{"id":8974,"date":"2014-03-12T14:40:26","date_gmt":"2014-03-12T18:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=8974"},"modified":"2014-03-12T10:13:08","modified_gmt":"2014-03-12T14:13:08","slug":"wsj-fcc-agents-trace-radio-interference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/wsj-fcc-agents-trace-radio-interference\/","title":{"rendered":"WSJ: “FCC Agents Trace Radio Interference”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Poorly<\/a>

Poorly engineered fluorescent ballasts are often culprits of broad spectrum radio interference. (Image: HowStuffWorks.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

I’m happy to see RFI being mentioned in the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Ulis, for the tip:<\/p>\n

(Source: Wall Street Journal<\/a>)<\/p>\n

A federal agent who shows up unannounced at a building along a Texas highway might be looking for any number of things: illicit drugs or immigration violations, say, or illegal firearms.<\/p>\n

Or fluorescent lights.<\/p>\n

Which was what the agent had in mind who walked into the Perfect Cuts salon in San Antonio last July. The lights were violating communications regulations.<\/p>\n

The agent had used signal-tracking equipment to home in on the offenders and told the owner, Ronald Bethany, that his lights emitted radio signals that interfered with an\u00a0AT&T\u00a0cellphone tower.<\/p>\n

[…]The mixed signals aren’t always so weighty. In recent years, the FCC has issued warning letters directing people to stop operating cordless phones, television sets and wireless cameras.<\/p>\n

[…]The FCC can demand fines up to $16,000 a day or $112,500 an incident from people who aren’t FCC licensees. Offenders usually rectify problems, the FCC says, often working them out with whomever is complaining.<\/p>\n

Managing the radio spectrum “has been part of our core mission since the inception of the FCC in 1934,” says Julius Knapp, head of the agency’s Office of Engineering and Technology.<\/p>\n

[…]The government doesn’t much care why interference happens. To the FCC, noise is noise.<\/p>\n

In a 2013 letter, the FCC wrote to the owner of a plasma TV set after a ham-radio operator complained to the agency of interference. “Continued operation of the television,” warned the letter, from which the TV owner’s identification is redacted, “is not legal under FCC rules.”<\/p>\n

[…]Ham-radio operators are a frequent source of complaints. A 2012 FCC letter told a Pomona Park, Fla., resident to stop using a well pump that conflicted with amateur-radio frequencies.<\/p>\n

[…]Radio hobbyist Tom Thompson of Boulder, Colo., last year tracked a signal using a homemade contraption. After knocking on the suspect’s door, he traced it to ballasts on marijuana grow-room lights. He says he built a filter that the grower agreed to use.<\/p>\n

Ballasts are frequent offenders. Makers of the components, which regulate electricity to bulbs, test them for FCC compliance. Some interfere anyway.[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the full article on the Wall Street Journal <\/em>online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m happy to see RFI being mentioned in the Wall Street Journal. Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Ulis, for the tip: (Source: Wall Street Journal) A federal agent who shows up unannounced at a building along a Texas highway might be looking for any number of things: illicit drugs or immigration violations, say, or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,3],"tags":[2653,2652,2650,4089,2651,197,453],"class_list":["post-8974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-news","tag-electro-magnetic-interference","tag-emi","tag-noise","tag-qrm","tag-radio-frequency-interference","tag-radio-interference","tag-rfi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2kK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17569,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/playing-music-with-computer-emitted-interference\/","url_meta":{"origin":8974,"position":0},"title":"Playing music with computer-emitted interference","author":"Thomas","date":"March 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post reader, Chris Smolinski, writes: Here's my Mac Book Pro (2010 model) playing Mary Had A Little Lamb over the radio, by modulating the RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) produced by it and other computers. As picked up on a Sony 7600G receiver. I found the best reception was on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Funny"","block_context":{"text":"Funny","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/funny\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"RFI-Sony-7600G","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/RFI-Sony-7600G.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/RFI-Sony-7600G.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/RFI-Sony-7600G.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45798,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/steve-tracks-down-the-source-of-persistent-radio-interference-and-gets-it-addressed\/","url_meta":{"origin":8974,"position":1},"title":"Steve tracks down the source of persistent radio interference and gets it addressed","author":"Thomas","date":"October 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Steve Allen (KZ4TN), who shares the following guest post: Tracking Down Radio Frequency Interference by Steve Allen, KZ4TN I first noticed the RFI in late November 2019 as a steady buzz at around S9. It was present over most of the high frequency spectrum.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/power-substation-e1602004330569.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/power-substation-e1602004330569.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/power-substation-e1602004330569.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/power-substation-e1602004330569.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31654,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/rsgb-presentation-on-rf-interference\/","url_meta":{"origin":8974,"position":2},"title":"RSGB presentation on RF Interference","author":"Thomas","date":"April 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Gary (W4EEY), who writes: I want to recommend an excellent presentation on RF Interference from the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) Convention in 2015. The presenter is Ian White, GM3SEK, who has a Blog website here: https:\/\/gm3sek.com\/ You can find the presentation video on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Digital-Frequency-Dial","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Digital-Frequency-Dial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Digital-Frequency-Dial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Digital-Frequency-Dial.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51771,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/radio-waves-bbc-license-fee-frozen-battling-rfi-warning-to-rtl-sdr-users-in-ukraine-and-wrd-special-broadcast\/","url_meta":{"origin":8974,"position":3},"title":"Radio Waves: BBC License Fee Frozen, Battling RFI, Warning to RTL-SDR Users in Ukraine, and WRD Special Broadcast","author":"Thomas","date":"February 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Braun-T1000CD-Front-Dial-e1554814225364.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Braun-T1000CD-Front-Dial-e1554814225364.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Braun-T1000CD-Front-Dial-e1554814225364.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Braun-T1000CD-Front-Dial-e1554814225364.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34180,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/arcing-can-produce-nasty-broadband-radio-interference\/","url_meta":{"origin":8974,"position":4},"title":"Arcing can produce nasty broadband radio interference","author":"Thomas","date":"September 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I mentioned in a previous post that, this year, QRM levels here at the condo in Qu\u00e9bec are higher on our balcony than they are inside the building. I think I found the source. A couple weeks ago, on my morning walk, I passed underneath some high voltage power lines\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Elecraft-KX2-PK-Loop-Condo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":62071,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/rfi-fm-habits-and-jeffs-tabletop-radio-temptation\/","url_meta":{"origin":8974,"position":5},"title":"RFI, FM Habits, and Jeff’s Tabletop Radio Temptation","author":"Thomas","date":"February 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon for sharing a recent Herculodge post, where he battles radio frequency interference (RFI) while trying to enjoy his Tecsun PL-990\u2014only to find his PL-880 unaffected. This led to a deeper reflection on FM listening habits and the temptation of tabletop radios like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JEff-McMahon-PL-990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JEff-McMahon-PL-990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JEff-McMahon-PL-990.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/JEff-McMahon-PL-990.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8974\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}