Re: FCC Regs

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

Check the archives...lots and lots of discussion..

Short story:
1) Where you fall in regs depends on if you are an intentional (i.e. a
transmitter) or unintentional radiator (something that is just RF noisy)...
Let's take it in that order:
 As intentional radiators: disruptive (spark gap) TC's are illegal because
damped sinusoid emission is a no-no (from the days of "King Spark"), CW
TC's (i.e. vacuum tube or SSTCs) need to comply with all the relevant
emission limits depending on their frequency, which include not only total
power, but harmonic content, etc.

2) Unintentional radiators:  If you want to sell (rent, lease, give away,
etc.) it, it has to meet some set of rules (depending on what it is, where
you intend to sell it, etc.)  Part 15 is one place, but there are other
rules for other applications.  Again, this has rules on how much power you
can radiate at a particular frequency, harmonic content, max duty cycle,
interference with other services (the FCC word for other folks Transmitters
and Receivers),  etc.


Practical implications:

Tesla coils are low frequency devices and because they are small compared
to a wavelength, they have terrible antennas, and don't radiate all that
well (in our case, a "good thing").  A small distance (tens of meters)
away, the signal is too low to detect or, more important, interfere.

If you don't interfere with anyone, nobody will complain, and you won't get
a visit from the FCC.

Most folks operate their TCs with very low duty cycle (i.e. bursts of a few
minutes at a time for a few hours once a week...) so the probability of
causing a problem is low.  

Obviously, if you are building a unit for permanent display in a amusement
park, everything's different, and you'll need to consult with (and pay for)
expert advice...

Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "Steve Stuart by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <sstuart-at-glasscity-dot-net>
> 
> My kids' GameBoy has a FCC sticker regarding interference
> to/from other devices.
> My Tesla coil can fatally zap the thing from close range...
> Wondering if FCC has any rules or regs regarding Tesla coil
> usage? Any stories?
> 
> 73 de Steve  w8an-at-qsl-dot-net
> ·¸¸·´¯`·¸¸·´¯`·¸¸·´¯`·¸¸·´¯`·¸¸·´¯`·¸¸·