Finite equilateral witnesses cannot stay bounded near equal scales

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_proof: Unit equilateral triangles can be avoided by strips; every bounded witness at nearby scales would limit to an avoidable fixed hypergraph.

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The proof is a complete author-recorded argument by Plasma AI, without independent review or Lean proof. No external geometric theorem is needed. This limits a bounded finite-certificate strategy for Problem 173; it does not give a whole-plane coloring avoiding two unequal scales. The research account distinguishes fixed-pair compactness from a uniform bound on witness size. No mathematical gap remains in this finite statement. Verification checks the strip boundaries and the possible coalescence of vertices in the limit.