pe...@easthope.ca wrote: > I imagined FPGA based hardware assembled by J. Doe on the kitchen > table. It would need to be licensed similar to amateur radio? But > available licenses don't cover the WiFi band? Wouldn't it be similar > to licensing outdoor Christmas lights because they radiate a week EM > field? Isn't radiated power below some level exempted? > > Does the FCC (Industry Canada) drive around every residential > neighbourhood and knock on every door where a field is detected and > ask to verify that it is generated by licensed equipment? Seems > unrealistic.
No, they take complaints and investigate them. The license to the public for certain frequencies requires non-interference, and specifies effective radiated power limits. The amateur radio licenses aren't to the general public, they're to members of the public who have passed certain technical tests... and they also specify non-interference and power limits. Your wifi, your microwave, and your wireless baby monitor all use spectrum that doesn't require a test of the operator, just a test of samples of the equipment to make sure that they don't exceed the power limits. Should any actual installation create inteference and complaints, the FCC can literally drive vans around your neighborhood until they triangulate the source, then require you to stop transmitting until you fix the problem, possibly by replacing or fixing the microwave oven, and possibly issue a fine. -dsr-
