AN ATX SMA PLT RPTS THAT THE UNK ROTATING BEACON; CTLED BY OME FSS; IS NOT TURNED ON IN IMC. HE FURTHER STATES THAT THIS LED HIM TO BELIEVE THAT THE FIELD WAS IN VMC. HE TOOK OFF INTO LESS THAN VMC.

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COMPANY WX RPTED VIA COMPUTER SAID WX WAS ESTIMATED 700 SCATTERED; 1000 OVCST; 20 MI VISIBILITY. I DEPARTED 10 MINS LATER. BTWN THE TIME I READ THE RPT AND DEPARTED; A NEW WX RPT CAME OUT CALLING FOR 700 BROKEN; 20 MI VISIBILITY. I DEPARTED UNAWARE CTL ZONE WAS BELOW VFR MINS AND ANOTHER ACFT WAS CLRED INTO THE ZONE VIA FSS ON A SPECIAL. THE AWOS WAS TURNED OFF. WHEN THE CTL ZONE AND WX OBSERVER IS ON DUTY; AWOS GOES OFF AND YOU HAVE NO VHF TO HIM; YOU MUST CALL FSS VIA RCO. THEY DON'T TURN ON THE ROTATING BEACON DURING WX LOWER THAN VFR CONDITION AND THEY SHOULD! THIS WOULD PREVENT FUTURE CONFLICTS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATES THAT 'RCO' IS 'REMOTE COMS OUTLET.' A VHF STATION COMMUNICATING DIRECTLY WITH NOME FSS. UNK HAS A CTL ZONE WITH NO TWR CTLED BY NOME. NOME DOES NOT ALWAYS TURN ON THE ROTATING BEACON WHEN THE CTL ZONE IS IMC. NOME SAYS THAT THE AIM DOES NOT REQUIRE IT TO DO SO. CONVENTIONAL WISDOM AND CUSTOM SEEM TO REQUIRE THAT THE LIGHT BE ON IN IMC. THERE WAS NO TFC CONFLICT ON THIS DAY.