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Police Radio Keeps Disrupting Sprinklers, Local Residents Get FCC Involved
Posted by Jason Chen at 8:00 AM on August 20, 2008
The police around Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville Texas have a fancy new communications system that broadcasts their 10-4s and 187s up to 50kms, which coincidentally enough is screwing up a fancy radio-controlled networked sprinkler system in that general area. Turning off the sprinklers may not sound like it does anything except for making the grass die, but that's exactly what local residents are pissed off about—pissed off enough to get the FCC involved. Too bad for residents that the precedent for FCC decisions on cases where two frequencies overlap is to award use to public safety. If they don't, those same residents would be enjoying that fresh, green lawn when they're burning to death. [Dallas News]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
Cortland Richmond
Posted November 3, 2008 11:07 PM
That's a consequence of a cheap radio control. The FCC lets us use cheap, unlicensed radio links with the condition we accept interference. The manufacturer COULD have used better receivers to avoid the problem, but saw no need. Most places, there still isn't.
John McFerren
Posted November 4, 2008 2:07 AM
This is very simple. The receivers are probably being overloaded by the new communications system. The residents have no legal recourse in the matter as a licensed system is interfering with an unlicensed system, even if the unlicensed system is operating legally. Part 15 of the FCC rule which governs unlicensed devices and legal unlicensed operation states these rules.
Cortland Richmond
Posted November 5, 2008 4:28 PM
I've done some poking around on the Net and am glad to report that it seems the complaining City went beyond the terms of its license, leading to reception capabilities the frequency coordinators could not have foreseen. It may even be trying to get someone else to pay for replacing the equipment, which at 15 years could could be reaching the end of its useful life.
Parker. A
Posted 8:29 AM 20/8/08
@Recoil: exactly.@UTnick: exactly
Parker. A
mykalt45
Posted 8:29 AM 20/8/08
Us Texans prefer the outlandish and over the top. It is a hallmark of our state. "If you ain't first, your last!"
mykalt45
UTnick
Posted 8:28 AM 20/8/08
Resident: and what are you . . .the water police?
Water Police: i am.
UTnick
qwijybo
Posted 8:27 AM 20/8/08
My guess is that the Police will win this case, Usually the police use licensed frequencies and the sprinkler is most likely unlicensed. And in cases like that the license owner wins.
qwijybo
Emiat
Posted 8:21 AM 20/8/08
@Abnormal: They didn't get hosed, because of the damn police.
Emiat
krystar
Posted 8:20 AM 20/8/08
so wait...why are the sprinklers tuned to the police band?
does that mean also that transmission of sprinkler commands also transmits on police band?
krystar
The Amazing Ant
Posted 8:20 AM 20/8/08
Ahh, I remember back in the good ol' days when you turned a knob... Those were the days, eh Recoil?
The Amazing Ant
Abnormal
Posted 8:19 AM 20/8/08
They got hosed.
Abnormal
Recoil
Posted 8:16 AM 20/8/08
@mildretard: Seriously, talk about an overkill of technology. They're fucking SPRINKLERS, people.
Recoil
mildretard
Posted 8:07 AM 20/8/08
Sprinklers that are radio-controlled AND networked, you say? It's opportunities like this that make me wish I had hacking powers.
mildretard
pithole
Posted 8:50 AM 20/8/08
This is not residential. It is two municipalities with commercial products. Park/median sprinklers, not front yard homes, versus the other cities' city communications.
Both municipalities are running low on money, and neither wants to foot the bill for changing what they bought.
Sounds like time to copper mesh the borders.
pithole
Weihovah
Posted 8:34 AM 20/8/08
but this is america... lawns supercede everything else
Weihovah
Evil J
Posted 8:32 AM 20/8/08
OK, I'm not trying to nitpick, but as a Dallas resident, I can say for a fact that Cedar Hill/DeSoto/Ducanville are not in the general vicinity of Plano.
I live in Lewisville, and years back, I had to commute to Cedar Hill. It's roughly 40 miles one way. Lewisville is slightly southwest of Plano, by, oh... probably about ten to fifteen miles.
