is it legal for someone to have a drone jammer.
- Thread starter Rich B
- Start date
It's simple, jamming is illegal in the US.
Regulations are put in place by the FCC for a reason to not conflict or cause issues with other wireless devices.
Wifi is limited to 1Watt, or 1000mW max. And no, your drone won't come home if GPS is jammed also, it will land in his yard and he will probably keep it so now it's grand theft for the cost of some drones. FAA makes it clear, he owns the property, not the airspace on the property.
He is not just affecting wifi, cordless phones, and several other things that use 2.4Ghz but also medical devices. He can kill someone, he would kill me!
A lot of drones use the ISM bands. (industrial, scientific and medical radio bands that are radio bands reserved internationally for the use of radio frequency (RF) energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes)
My CGM (constant glucose monitor) operators on this ISM band in the 2.4Ghz frequencies. This is my life line to know my sugar level as a insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. Last month I had to wear a heart monitor known as a holter monitor that also operates on these frequencies and was reporting live data to a monitoring company tha would dispatch emergency help if they detected something wrong. It reported this data to the monitoring company over my wifi internet also, or Bluetooth to my cell phone (all that would be affected by this jammer)
My insulin pump uses Bluetooth to communicate to a central box and send messages to my doctors, family, friends and even emergency medical response if needed if the data between my CGM and pump, and or holter monitor picked up a pattern showing I was in distress. If any of these frequencies were jammed from a neighbor pushing 20 watts on these channels he could have killed me. I might not have noticed my sugar spiked over night because the alarms didn't go off to wake me if it was jammed, and then slipped into a coma.
I'm not over exaggerating this, this is affecting more then he realizes and not just drones. He can not stop the power of this unit from leaving just his property and it does and will affect other homes or people on the area. This is a ignorant selfish blatant disregard to thinking about how he is affecting anyone else. A risk to people's health, interfering with people's internet, and even TV, blocking radars for tornadoe warning alerts.Some Drone Defence jammer Guns are being made that are not for public sales, but these are using directional antennas and not just a wide net broadcast like the jammer you are claiming your neighbor has. Things that just broadcast like this are much more dangerous to everyone else then something you can control the direction of the frequencies and point at a drone that might be invading military slace like the 133 locations the FAA just ruled on that will soon be illegal to fly around in the US starting on April 14th.
All newer cell phones have a emergency broadcast system alert built into it. It uses GPS to determine if you are in a location that is affected and alerts you of the emergency. Two weeks ago our phone went off 4 minutes before the sirens did to take shelter In the basement. If he blocked GPS then my alert on our phones wouldn't have gone off.
Did you know that most drone operators are already breaking the law and they don't even know it. Almost all FPV transmits higher then the allowed power and is in channels that require a HAM radio license in the US. So these 250mW, 600mW and higher FatShark FPV transmitters are illegal in the US to operate unless you have a ham radio license. But no one will tell you this because they want to sell them. And some are illegal even if you have a license because they are over powered. More power is not the answer to cleaner video when flying with multiple people. This needs to go digital like cordless phones did back in the day.
In addition, the frequencies this guy is jamming is not just over the max transmition legal limits, but also affecting a lot more then just drones. Not to mention because of the power he is pushing and it's probably not a clean signal so the harmonics of these frequencies are probably affecting a lot of other channels outside of what the jammer claims.
In a suburb area people would be complaining about loosing internet, or TV boxes not working. Hours of tech and man power would be waisted with troubleshooting trying to figure out why these devices are failing. I would have been sending my $6,000 insulin pump in for another, and same with the CGM and these items are over night shipping just to find out I would have the same problem while my health is spiraling out of control and probably would end up in the emergency room, slipped into a coma or worse and could suffer a heart attack. If I found out this was all from a neighbors paranoia and frequency jammer I wouldn't only be reporting him to the FCC, I would inform all the companies that he caused problems with, called the police, and then start a lawsuit on him in the end to recover any medical costs. But it doesn't matter, one day out of minor control takes one week off my life and I wouldn't get that back. If it caused a hypo-glycemic low then permanent damage is done to my organs and I can't get that back either.
