CF Rebel,
Rain and snow are but the most obvious. What about ticker tape parades, window washers, vibrations on the parapet due to heavy truck traffic in the street (very tight tolerances on optical beams must be maintained), pigeons, scintillation, fog, foliage that crops up unexpectedly out of nowhere, (oil rigs which suddenly actuate out of nowhere - the latter actually happened in Southern Cal to an associate), eye damage to sightseers using binoculars and other optics-intense viewing devices, orientation towards the Sun that must be avoided at all times of the day, the list goes on.
For this to work properly in tight urban areas there must be quite a bit of coordination between adjacent building owners to agree to certain roof provisions. Beyond being only several buildings apart this could wind up being a crap shoot, at best. There must be very secure provisions in place, like a very high vantage point on a tower which is outside the reach of the man-made elements I listed above. And all of the planets and stars (but not the Sun) must be aligned just right, consistently. Just some thoughts from someone who's been there before, and who has been known to shew away a pigeon or two in his day. And who has on occasion said "damn" to those ticker tape parades.
Regards, Frank Coluccio |
