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And what of the FCC?
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 08:53:13 -0600 (MDT)
From: Chip Atkinson <chip-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: And what of the FCC?
From: Robert Michaels[SMTP:robert.michaels-at-online.sme-dot-org]
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 1997 3:40 PM
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: RE- And what of the FCC?
Very good post, Mr. Schecht. Verrrry good.
By contrast and contradistinction, I'm going sides-reversed
with a very simple bit of practical seat-of-pants advice:
When you are doing something wrong, people let you know be-
fore an arrest warrant is issued -- so to speak.
If you are engaged in some activity which has marginal stand-
ing in the law, and it is annoying (rather than hurting)
someone (or group of someones), invariably those someones (or
the village constabulary itself) will ask you to stop one
way or another.
- - - - - - - -
You then have a decision to make: You can choose to stand
your righteous ground (and risk arrest -- which may well be
inevitable if you stand that ground long enough).
Else, in your own self-interest you can cease and desist.
- - - - - - - -
It is =quite rare= for The Law come after you upon hearing
of some nebulous wrong-doing on your part -- until and unless
they have spoken to you first and given you a chance to act
sensibly and responsibly (their definition of same you may
be sure). Depends to some degree on the community in which
you live -- and your race/income level -- and how freaky you
dress/live.
You may also be sure that there are glaring exceptions,
to this "Oh please, sir, won't you just stop" approach
to enforcing the law, e.g.:
1) You are openly hurting another person.
Such as bashing little old ladies over the
head and stealing their purses, or committing
holdups at the local Quikie Mart.
2) You are grievously offending society.
Such as dealing dope out of the back of
your car to kids in the school yard.
3) It's something very disgusting (to most people)
and you are doing it openly.
Such as F-ing animals, or small children, or
cadavers.
4) It's a high-profile crime of the type which
automatically receives a lot of press coverage,
Such as dealing large amounts of dope;
prostitution in public locales; car
(and plane) hijacking.
5) It's something =everyone knows (!)= is wrong
Such as driving drunk or without a license..
5) Etc., etc. You get the idea.
In short, most anything which involves physical confrontation
(and harm or perceived harm) to another specific person or
group.
- - - - - - - -
The above applies to all manner of marginal activities such as
gun sports, fireworks and the recreational use of explosives,
public nudity, and all like manner of victimless "crimes".
Police and prosecutors want cut-and-dried, easy-to-prove-
in-court type cases. The technical intricacies of Tesla
coiling (taking place on private property - out of sight of
the public)? Who has time for that? (There are too many
Zoomers to clean out of the ghetto first).
Been there, done that, got the
T-shirt, and sneaked back-stage to
get it autographed. (That's when
they told me to stop) -- in
Detroit, USA
Robert Michaels
P.S.: You do have a Faraday cage in which you run
your large coil, right? (A good Faraday cage is =a lot=
cheaper than a good criminal attorney [if you can even
find one] -- Michael's Law).
====< Reproducing Mr. Schecht's Excellent Post - in toto >==============
TL>From: Geoff Schecht[SMTP:geoffs-at-onr-dot-com]
TL>Subject: Re: And what of the FCC?
TL>Hi Greg:
TL>I was kind of wondering when somebody would bring this up...
TL>Being an amateur radio operator, I can tell you that the FCC doesn't have
TL>the teeth that it used to have due to various funding cutbacks over the
TL>years. So, in general, if you aren't operating a TC as a spark gap
TL>transmitter (illegal since the mid-1930's or as an otherwise intentional
TL>electromagnetic radiator, the FCC probably has few concerns if "minor
TL>amounts of non-malicious" radio interference are produced. I use the quotes
TL>around "minor amounts" since there are no broadband emissions standards of
TL>which I am aware for equipment like shielded gas/MIG/TIG welders,
TL>arc-plasma cutters or any other broadband spark discharge devices
TL>(presumably a generic TC falls into this category). Any emissions which can
TL>be construed as malicious in nature are, of course, illegal by
TL>international agreement.
