towers was interference from microarcing on the power lines, as well as isolation costs relative to the antenna system.

In a few years, you'll see the rollout of a generation of equipment that will mount atop roadside power poles, and look like a 5 gallon bucket; Unless, the market really is saturated, and another 100,000 subscribers cn't be developed, who will be unable to breathe without a phone to their ear inside Walmart.

riptides · Dec 19, 2002

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr>

who will be unable to breathe without a phone to their ear inside Walmart

<hr></blockquote>

You must have missed the toothphone. I'll see if I can find the link. Serious. A cellphone in place of a tooth.

-Mike Z.

Anonymous Poster · Dec 19, 2002

The tooth phone must be so you can carry one of these in your hand and still have a cellphone.
www.cellzap.com

BigDave · Dec 19, 2002

Bob,

Our tallest public/commercial building is only one story. That's why 180' (not inches) seems so shocking to me...80' would be huge compared to the surrounding buildings. I have realized that there would be one benefit, I'll be able to see where our house is from five miles away. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

PitbullMidwest · Dec 20, 2002

That's why 180" seems so shocking to me

A 180 inch tall tower doesn't sound so bad to me, what's all the griping about?

You didn't design props for Spinal Tap did you?

(sorry Dave, just bustin your chops a little /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif)

BigDave · Dec 20, 2002

Dave, just bustin your chops a little 

I guess 180 inches would be shocking to me too. Maybe I should fix that. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Cacinok · Dec 20, 2002

Dave,

I would venture a guess that the purpose of the city council meeting has to do with complying with bylaws that require the meeting. It is likely that the city council wants the tower close to the city. It seems that cell access encourages businesses to move in and many people I know who have recently purchased homes did so with a small factor being cell reception (a very small factor mind you).

I agree with what Pitbull Midwest had to say the property rights of the owner are paramount. Unless of course the owner does something that rises to the level of a legal nuisance.

That being said I would attempt to mitigate any potential devaluing of your property. As has been suggested some type of camoflauging of the tower. At a minimum, I would try to get the location of the tower placed so as to reduce its visibility.

I understand your feelings, as we have a massive tower about 100' east of our property line. It was there when we bought our five acres, I wasn't too concerned because even though you can't miss it at least it is not obnoxiously placed. I would lobby for inconspicuous placement, assuming that is possible.

Anonymous Poster · Dec 21, 2002

If it was not for mobile homes...a lot of people would not have decent homes.I have seen some nice trailer parks and some real dives,on the same token there is nice houses and there are so real dives,junk housing additions etc.I started out in a mobile home after my wife and I were married,then along came the children and we finally outgrew the mobile home and built a house right behind the mobile home and sold the mobile home to some newlyweds. My little boy was about 3 years old and when they hooked the truck onto it and started pulling it down the road,did he ever get concerned...he did not know it had wheels like a car.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

BigDave · Dec 27, 2002

Just an update. I attended the meeting with several home owners from the surrounding area, the farmer, his family, and a couple of AT&T reps. This was only a technical planning meeting, but AT&T didn't bring anyone technical, so they couldn't answer a single question. So we looked over the plans, and asked some questions and voiced some concerns. The family spoke last, and yes I now do feel sorry for the poor farmer, since it is his family sticking it to him, not his neighbors. The farmer has two adult daughters, and as he grew older he parcelled out his land (hundreds of acres) to his daughters, until finally about ten years ago he signed over his last 11 acres to his daughters who own that parcel jointly. This parcel is where the farmer currently lives, and where the tower is planned to go up. Unfortunately, he signed over the last parcel when he couldn't farm anymore. Well, his money ran out and his daughters started to support him, but they are tired of supporting the old guy. So they said the cell tower with its $1500 month income or they sell the last parcel and the old guy is out on the street. The daughters acted as if we were the ones responsible for putting the old man on the street. I feel bad for the old guy, but why is it my fault? I didn't raise his inconsiderate kids. The land his one daughter owns, is about 60' higher in elevation, so the tower would only need to be 120' on her land, but she doesn't want the tower any closer to her. In a side discussion, she said she won't be able to see the tower from her house, and that's the way it's going to stay. So after the meeting, I now have more mixed feelings than ever. There is a zoning meeting in a month that is supposed to rule on this, but my impression from talking to a county official, is that all of this is a formality and the tower will go up. So the guess the county is just stringing us along.