How would you feel if you suddenly had tons of RF (up to 1 kW ERP) being beamed directly at you from a few hundred feet away on 700 MHz? That's exactly what happened to Gerry B., as documented in this thread on DigitalHome.ca recently.
He first noted the interference because it was interfering with his analog TV reception, which has suddenly become quite miserable.
In the course of investigating, he determined that it was an experimental transmitter put up by Rogers, one of the major communications companies in Canada, in addition to a few other transmitters on the same building. Their permits calls for the use of more than 3 kW ERP combined from the antennas seen in this picture.
He started testing other devices to determine the amount of interference observed. Here's what happened when he turned on his electronic keyboard.
(If your browser does not support the <video> tag, please
click here to view.)
Gerry also attached a diode to a multimeter and found 1V floating around in his apartment. He also used a Shotkey diode, a capacitor, an inductor, and a speaker to make a Piezzo-Microwave. With no battery attached... I'll let the video tell all.
(If your browser does not support the <video> tag, please
click here to view.)
He wrote a letter to Industry Canada, who is responsible for the licensing of broadcast stations in Canada much like the FCC is in the United States. Here is the response he received.
Industry Canada does not conduct general public investigations and is not responsible for identifying, locating, or resolving interference affecting the operation of such devices as AM/FM radios, televisions, stereos, telephones, etc. Our mandate as defined by legislation (the Radiocommunication Act), does not support these activities, however, for your convenience we have created a set of "self-help" information materials in form of videos and brochures title "Cutting through Interference...". These are intended to help the public better understand all the factors involved regarding the cause of interference and how it can be resolved.
In this self-help material, we offer various suggestions as to how the public can identify the source of the interference and what steps should be taken to correct the problem. Some of these steps are very simple and require no technical expertise. More complex problems may require the assistance of: a qualified technician at a local service shop, the service provider (cable operator, broadcaster, etc...) or the service utility (telephone or power utility).
Self-help information is available to the public on the Internet. Visit our web site at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/h_sf06086.html
As with interference complaints made to the FCC, Industry Canada was unwilling to do more than send an unhelpful form letter in response.
Gerry has also contacted one of the TV stations receiving some of the interference and received a concerned response, though the station with the worst interference is owned by Rogers - same as this new transmitter - and thus he has not tried to contact them. He is now looking to the media in general and at any other options that people suggest. Hopefully something can be done to alleviate this issue.
