I was not able to find a specific zoning regulation for the city of Santa Ana concerning amateur radio towers, but here is the zoning regulation for Orange County:

"Sec. 7-9-129.2. Antennas.
Radio and television antennas, not including dish antennas, may exceed the district building
height limit by ten (10) feet. However, FCC licensed amateur ham radio operators may have radio
towers seventy (70) feet in height measured from ground level. A higher height limit for all antennas
may be provided by a use permit approved by the Zoning Administrator per section 7-9-150."

As others pointed out, most Building and Planning people actually know very little about what's in their own zoning code or building regulations. They are just the worker bees to do the paperwork. So it's always best to do a little digging on your own to get the truth.

John K7KB

Just out of curiosity Rich, are you retired or still a worker bee? I still have a couple of years yet to go before retirement so until then, the only time I really have is on the weekends and evenings to try and catch the rare ones. Monk Apollo would be a nice one to work, that's for sure.

John K7KB

I'm glad to hear your Governor did the right thing instead of bowing down to the private interest groups. Now to see if it will actually do any good when it comes time to get your permit

John K7KB

That would be a ATNO for me also. Hopefully it can be activated in the near future.

John K7KB

Sadly, you are probably right. Going through either the FWS or USAF seems to be the biggest hurdle on activating those islands, not the the transportation or cost. There might be a time when it will be easier to activate P5 (North Korea).

John K7KB

I had thought about this myself. Most of the card checkers I know are fairly computer savvy. There is no reason why they shouldn't be able to log into LOTW, select only certain applications, and approve them on the spot after they have been checked. Like you mentioned, they could have check and comment boxes for rejected cards. The league would still have the opportunity to review approvals if there is any question of a card validity, but for the most part, it would virtually eliminate the wait time for application approval. And I don't really see any greater risk of rule violation by this method either.

I know, baby steps

John K7KB

Thanks for running the predictions. Although I'm still a working stiff, fortunately the best propagation to that part of the world from the west coast should be in the evenings after I get home from work. If necessary, I may come down suddenly with a case of the SMOM flu

John K7KB

My local DX club (SDXA) participates in Field Day and I was out there with them today for a bit. Made a few Q's, had some of the nice potluck dinner, and some nice eyeball QSO's. Everyone was having a great time chatting about DX and antennas Also got a bunch of cards checked by our local card checker that puts me very close to getting my DXCC Challenge award. So it was a good day

John K7KB

It might not be that rare for those of you on the right coast, but it's certainly rare enough for those of us here on the left. I've been back in the hobby for about 2 years now and don't remember it being spotted where I could jump into the pileup. Of course, I wouldn't have had much of a chance until the last year when I put up my SteppIR. So I'm looking forward to being given a chance, although it's going to be tight with only 4 days of operation. I'm just hoping the propagation gods will have mercy on us and improve conditions a bit between now and then

John K7KB

Congrats on the 17M Yagi Rich! From what you mentioned on your blog, it sounds like it is working well for you 17 meters is getting to be one of my favorite bands. Not nearly as crowded as 20 usually and you can pick up some ATNO's once in awhile on that band.

Also congrats on joining the Heard team! I'm sure it will be the experience of a lifetime and I'm sure it will be something you will treasure. However, I'm also sure it will be a lot of work and preparation for the team. Keep us informed on how things are going!

John K7KB

I had thought about doing some IOTA chasing, until I found out they didn't take LOTW confirmations for proof of a QSO. I've already spent enough money chasing cards for the DXCC Challenge Award so I would have to be EXTREMELY bored to go through the hassle and expense of chasing all those islands

John K7KB

Unfortunately, that's true. It would be nice if more hams used LOTW but I would be surprised if we ever achieve more than a 75% return rate. Some prefer cards and won't do electronic QSLing, no matter what. Others like the Green Stamps and would see their spending money dry up if they went to LOTW. And the ARRL hasn't made it any easier yet to sign up for the process.

John K7KB

Sorry, I don't have a email address for him, but I did want to comment that I thought it was very nice of you to forward his 7O6T card for him I guess he thought since you have been on Socotra before, he naturally assumed you were the one going back

John K7KB

I use to get pileups on me all the time from JA and EU. All I had to do was say: "This is WA7RKA in Wyoming, QRZ!"

John K7KB

No need to get defensive Bob. I was just commenting about W9KDX trying to encourage him to get his Extra, not come down on you. And perhaps he was just commenting about his own status?

John K7KB