In article ,
Phil Kane wrote:

You didn't miss anything by not trying to look it up. The Commish' in
its infinite wisdom made the Part 15 "intentional radiator" and
"incidental radiator" requirements very complicated several years ago,
with no real thought given to analog laboratory measuring equipment
such as TDRs, signal generators, and Antenna Analyzers.

The old "100 mw input" limits apply only to certain types of devices,
and in general "intentional radiators" have to be certified for
compliance with specified antenna arrangements.

Stuff like that keeps private-sector "FCC Certification Test
Facilities" in business.

Phil,

In practice, is there anything that can be done about uncertified (and
very probably not-technically-compliant) intentional radiators?

Last year, after I bought a new car, I found that the remote-control
keyfob would not work reliably (or at all) when the car was parked in
a local mall's parking lot. When I sniffed around a bit with my HT, I
found that there was a strong, repetitive signal on 433.920 MHz. I
DF'ed to a local restaurant. The waiters at the restaurant use
hand-held remote terminals, which transmit the order (by item number,
apparently) back to a base in the kitchen where it's printed out by
the cooks. This makes for fast and reliable service, but the base is
apparently sending out a heartbeat transmission several times per
second. The signal is strong enough to swamp other devices on 433.920
MHz for around a hundred yards. I can pick it up on my car rig (in
SSB mode) for a couple of blocks in some directions.

One evening when I ate there I expressed curiosity and took a look at
one of the handheld terminals. It has a model-number sticker on the
bottom but there's no hint of a Part 15 registration number. I wrote
down the manufacturer name, found their website, and also dug through
the FCC Part 15 authorization database. I can't find any evidence
that this device (which is imported) was ever certified under Part 15.
I suspect that it's noncertified, and may have been cranked up to a
power level which is beyond the Part 15 limits (and certainly seems
excessive for what it's doing).

I passed the info along to my local ARRL OO, who contacted some lab
guys at the ARRL... they'd never heard of this particular problem. As
far as I know they didn't choose to follow up on the matter.

Since this isn't actually interfering with any licensed ham
transmission I'm trying to make (but only with other Part 15 devices)
I didn't feel that I really have standing to push the matter through
the ARRL/OO or file a formal complaint with the FCC.

My gut feeling at this point is that trying to get the FCC to take
this issue up with the manufacturer, importer, and/or customer
(restaurant) is probably a waste of effort... can you hold out any
hope that there's a way of dealing with the problem?

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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