Re: TESLA COILS are ILLEGAL!

["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>

I'd find it hard to believe that a TC would radiate enough power to even be
detected on aviation radios (granted, they're AM.. but it is at ca. 100
MHz.. )  There are low frequency beacons (NDBs) which are in the low hundred
kHz area (TC operating area) and are a hundred watts or so (most of which,
hopefully, is radiated), and if you were unfortunate enough to a) happen to
tune your TC to match a local NDB (within, say 200 miles) and b) actually
radiate any significant amount of power (non trivial... but maybe he had a
50 foot ground wire from bottom of coil to that copper pipe ground, or
something).  However, there is so much trash from other sources on the NDB
band anyway, I doubt anyone would notice it, unless you were keying the TC
with some sort of Morse Code identifier.  For that matter, with cheap GPS
these days, NDB approaches are a dying art.  None of my pilot friends can
even remember the last time they did a NDB approach (except for a challenge,
or for a flight check). (I understand, though, that in northern Canada and
Alaska,  they are still used.)


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Sunday, July 14, 2002 12:34 PM
Subject: Re: TESLA COILS are ILLEGAL!


> Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>
>
> Tesla list wrote:
> >
> > Original poster: "Daniel McCauley by way of Terry Fritz
> <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <dhmccauley-at-spacecatlighting-dot-com>
> >
> > Tesla coils are ILLEGAL anyways when operating outside a sealed EMI
> > environment.  A friend of mine received numerous warnings and even a
hefty
> > fine once from the FCC for operating his tesla coil.  Of course he lived
> > near a local airport, but it is still illegal period!
>
> Actually, TC's themselves aren't illegal, but the interference from
> them is.  To get in trouble a guy would have to operate them in an area
> (like the airport) where interference would hurt anything, stay ON long
> enough to be noticed and identified, and the source determined.
>
> Ed
>
>
>