To be honest, when I read this story this morning in the Dallas Morning News, I wasn't thinking about these "poor people" with their sprinklers; I was concerned about the effects of such a powerful communications signal being broadcast from a car where an officer is most of his day. 55 miles is a long way for a short-range communication system...
Evil J
BiZarRroBALlmeR
Posted 9:11 AM 20/8/08
Rock garden, that is all.
BiZarRroBALlmeR
Con Seannery
Posted 9:06 AM 20/8/08
If this was in Arlen, Hank Hill would be payin' the police station a visit.
Con Seannery
nursetim
Posted 10:01 AM 20/8/08
@mildretard:
This is how SkyNet is able to take over so easily when it becomes self aware.
nursetim
ab3
Posted 11:13 AM 20/8/08
Well the sprinklers where there first so I'll give it to them
ab3
krazydonutboy
Posted 12:14 PM 20/8/08
they wouldnt burn to death...its a more effective system...call 911, and they turn on your sprinklers for you. chip chop chit.
krazydonutboy
vinnyr
Posted 12:21 PM 20/8/08
"residents would be enjoying that fresh, green lawn when they're burning to death." omg thats funny, that made me laugh, nice job jason!
vinnyr
CYST!
Posted 12:48 PM 20/8/08
@mykalt45: this makes me glad to be in Austin, GODDAMN-TEXAS not ¨Texas.¨
@Con Seannery: I used to live in ¨Arlen, TX¨ for 9 long years.
[en.wikipedia.org]
CYST!
not2techy
Posted 2:31 PM 20/8/08
I don't understand why anyone would use radio frequencies to control sprinklers when they can just shoot laser beams from elevated locations to special light sensors on the ground.
not2techy
Feedloadr
Posted 5:30 PM 20/8/08
@Evil J: Down here towards Houston there are repeaters and such. The network is setup where an officer can be out of their jurisdiction and still have contact with their dispatch or hopefully a local agencies dispatch. Soon a Mongomery county deputy will be able to go to Wharton or Galveston for example and still have radio contact, as long as the local agency is using the same radio equipment.
Thats a crappy explanation, but you get the idea.
Feedloadr
hardtoremember
Posted 6:54 PM 20/8/08
This happened out here in Las Vegas a few years ago. Nobody's garage doors worked at all.
Thank you Nellis Air Force Base!
I'm sure Radio Shack was happy selling batteries all day long.
hardtoremember
Opie
Posted 9:09 PM 20/8/08
The garage door issue arose because the garage door mfr's used 380 MHz (which is a frequency allocated for military use) to control the doors. That was fine, as the low-power signal didn't require licensing under the condition that "This device will accept any interference received, even interference that may cause undesired operation." They just didn't make any provision for there ever being a primary signal (from the military) actually popping up. Shame on them (the garage door mfr's).
Opie
Opie
Posted 9:05 PM 20/8/08
Turns out Plano is in the wrong. They never updated their FCC license to show that they weren't just using the frequencies for mobile radios (which the new system would not have interfered with).
Opie
IllianaCachophony
Posted 10:27 PM 20/8/08
OK, not only would public safety "win", the rules are actually a LOT simpler. On a particular frequency, the "licensed" user has rights over an unlicensed user. IF the sprinkler systems are NOT licensed (in theory, they could be, but that kind of stuff usually isn't), the ONLY hope they have is in proving the police radio system is operating with "spurious" transmissions - aka they are transmitting on frequencies or power levels they are not allowed to. BTW, same holds true with Ham radio. A ham moves in next door, and starts coming through your nice new Home Theater system - so long as he is operating a technically compliant system, within his license class, it's your problem not his (and pray you don't have an early Plasma set - they transmit RF, and he can actually make you turn off your TV...)
IllianaCachophony
linoth
Posted 5:10 AM 21/8/08
Intentionally misleading summary is misleading. You passed it off as residential sprinklers when it is in fact sprinklers installed on public property. Subtle difference in which it's the town making the complaint and not the residents individually.
Odds are the police will win, but regardless of outcome it will also establish legally who wasn't operating on licensed frequencies and that the manufacturer is at fault, giving them a much more solid platform from which to pursue monetary damages.
And oh look, it's in Texas. Frivolous patent lawsuit country. Bet they can find a lawyer easily.
linoth