07/12/2019

Language in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018[1] will exclude all but a small number of Amateur Radio towers from marking requirements. Thanks to action taken in 2017 and 2018 by ARRL, the bill's original language was amended to the extent that amateur towers, as well as residential towers used for over-the-air TV reception, were effectively exempted from marking requirements.

The topic was addressed at the annual "Ham Radio and the Law" forum at the Dayton Hamvention[2]? this past May. Some key points from that presentation: (1) Towers covered by the rules are structures at least 50 feet tall that support an antenna and are located in a rural area or on farmland or immediately adjacent to such land. (2) According to the Act, the term "covered tower" does not include any structure that is adjacent to a house, barn, or other building, and "is within the curtilage of a farmstead or adjacent to another building or visible structure."

ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, explains that, while a few Amateur Radio towers will fall under the Act's marking requirements and will have to be registered, towers in residential yards or within farmland are specifically exempted.

More information[3] is on the ARRL website.ÿ


[1] https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr302/BILLS-115hr302enr.pdf
[2] http://www.hamvention.org/
[3] http://www.arrl.org/admin/pages/preview/faa-tower-regulation-issues

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