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Re: Illegal

Subject:     Re: Illegal
      Date:  Wed, 14 May 1997 13:11:18 -0400
      From:  "Edward J. Wingate" <ewing7-at-frontiernet-dot-net>
        To:   Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
References: 
           1


Tesla List wrote:
> 
> Subject:  Illegal
>   Date:   Mon, 12 May 1997 21:17:08 -0700
>   From:   Gary Weaver <gweaver-at-earthlink-dot-net>
>     To:  tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> 
> My wife is worried to death that Tesla Coils are illegal and the police
> will
> come and arrest me for having them so I have to ask this qustion to
> please
> here.  Personally I think this is stupid but my wife has gone into a
> panic
> sence the police came the other night.
> 
> Has anyone ever been arrested for having or operating a Tesla Coil?
> 
> Are Tesla Coils illegal?
> 
> Does anyone think I will get arrested for operating a Tesla Coil?
> 
> Any comments of suggestion?
> 
> Gary Weaver

Gary,

To my knowledge, Tesla coils are not illegal, other than the obvious and
previously posted ramifications possible with the FCC, which, by the
way, does not even investigate complaints from private individuals any
more.

On the other hand there are many possible legal repercussions fron the
operation of a Tesla coil, disturbing the peace and harrasment
immediatly come to mind. In these days of drop-of-the-hat multimillion
lawsuits, many of which, as we know, end with the plantiff being awarded
megabucks for a minor or bogus claim, an ongoing and escalating "war"
with neighbors is not a course of action to be taken lightly! The
chances are overwhelming that you will come out on the losing end. One
TCBA member was even shot at a few years ago.

If your coiling activities have advanced to the point where you must
operate your coils outside, the best approach to take with neighbors is
an open and honest one. Many people are scared senseless by lightning
and electricity, so to have a neighbor a scant 100 feet away start
operating a machine that produces what looks like miniature lightning
truly terrorizes them! Warning the neighbors ahead of time and
discussing your hobby goes a long way toward promoting neighborhood good
will toward your activities. Brute force, threats or deliberate
harrasment will not benefit anyone, least of all, you.

If your neighbor can't be persuaded, then your only logical recourse is
to move your activities inside your home, or, do what many of the rest
of us have done...build a Tesla lab. I know a lab is expensive, but not
as expensive as a possible lawsuit. My lab (30'X40') is covered, roof
and sides, with steel siding panels that are interconnected and grounded
to form a Faraday cage around the entire lab. My neighbors know the full
extent of my activities and have been very supportive. I have even done
shows for neighborhood scout groups and interested neighbors ( an
excellent way to promote good relations). 

>From some of your previous posts, it appears that you haven't made the
best impressions with this particular neighbor from the start. Was it
you doing the microwave experiments on neighborhood birds, or do I have
you mixed up with someone else? If she happened to be watching that
imagine what she thought!

Good luck with your problem. I hope you get it resolved to the
satisfaction of everyone involved with a minimum of agravation.

When I lived in an apartment, before I moved to my present home, I
almost got into some serious hot water with the local telephone company,
who's switching center was a scant 200 feet from my apartment and did
not react positively to my coiling activities. That makes for a good
campfire story, so I won't go into detail here. Needless to say, I
suspended my coiling activities until I moved to my present location! A
person does what they have to do!!

Safe coiling always,   ( contented neighbors a plus!!) 

Ed Wingate