Comments on: Police Radio Keeps Disrupting Sprinklers, Local Residents Get FCC Involved

By: Cortland Richmond

Cortland Richmond — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:28:15 +0000

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.

By: John McFerren

John McFerren — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:07:10 +0000

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.

By: Cortland Richmond

Cortland Richmond — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:07:46 +0000

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.