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Re: Our friend the FCC


>Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 16:51:14 -0600
>Subject: Re: Our friend the FCC
>From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
>Original Poster: Greg Leyh <lod-at-pacbell-dot-net>
>
>> Original Poster: "D.C. Cox" <DR.RESONANCE-at-next-wave-dot-net>
>
>> In short, "don't ask, don't tell" is the unofficial "off the record" policy
>> of the FCC with regards to Tesla coils.  I suspect the very low numbers of
>> coils operating and the relatively low power levels of hobbyist coils help
>> make this policy effective.  You can drive through the neighborhood with
>> "glasspacks" on as long as you don't do it wide open throttle at 3 AM.

  Maybe 99% of the time you can, but you never know who might be driving
  through the the neighborhood at the time.

>>
>> Having an attorney call them and pushing for written guidelines to which
>> they must commit is most certainly opening a can of worms that should not
>> be opened by any prudent coiler.
>
>I tend to agree with this notion;  however if one plans to construct
>a project that's expensive and difficult to move, it's necessary to
>understand the response of the FCC, as they are one of several gov't
>agencies that could bring complete disaster to the project.
>Prudence would require knowing their response before commiting
>resources.

  Realistically, I don't see what the FCC has to gain by condoning a
  Tesla coil project.  While they are surely popular among the readers
  of this list, how may people subscribe, around 500 or so worldwide?
  How many million people in the USA alone spend their evenings staring
  at a TV?  I just can't see how the coilers can win it they press the
  issue.  So I would have to say that is best not to involve the FCC
  either directly by asking or indirectly by causing excessive RFI.
  Yes, this does seem to be a pretty big gamble if you are designing
  an MVA-sized coil.  It seems to be a no-win situation.

  Even if you somehow get the FCC's blessing for a project today, you
  don't know what may happen tomorrow.  Since the FCC is for the
  electromagnetic spectrum roughly what the EPA is for the environment,
  the following information may be relevant:

  The town I'm living in has the privilege of having two Superfund
  sites.  It sounds worse than it is -- the actual areas are not
  that large -- but this has been responsible for a lot of local news.
  One of the sites was created by a company whose business was to
  recycle industrial solvents.  Until sometime in the 1960's or so,
  it was perfectly legal to dispose of the residue in unlined pits, and
  that is what the company did.  The interesting part is what the EPA
  has done when it decided that the site had to be cleaned.  The
  company that processed the solvents became responsible for the
  pollution caused by the then-legal dumping.  Even more interesting,
  companies which brought solvents to this company became "PRPs",
  Potentially Responsible Parties.  Although these companies brought
  their wastes to a company whose business was processing these
  wastes, they are now responsible for the pollution caused by this
  company.  As much as it does not make sense, I've read it too many
  times to believe that I misunderstood this.  These PRPs range from
  small local companies to GE and other large firms.

  Even if the EPA does not relate that well to the FCC, it should give
  everyone something to think about when buying something with PCBs.
  Hmmm... a pretty depressing post.  Sorry.

  Jim Monte
>--
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>-GL
>www.lod-dot-org
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