[GreenKeys] RF noise

Wed Apr 8 09:52:55 EDT 2009

Another major concern is that Part 15 is very clear about ceasing
operation of you are causing interference, yet there is no attempt to
define interference.  The notable exception is the CATV industry.
However that is not covered by Part 15, they have their own FCC rules. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Robert House [mailto:k9tty at dls.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 11:12 PM
To: Chris Elmquist
Cc: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] RF noise

Chris,

You are correct. Broadband Interference is getting worse.  Any one of
these RF generators probably would not be very noticeable, but when
there are so many sources it becomes very problematic.

In the year 2000 the FCC turned over several parts of it's requirements
including Part 15 to a separate agency.  I have forgotten the actual
name and acronym but the standards group that overseas and contributes
to this agency is ATIS.  The Alliance for Telecom Industry Solutions.
ATIS is a spin-off from ANSI.  It seems no one really wants to enforce
the standards, just play with them and modify them.

These days low first cost is the prime motivation for purchasing agents.
Quality and reliability mean almost nothing.  You may notice that you
will soon start to have to replace your telephone jacks every three
years, especially if you are in a climate that experiences high humidity
and damp locations like basements and kitchens.

This is because the industry depends on Chinese manufacturers to build
the lowest cost jacks.  Part 15 requires all jacks for telephone service
to be plated with no less than 50 micro-inches of gold.  The jacks
imported by Woods, RCA, and several others are plated with only 3
micro-inches of gold to reduce first cost.

This is only one example of the blind eye to standards.  Another is the
actual size of wall phone jacks.  So many have been copied from others
that the dimensions of many of the jacks you buy in the Home Depot or
other stores are as much as a sixteenth of an inch off in more than one
dimension.  Just finding the correct dimensions is no longer a simple
task.

For several years I worked with regulatory compliance as one of my
engineering tasks.
I refused to let the company lower it's specifications to not meeting
national standards.  Today the company has lost most of the business it
once had due to asian competition.  They let go all of the people,
except one, I trained and now leave the regulatory compliance to people
in the orient... specifically China.

The goal of purchasing should always be the highest total value, not
simply the lowest first cost.

End of sermon.

Don
K9TTY

On 7 Apr 2009, at 11:14 AM, Chris Elmquist wrote:

My experience says this is a much wider problem than just compact
flourescent bulbs...

I get broadband hash S9+30 from the variable speed blower in my new
energy efficient furnace.  This blower motor is speed controlled by a
microprocessor on the furnace control board but the means for doing so
is so brutal that it conducts the broadband hash onto the power line,
the thermostat cable and the A/C control cable leaving the furnace.

I get broadband hash S9+10 from my front loading energy efficient
washing machine.  Same issue as above, the motor control has no concern
for the sharp edges generated when switching the power to the motor and
consequently conducts this hash into the power line and directly through
the chassis of the unit.

I get broadband hash from the halogen under-cabinet lighting in my
kitchen which uses a so-called "solid state transformer"--  which is
really nothing more than a very crappy switching power supply.

Broadband hash from numerous "wall warts" that power pieces of computer
gear--  network connected music players, routers, laptops... all of
these supplies are physically too small to house any amount of filtering
and so the switching hash goes right back onto the power line for
efficient distribution throughout the house and neighborhood.

I think the FCC gave up on Part 15 compliance years ago...

Sad and very frusterating.

I've found I don't hear these noise sources on 10.368 GHz however :-)

Chris  N0JCF

On Tuesday (04/07/2009 at 11:38AM -0400), KC0NNC at aol.com wrote:
> We need to file a complaint with the FCC ASAP....
>
> Is anyone familiar as to how to proceed, probably the ARRL:
>
>
> Perry:    are you aware that the fluorescent compact bulbs are  
> causing havoc
> with ham band receivers?
>
> Could you bring this to the attention of someone at the ARRL: as hard 
> as we have fought BPL we need to petition the FCC to require that 
> these devices are non EMI emitting....  Does the ARRL have a posture 
> on this yet?
>
> Please advise via a "reply all" so this will get posted on green 
> keys....
>
> Harvey E. Smith
> 2020 Baculite Mesa Road
> Pueblo, CO., 81001-2456
> 719 406 9735
>
> fka WA0BBG
> nka KC0NNC
>
> HarveyEsmith at aol.com
>
> KC0NNC at aol.com
>
>
> 73's

--
Chris Elmquist

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