Radio tower warning light

DavidH · #1 12-31-2001, 12:53 PM

Being a Flash-a-holic and all around lighting maniac, I'd like to make or buy an aircraft warning flasher for a friend's ham radio antenna tower. I think he has a left over wire in his rotator cable that I can use for power so he won't have to run any more wires. It can probably share a common ground with the rotator. Any recommendations? Any regulations that I should be aware of? (He has a permit for the tower.) It might be cool to make it automatic, so that when he raises the tower, it hits a switch and starts blinking.

Thanks.

star882 · #2 09-14-2002, 03:51 PM

Follow Don Klipstein's directions to modify a disposable camera into a strobe.
Put the strobe in a waterproof box and route wires to the power contacts.
Connect these wires onto a 1.5v power supply and turn it on when required.
You can use the spare wire if it can carry enough current.
If you must share a wire, it must carry the current of both the strobe and the other device.
However, you may have problems with the strobe feeding noise onto the wires and into your reciever.
On making it automatic, the simplest way is to find a voltage on the tower height system that changes and using a comparator to activate a relay.

Albany Tom · #3 09-14-2002, 07:57 PM

There *may* be an issue with this. Towers over a certain height have to have lights on them, and that is coordinated with the FAA. Once you have those lights, you have to monitor them somehow every single day, and report to the FAA if they are out. (The organization I work for has towers, and has a modem call monitoring system to do this.) Then the FAA issues a NOTAM, or notice to airmen, that the lights on that particular tower are out.

As pilots may use these lights not just for avoidance, but for navigation, adding lights to your own tower *may* cause a danger to pilots. It's not going to goof up captain X flying for US Air, but it may confuse someone flying smaller craft not used to the area.

I would suggest checking with the FAA, as silly as that might sound.

star882 · #4 09-15-2002, 07:25 AM

Use a photocell in front of the strobe connected to a checking circuit.
Check the strobe every time you use the equipment.

DavidH · #5 09-15-2002, 09:20 PM

Wow, has it been 9 months already since I posted this thread? As it turns out, I haven't purchased the light yet. My friend's HAM tower is below the minimum height required by the FAA to have a light. I thought it would be cool to have one on the top of it. This one looks pretty good, I haven't sent them an inquiry yet.
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