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| RE:Interferance to Ham Radio Operators Moonpuppy, I beg to differ. If you send a complaint to the FCC regarding interference from a Ham Operator to your consumer electronic equipment, two things will happen. 1)the Ham will get a letter noting the problem and asking him/her to make sure the Ham station is in proper working order and 2) the complainant will get a letter explaining that if the station is in proper working order then it is up to the CONSUMER to apply corrective filtering devices on their consumer electronic equipment and they will get a link to the FCC website article which explains how to go about this and to contact the manufacturer of the equipment for assistance.
»www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Compliance/N···5009.txt
»www.arrl.org/tis/info/rfigen.html
This is because the vast majority of consumer electronics has no RFI filtering and plastic cases (cabinets) that provide no protection. Every time someone proposes a RFI standard for consumer gear it gets shot down by the consumer electronics lobby, as the manufacturers don't want to provide the filters/better designed equipment due to a few dollars per unit saved by them.
If you meant the Gerritsen case by the reference to the second notation in your link, this has nothing to do whatsoever with interference to TVs or any other consumer electronics. He has for years deliberately interfered with Amateur, business and public safety transmissions, including after his license was revoked. Previous fines and jail time didn't stop him either.
Probably not what you wanted to hear but this is the way it works.
Todd | | |
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W5JGV
join:2001-02-03
Natchitoches, LA | said by TODDRICK:Moonpuppy, I beg to differ. If you send a complaint to the FCC regarding interference from a Ham Operator to your consumer electronic equipment, two things will happen. Todd Most Amateur Radio Operators (and I am excepting a few ornery characters I have known) are considerate of their neighbors, after all, Hams don't want interference either, as have co-exist in the same neighborhood - preferrably without tar and feathers.;).
Living with crappy consumer electronics can be done, but it's not easy. I have lived at this location now for 20+ years, and during that time I have operated extensively on HF and VHF with power levels from a few milliwatts to the maximum power allowed. In all that time, I have not had a single interference complaint. And all the neighbors know who I am, what I do for a hobby, and where I am - after all, it's hard to miss the 65 foot high tower in the back yard and the tri-band beam on top f it. (Well, it WAS, at least until Katrina came through!) Heck; I even enlisted their help to erect my antennas!
Good engineering practices and common sense can eliminate almost all the interference should it appear. Keep your transmitted signal clean, use a properly installed antenna, and uses the minimum power necessary for effective communications, and make sure you don't interfere with your own consumer electronics.
However, in some cases, you run across a piece of real consumer electronics JUNK that nothing - and I mean NOTHING seems to fix. One neighbor near my previous home had a cordless phone that heard everything from Hams to CB'ers and commercial stuff. The only fix for that was for them to replace it.
I also once bought a brand name VCR that turned out to be a fantastic receiver on 160 meters - if I fired up my transmitter with more than one watt, it would curl up and die. After a lot of testing and trying to clean up the interference, I simply tossed it in the trash and bought a different brand.
You can't win 'em all, but you can try!
Ralph W5JGV WC2XSR/13 WD2XSH/7 | |
| reply to TODDRICK
I think moonpuppy is a ham, so he probably agrees with you. While I agree the Gerritsen case isn't relevant to interference to consumer electronics, I think it does show that the FCC enforces the rules that are on the books, at least in regards to amateurs. If an amateur had a spurious emission in violation of Part 97 and that was causing interference (as opposed to shoddy consumer electronics design), you can bet the FCC would apply enforcement action, unlike what some others have said in this forum. | |
| said by rf_engineer:I think moonpuppy is a ham, so he probably agrees with you. While I agree the Gerritsen case isn't relevant to interference to consumer electronics, I think it does show that the FCC enforces the rules that are on the books, at least in regards to amateurs. If an amateur had a spurious emission in violation of Part 97 and that was causing interference (as opposed to shoddy consumer electronics design), you can bet the FCC would apply enforcement action, unlike what some others have said in this forum. DING DING DING!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!! 
Fact is, consumer electronics are made so cheaply, that interference is almost a forgone conclusion. Quality be damned, get it out to market so we can make a dollar. Remember the old ATT desk phones that could probably survive being dropped off a building? Now, just breathe on a new phone wrong and it dies. 
And you are right, the Gerritsen case shows that not only will the FCC enforce the rules BUT will go after you, with teeth, if you keep on breaking the rules.
Look a bit deeply and you will find other enforcement actions including unlicensed operation of Amateur equipment, improper use of GMRS equipment, intentional interference complaints, etc.
And, yes, I am a HAM. | |
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