On Fri, Nov 27, 2020 at 08:51:49AM -0800, pe...@easthope.ca wrote: > > This one works for me: > > > > $ lspci | grep Wireless > > 03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wireless 3160 (rev 83) > > > > It's a mini-PCI card, inserted in PCI-X adapter. > > OK, thanks. A USB TP-Link here is used with a laptop.
That one was pulled out from an old laptop. I'm mildly curious how you managed to obtain a laptop which does not have any kind of wireless connectivity, so you have to resort to USB-plugged adapters. > > It would be illegal in US, and you have to thank FCC for that - [1]. > > Applies to WiFi cards too. > > [1] https://hackaday.com/2016/02/26/fcc-locks-down-router-firmware/ > > Interesting article about commercial products. > > I imagined FPGA based hardware assembled by J. Doe on the kitchen > table. It would need to be licensed similar to amateur radio? As long as it has any kind of radio transmitter (WiFi, Bluetooth, SDR) - it has to be licensed. At least, that's my understanding of it. > But available licenses don't cover the WiFi band? WiFI and ham radio use different frequencies, so probably no. > Wouldn't it be similar to licensing outdoor Christmas lights because > they radiate a week EM field? Pump enough power into consumer-grade 802.1ad-capable WiFi (to cover a mile radius or so), tweak a frequency a bit, and suddenly you can screw a radar of any airplane above your head. At least that was the official reason of locking down 802.1ad to "trusted and vetted firmware". > Isn't radiated power below some level exempted? True. But the effective distance between two devices utilizing this form of communication is measured in inches (so called NFC), and it's a different frequency again. > 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. US FCC restriction applies to devices sold to consumers on a US market. Somehow I doubt that Canada's market suppliers (or Europe for that matter) are different from US ones. Therefore US FCC restrictions magically apply to most of the first-world countries. I.e. of course nobody can forbid you (or me) to build an unlicensed WiFi transmitter of arbitrary power or frequency. But they won't sell it to you (or me). Reco
