[mdlug] OT - IR jamming

[Jay Nugent]

Greetings,

On Tue, 19 Feb 2008, Dave Arbogast wrote:

> OK, My K10D has the Part 15 rule requiring it to "must accept any 
> interference received including interference that may cause undesirable 
> operation"
> 
> But it goes on to say -
> 
> "Changes or modification not approved by the party responsible for the 
> compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment."
> 
> So much for Tin Foil.  Sure wish I had a second chance to photo graph a 
> high value person.

   But *if* these "important people" *are* illuminating themselves with
high levels of IR, wouldn't that be a VERY bad way of identifying the
target to any snipers???  DUH???  Just aim at the big bright spot on the 
IR scope and pull the trigger.  Or set the road bomb to go off when high 
IR levels are detected.  Again...DUH???

   And as for "MUST accept interference"... That is the way to restrict
the consumer product market from having any recourse to complain when a
perfectly good transmitter (AM/FM/TV broadcast, Ham, Police/Fire,
Aviation, etc.) interferes with them. 

   I recall back in the 70's when the ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League)
had to work with the FCC to tighten restrictions on imported TV sets that
were *easily* interfered with by Amateur radio transmitters.  The public
was in an uproar that "those damn Hams" were interfereing, when in fact
the public were being sold incredibly crappy TV sets!  We got that problem
fixed and the Part-15 rules were tightened up quite a bit :)

   We (the Hams & the ARRL) have been having the same effect on Part-15
restrictions regarding BPL (Broadband over Power Line).  This is where
broadband Internet is delivered over the power lines.  The power lines
radiate the RF signal FAR more strongly than Part 15 allows.  Their
lobbiests even got the FCC to "relax" the requirements for awhile. But we
have been firmly in the face of the FCC and the BPL manufactureres and
system operators for the past few years *proving* the level and degree of
interference created by such systems.  Several BPL operators have even
shut down service and gone away because they could not bring their systems
into accordance with the limits :)

   And while I'm on my soapbox...  Please keep in mind that channels 1
thru 6 on your precious 2.4 GHz WiFi device *belong* to the Amateur Radio
service under Part 97.  The WiFi folks are "secondary users" under Part 15
and "MUST accept any interference" from us Hams.  Periodically a few Hams
in Livingston, Oakland, Macomb, Wayne and Washtenaw counties get to
playing with our HSMM (High Speed Multi Media) stations and some of those 
channels go Bye-Bye!  As we are allowed 1000 WATTS on those frequencies :)

   Welcome to reality.  Welcome to 'shared frequency resources'.  And
welcome to an electronic world where LOTS of things emit energy where we
would rather they not.  And thusly, electronic devices must be designed
and built to withstand that very same jungle of EMI/RFI signals.

   Enjoy!
      --- Jay Nugent  WB8TKL
             
"Getting rid of terrorism is like getting rid of dandruff.  It cannot
 be done completely no matter how hard you try." -- Gore Vidal
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