[RFI] DEFINITION OF "HARMFUL INTERFERENCE"

[Hare, Ed, W1RFI]

I am going to chime in here speaking generally.

The definition of harmful interference is vague, but we do not want the FCC to draw lines in the sand about what level of noise constitutes harmful interference because that line could then be used to determine whether the FCC will or will not act. If FCC WERE to draw a line, it would probably be at the median-values of human-made noise in residential environments, which on lower HF is typically around S6 to S8 or so.

Right now, it is determined on a case-by-case basis, and FCC has been pretty reasonable in its approach.  One ham that sent them a video showing S1 noise on his S meter was told that his noise was not harmful interference. (He reports that the noise does get higher, but that is one of the videos he sent to the FCC, which used that to make a determination that S1 noise is not actionable.  We managed to keep the case open, but there is a lot to do now to try to bring better evidence to the table.)

But other than a case like that, the FCC has generally been willing to help even with noise lower than might be deemed to be harmful interference if there is a clearly identified and correctable source.  We really want to keep that door open, rather than a decision that for noise below a specific level, FCC will do nothing.

There is still work to be done to get the FCC to take some actions that seem to be needed in some cases, but what we do have a process is clearly making an important difference and our approach to getting improvements is to build on what we have and to maximize its effectiveness.

Ed, W1RFI