[TowerTalk] TVI: them not me.

[EDWARDS, EDDIE J]

Hi David:

Bruce-WD4NGB's info is good but I wouldn't go to all that trouble myself
if the neighbor is unwilling to cooperate at all.  Just get on the air
and operate.  If the neighbor calls, tell him you're willing to help him
solve his problem if he's willing to let you.  If not, goodbye!
Bob-K8NY had a good point also about having a low pass filter.  It shows
you're doing your part to reduce any possible interference.

The FCC no longer investigates RFI complaints to telephone, TV or
entertainment systems.  I just called their 800 number (888-CALL-FCC)
and brought up the FCC's RFI message.  Try it yourself.  Very
educational.  You might want to give this number to your complaning
neighbor since it tells him it's most likely his equipment at fault--not
yours.  You can also find out how to order the FCC's interference
handbook which tells the same story.  Get an extra one for the neighbor
just to be nice of course ;^).

Rectification and overload are both problems with the design of the
effected equipment, and after decades of investigation, the FCC knows
this.  That's why their policy is such as it is now.  The FCC cannot get
laws enacted to correct this by forcing manufacturers to properly design
stuff so they've backed off and are not doing anything about it
themselves.  If the neighbor is unwilling to cooperate, the FCC won't
even want to talk with them.  They are instructed by the FCC to contact
the manufacturer who made the defective equipment for a solution.  Sort
of a "free market" solution.

One bit of advice:  It really helps to clean up your TV/Stereo &
telephones, so that you can point at your equipment saying "My
TV/Stereo/Telephone doesn't get any interference, so it must be your
equipment."  While solving your own RFI issues you'll learn how to help
your neighbors with theirs (should they finally ask for help).  When
helping a neighbor it's a good idea to have another local ham familiar
with RFI act as a liaison or 3rd party who is not interested in the
dispute.  Contact your local club or the ARRL for the name of the local
TS (Tech Specialist) who is willing to help out in this capacity.

A good book on EMI that every active ham ought to own is the ARRL's
"Radio Frequency Interference: How to Find It and Fix It".  They've
updated it and it's now called "The ARRL RFI Book".  I still need to buy
the new one, but the old one is really excellent!  

You may also want to join the RFI reflector when you have more specific
problems to solve on your equipment.  To subscribe to the rfi reflector
send a message to  rfi-request@contesting.com  with 'subscribe' in the
body of the message.  

I'm not familiar with what you said about the FCC taking RFI cases back
from the ARRL on Sept 15th.  I didn't know the ARRL was officially
handling any before that and I'm an ARRL TS.  That's news to me and
contrary to info on the FCC's 800 line which states "The FCC no longer
handles RFI issues."  Where did you hear about this from?  

Good luck.

73,
de ed -K0iL


David J. Rodman, MD wrote:
> After about 10 years of being off the air, I replaced an aged antenna
> and
> wanted to get back on.  My previous attempts produced an FCC
> inspection by
> my closest neighbor who complained of "interference" problems.
> Naturally, the 
> FCC inspection produced a "clean" report of my equipment last time.
> 
> The upshod is a case of rectification of signal and RF overload, but
> the
> complaintant was unwilling to do anything about it.
> 
> Interestingly enough, as of September 15, the FCC has taken back the
> investigations of complaints from the ARRL volunteer system.  I am
> sure
> that this will rapidly escalate in headaches and problems.  
> 
> 

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