TL>I do know that commercial industrial equipment requiring the use of
TL>coherent RF power (diathermy machines, induction heaters, ion implanters,
TL>etc) has to operate in one of the the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and
TL>Medical) bands set aside by the ITU specifically for that purpose. Here,
TL>the key here is the word "commercial". Homebrew computers, for example, do
TL>not require FCC type-approval since they're not being offered for
TL>commercial sale. By similarity, I'd expect that the same thing holds true
TL>for amateur TC's which are NOT being operated as an intentional radiator,
TL>such as a spark-gap transmitter or broadcast power device would be.
TL>To reiterate: home-built equipment certainly _can not_ create sufficient
TL>interference to cause disruption of neighborhood computers, TV's, radios,
TL>pacemakers, etc, regardless of the builder's intent. Even homebrew ham
TL>transmitters and linears have to meet spectral purity requirements,
TL>although the FCC doesn't require a formal certification for such gear
TL>unless it's offered for commercial sale.
TL>If they can track you down, chances are you'll hear from the person(s)
TL>you're interfering with long before you hear from the FCC. An aggrieved
TL>party can, however, pursue legal recourse by filing a formal complaint with
TL>the FCC. Assuming that they even know enough to do that in the first place,
TL>it will then take the FCC a long time to investigate the complaint due to a
TL>chronic shortage in their manpower. Things will happen more swiftly if you
TL>are unfortunate enough to be near one of the FCC's listening stations
TL>situated around the US. If they can hear you all over the place on their
TL>receivers or if they notice a lot of broadband anomalies on a spectrum
TL>analyzer; you could be issued a warning or even be cited for producing
TL>malicious interference. The burden of proof would then be upon you to show
TL>the innocence of your intentions. (Of course, they'd have to find you first
TL>and I don't know how RDF works for a signal from a TC!)
TL>The FCC criminally prosecutes bootleg radio operators and errant (read:
TL>jerk) hams when they catch them, but those people are quite aware of the
TL>fact that they are intentionally radiating a signal and that they may also
TL>be causing malicious interference. That makes it somewhat easier for the
TL>FCC to argue its case in a court of law. With your TC not being operated as
TL>an intentional radiator, it would be logical that the first actions to be
TL>taken by the FCC would involve an order for you to either cease operation
TL>or restrict the emissions of your TC within one of the ISM bands.
TL>So, in the latter case, your spark gap would be history and you'd be stuck
TL>with using a crystal-controlled, vacuum tube driven primary running in an
TL>ISM band. Or, you'd have to move your operation far enough away from the
TL>monitoring station to a place where they couldn't hear you :-) .
TL>Since radio emissions don't recognize a country's borders, it takes
TL>international agreements to make most of the rules regarding the operation
TL>of RF equipment capable of producing interference. I don't believe that
TL>I've ever heard of TC's being specifically mentioned in FCC documentation.
TL>The FCC retains authority, however, to ban or restrict the operation of
TL>Tesla coils or any other RF radiating devices if they start becoming a
TL>nuisance or if they pose a threat to life or property due to EMI (HV safety
TL>issues are a completely different issue here).
TL>TC's have been around longer than radio has and since most of the amateur
TL>coils produce insignificant amounts of radiated RF power for short periods
TL>of time, time has proven them to be of little consequence. I don't dare
TL>comment on some of the giant apparatus that I've been reading about in the
TL>list, though ;-) .
TL>As a design engineer, I have to deal with equipment EMI certification from
TL>time to time. Most recently, I have been involved in some CE-mark
TL>certification for the European market. The Europeans have quite different
TL>and generally much more stringent standards from those in the US as far as
TL>their definitions of an intentional radiator is concerned. From what I can
TL>tell, it could be a lot harder to get away with operating a Tesla coil in
TL>Europe than it would be here in the US. Any comments from non-US coilers on
TL>this aspect?
TL>As far as other government agencies are concerned: if your TC were to
TL>interfere with the NSA or NRAO operations, you and your coil are likely
TL>disappear without a trace....
TL>Geoff Schecht (NQ7A) Austin, TX USA