On 1/10/17 6:37 AM, Patrick Greenlee wrote:
The typical offending grow lamp is a commercial item that doesn't meet
the FCC requirements for a residential item. Some of the big box stores
have sold the commercial models (noisy as all get out) without informing
the buyer.
So maybe a carrot could be offered instead of or along with the stick.
When dealing with a grow light user you might mention there are
residential grow lights that do not S C R E A M their presence in the
RF spectrum and make it difficult to detect their use whereas the
commercial ones are easy to radio locate by the authorities should that
be of interest to the owner/user. Then there is a potential code
compliance issue. The commercial units are not intended for residential
use.
HF noise related, so I guess it's on topic, although maybe this might be
better for the RFI list...
I was looking into the idea of using a RFI detection system on a UAV for
scanning neighborhoods for hot spots...
Law enforcement doesn't use RFI detection as a way to detect grow
operations - they *might* use it after having a warrant, but if they
have a warrant, an easier way is to look at the power consumption on an
hour by hour basis, which in most places these days they can do with a
simple request to the utility.
In the United States, it's not really legal to just do broad band
spectrum surveys for the purposes of detecting illegal activity. The
FCC, in its spectrum management role, can do such surveys to locate and
identify an RFI source, but in response to a complaint.
The basic rule is that law enforcement cannot use technical means that
are not "commonly available" (thermal imaging, radar, spectrum
analyzers) without a warrant. Obviously, there's a fair amount of
parsing what "commonly available" means - in the case of Kyllo, it was
thermal imaging used to detect the excess heat from the grow operation.
What is normal for a ham (a spectrum analyzer) would probably not pass
the "commonly available" test - it's the combination of sensor cost and
expertise in interpreting, etc. So as a result, LE isn't going to use
it - they're rather have a nice iron-clad bust than spend time arguing
exclusionary rule, etc.
For what it's worth, the power company does NOT look for this either,
and report to law enforcement - they only do it when asked, with a
warrant. The utility's point is that they have employees out in the
field who are exposed to potential bad guys, and they do not want their
service people being perceived as potential cops. Nope, they rather
have some clerk in a call center respond to the inquiry with a data file
of kW vs time and let LE make the decisions.
The utility will get involved if there's a "theft of service" - if you
have high consumption, and all of a sudden it goes to zero, then they're
thinking that someone might have bypassed the meter. That's a crime,
and the sudden drop is a reason to have someone go take a look (are
lights on, and there's no movement on the meter?). After that, then LE
can go get a warrant because there's probable cause to investigate for
electricity theft (and safety issues). And, if they go in and happen to
see a grow operation that's illegal (not all grow ops are illegal these
days.. maybe violating zoning or business licensing, but in many states,
it's legal to grow stuff).
take home message - make your field strength measurements and complain
to the FCC - they're the ones who enforce Part 15.
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