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Re: Our friend the FCC
to: Greg, TC List
We operate many commercial coils around the country at various museums and
this issue was an early concern of mine. I had an FCC field engineer visit
our lab and we discussed this very topic in detail.
The FCC is aware of TC operations and does not take action unless
complaints are filed or blatant interference is "willfully produced". This
"willfully produced" spec leaves a lot of grey area and is interpreted as
follows: If the device is used for purposes of scientific research
(perhaps your area) or education (science museum area) and the device is
only operated in a periodic fashion, and no complaints are generated, the
FCC will generally ignore your coil. Even if a complaint is received the
FCC (like the FAA) is directed to try to settle complaints with "due
cooperation" (another FAA term) before issuing formal violation tickets.
This procedure can be as simple as running your coil at reasonable times
and hours and with reasonable length of operational periods.
The engineer told us they would never "give the blessing" in a formal
written statement for legal reasons however they also would not harass
anyone unless he "really had it coming". The "good local neighbor" policy
I have endorsed for so long stems directly from this information and we
take definite steps to insure we don't push the limits of operational
periods in our installations.
The "educational area" also covers a vast amount of ground and will allow
most all coilers to experiment as long as they don't become nuisances in
their respective neighborhoods. This area applies especially to our museum
installations which helps to get youngsters interested in science,
engineering, math, etc. and hopefully some will become FCC field engineers
who understand and use restraint in their judgement.
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.
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.
DR.RESONANCE-at-next-wave-dot-net
----------
> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Our friend the FCC
> Date: Friday, September 18, 1998 11:17 PM
>
> Original Poster: Greg Leyh <lod-at-pacbell-dot-net>
>
> Hi All,
>
> I occasionally bring this up on the list, in the hopes that
> an FCC-savvy lawyer might have just recently joined.
>
> How does one approach the FCC in order to get their blessing
> to operate a Tesla coil? Are there ever exceptions or
> variances granted? Can the coil be creatively classified in
> some way to minimize the legal hurdles?
>
> This is an academic exercise. Please do not provide skewed
> answers such as "Just be a good neighbor and the FCC won't
> have to be involved", etc. I wish to discover if one can
> run a TC 'on the level', in the true bureaucratic sense!
> --
>
>
> -GL
> www.lod-dot-org
>