Denny wrote:
We have had regulation of RF emissions since 1912... I have been an
active ham for 45 years... I have read most of the back issues of QST
over the years, clear back to the start.... I keep up (mostly) with
regulatory and enforcement actions that affect hams....
Never, ever, have I run across an action by the FCC against a ham for
using a piece of test gear that radiates low power signals...

Perhaps not against hams, but cases of FCC enforcement actions against
commercial users of test equipment have occurred. A typical case is
radiating on an antenna test range with a bit too much power, or without
the necessary experimental Part 5 license. There are also cases of
companies getting tagged for doing things like testing a radar, but
that's something designed to radiate, not a piece of test gear.

The general rule is, if they can't detect it at the property line,
you're probably legal.

Perhaps not against hams, but cases of FCC enforcement actions against
commercial users of test equipment have occurred.

Jim, I am a pilot, etc. I am aware of enforcement actions against
radio repair stations for radiating excessive power on the same
frequency as the VOR on the field, etc... But, I was very specific in
my comments... No enforcement action against a ham for using test
equipment - ever - insofar as I know... This is so unlikely as to
equal betting on the Megamillions Lottery this weekend, for several
reasons... The first reason is that we are licensed to radiate those
emissions in the first place... The second reason is that
unintentional interference must be accepted in the ham bands per the
regulations... The third is, Rily has a sense of humor...

73 - denny

Denny wrote:
Perhaps not against hams, but cases of FCC enforcement actions against
commercial users of test equipment have occurred.

Jim, I am a pilot, etc. I am aware of enforcement actions against
radio repair stations for radiating excessive power on the same
frequency as the VOR on the field, etc... But, I was very specific in
my comments... No enforcement action against a ham for using test
equipment - ever - insofar as I know... This is so unlikely as to
equal betting on the Megamillions Lottery this weekend, for several
reasons... The first reason is that we are licensed to radiate those
emissions in the first place... The second reason is that
unintentional interference must be accepted in the ham bands per the
regulations... The third is, Rily has a sense of humor...


As Homer Simpson once mused:

"Can God Make a Burrito that is too hot for him to eat?"


It was a well deserved citation against that radio repair station. And
the antenna range too. But neither of those are the same issue.

But since we have descended from the sublime into the ridiculous, I have
noted that it is occasionally possible to accidentally make a QSO with
another OP while connected to a dummy load. I've done this a number of
times on PSK31.

Are there specific rules and limits to the radiation from dummy loads?
And if not, are Dummy loads illegal?

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

In article ,
Michael Coslo wrote:

But since we have descended from the sublime into the ridiculous, I have
noted that it is occasionally possible to accidentally make a QSO with
another OP while connected to a dummy load. I've done this a number of
times on PSK31.

Are there specific rules and limits to the radiation from dummy loads?
And if not, are Dummy loads illegal?

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

It IS possible to radiate from a Dummy Load, enough energy to commuicate
with another station. Example. Years ago, I was a Traveling Radioman
for the old Northern Radio Company of Seattle, Washington. I had a
Northern N550 MF/HF SSB 150W PEP Transceiver on the testbench connected
to a Bird 1 Kw Dummy Load. I was doing a final tuneup on the
Transmitter, which was Crystal Controlled, and one of the channels was
KMI @ Point Reyes California, the AT&T HighSeas HF Station for the
Pacific. As I was testing with a two tone Audio Test Signal, I heard
the KMI Operator come back with a "Who the heck is on my input Freq
on KMI-1201?". We carried on a nice chat for about 5 minutes, and I
called him on the Landline after that for another 30 minute chat. He
said he routinely got signals from Radio Shops, doing tuneups on
his Calling and Working Frequencies, when the Band was Wide Open.
His Receiving Antenna Array was a set of Phased Rhombics, steerable
over a 270 degree Arc to the West.

Bruce in alaska AL7AQ ex-FCC Field Inspector for Alaska
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add a 2 before @