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Re: [RFI] Can you say 'RFI'? Can you say BIG 'Fine'?

To: rfi@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [RFI] Can you say 'RFI'? Can you say BIG 'Fine'?
From: David Cole <dave@nk7z.net>
Reply-to: dave@nk7z.net
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 08:20:11 -0700
List-post: <rfi@contesting.com">mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
Hi,

Sure...  Here is the short version:

I documented the RFI, I triangulated on the location, found it,
contacted the owner, asked to do a power off test, discovered the RFI
was coming from a single home, based on the power off test, asked the
owner how we might correct this, and was told tough luck he was not
going to do anything.  I contacted the FCC at fccham@fcc.gov, there was
some interchange, and I submitted a pile of documentation of every step
I took, and every contact I had.  A letter sent to the RFI generator.

I am sure that the amount of documentation was what got the response,
and that the there was ZERO doubt where the RFI was coming from.  I also
hold a commercial license, but I have no idea if that was a factor.  

As a result of that incident, I discovered that the ARRL was actively
involved in RFI issues, so my intent is to now go through the ARRL for
FCC related issues.  I have been in contact with the old SM here about
an ongoing issue, which I intend on solving this summer.  It is now
affecting 5 hams in the local area, and almost pinned down.  The loops
are being rebuilt now so a new round of triangulation can begin as soon
as the weather gets better here.

Most RFI hunts don't end in a letter to the FCC fortunately, they end
with a handout our club has...

After that first incident, and another in which I ran across a pot grow,
I decided this needed to be dealt with an a different way than just
knocking on doors after locating an RFI source.  

I got with our local club, and we formed an RFI committee.  We help
other hams with RFI issues.  We have a handout that has been looked over
by a lawyer to insure we are not suggesting stupid things, etc, and when
we locate a source, we leave the handout for them.  It is a multi page
thing, and outlines all sorts of reasons RFI is bad, and some possible
solutions, what is RFI etc.  

We also work directly with the local power company.  We requested and
got a meeting with them in which we offered to assist in locating RFI
issues for hams.  Now and then they turn over a locate to us if a ham is
involved...  All in all it is working.  My RFI level over the past three
years has gone from 60 over S9 to S8 to S9.  There are one or two
sources left and this summer is the year for locates on them...

-- 
Thanks and 73's,
For equipment, and software setups and reviews see:
www.nk7z.net
for MixW support see;
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mixw/info
for Dopplergram information see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/dopplergram/info
for MM-SSTV see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MM-SSTV/info


On Sat, 2014-04-26 at 10:05 -0400, Roger D Johnson wrote:
> For the benefit of those who haven't been able to get any action from the 
> FCC, could
> you give us a quick rundown of the procedure you used? Did you contact the FCC
> directly or go through the ARRL? Who exactly did you contact and what was 
> their
> position in the organization? How was the contact made...letter, phone call, 
> etc?
> Did they respond to you and discuss the problem? Any details helpful!
> 
> 73, Roger
> 
> 
> On 4/26/2014 9:21 AM, David Cole wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I doubt that the FCC went to the trouble of generating the citation,
> > getting everything in plae to fine someone, and then just forgot it...
> >
> > Some things take time.  Given the alternative of no action, I'll take
> > this...  Is it as fast as I would like...  No, but it is action, and
> > that makes it positive no matter how it is spun...  Each case is I am
> > sure different.
> >
> > I do know the FCC works faster than that, because I have seen it.  I had
> > a problem with a neighbor who refused to kill an under shelf lamp set,
> > which was spraying RFI at 50 over S9.  I did my homework, kept logs of
> > every test, documented every single item I could think of, then turned
> > it all into the FCC, the offender got a letter within a month, the
> > problem ended when the offender hired a broadcast engineer to sweep his
> > home with a spectrum analyzer.  Time form complaint to end of RFI was
> > about a month and a half...  So, if some complaints take longer, I KNOW
> > that that is not how they all work.
> >
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