He needs to be reported before someone dies, friend/neighbor or not, it doesn't matter. Or maybe you need to explain this all to him before something does happen and a life is lost and he is charged with involuntary manslaughter and get him to destroy that unit!
The only reason electronic companies are using these frequencies is becuase they don't have to pay for a license or pay for the frequencies, it's just to save a dollar. I personally think all drones and FPV need moved to another frequency that's not already overcrowded and then they can use more power if needed also. If all manufactures get together to buy a band for flying only then they can share the cost and have better flying drones with better signals and control. But that's a whole different topic I guess.
Example of additional wifi restrictions on 5Ghz AC:
Wireless AC has frequencies available in the US that most routers won't use because of additional restrictions. The router needs to know if its near a radar station or be able to detect if something else is on that channel, of something is then it has to be able to switch the transmitter and host in under a second to an alternate channel. This is to prevent radars interfearance, not just limitations radars but weather radars like Doppler radars for weather and emergency weather alerts that save lives from tornadoes. The only devices I've seen able to do this is wireless cable boxes.
P.S. Version 1 firmware on the Mavic Pro killed my 2.4Ghz wifi. They had a fast release for a new firmware version and claimed it was to improve signals. I think the truth is they released the first version putting out to much power by mistake.
Also my neighbor gave me two radios he bought because he didn't know how to program them. They can transmit on the emergency broadcast channels and many others they shouldn't be allowed to. I programmed them so he could listen only on those frequencies.
But manufacturers in China don't care and don't need to follow US laws and will still sell them to you for cheap. That doesn't mean they are safe to use. During the last tornado we had Columbus emergency weather take over the Ohio repeater network. At one point we lost the radar for a few minutes and all we had was people with radios to report the locations of these storms. During this time some kids keying up and clowning around on the repeater network because they probably bought one of those cheap radios.
I don't have my HAM but I listen because it's a faster way to get updates then the guy on TV and more accurate when the radar fails.
Regulations are put in place by the FCC for a reason to not conflict or cause issues with other wireless devices.
Wifi is limited to 1Watt, or 1000mW max. And no, your drone won't come home if GPS is jammed also, it will land in his yard and he will probably keep it so now it's grand theft for the cost of some drones. FAA makes it clear, he owns the property, not the airspace on the property.
He is not just affecting wifi, cordless phones, and several other things that use 2.4Ghz but also medical devices. He can kill someone, he would kill me!
A lot of drones use the ISM bands. (industrial, scientific and medical radio bands that are radio bands reserved internationally for the use of radio frequency (RF) energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes)
My CGM (constant glucose monitor) operators on this ISM band in the 2.4Ghz frequencies. This is my life line to know my sugar level as a insulin dependent type 1 diabetic. Last month I had to wear a heart monitor known as a holter monitor that also operates on these frequencies and was reporting live data to a monitoring company tha would dispatch emergency help if they detected something wrong. It reported this data to the monitoring company over my wifi internet also, or Bluetooth to my cell phone (all that would be affected by this jammer)
My insulin pump uses Bluetooth to communicate to a central box and send messages to my doctors, family, friends and even emergency medical response if needed if the data between my CGM and pump, and or holter monitor picked up a pattern showing I was in distress. If any of these frequencies were jammed from a neighbor pushing 20 watts on these channels he could have killed me. I might not have noticed my sugar spiked over night because the alarms didn't go off to wake me if it was jammed, and then slipped into a coma.
I'm not over exaggerating this, this is affecting more then he realizes and not just drones. He can not stop the power of this unit from leaving just his property and it does and will affect other homes or people on the area. This is a ignorant selfish blatant disregard to thinking about how he is affecting anyone else. A risk to people's health, interfering with people's internet, and even TV, blocking radars for tornadoe warning alerts.Some Drone Defence jammer Guns are being made that are not for public sales, but these are using directional antennas and not just a wide net broadcast like the jammer you are claiming your neighbor has. Things that just broadcast like this are much more dangerous to everyone else then something you can control the direction of the frequencies and point at a drone that might be invading military slace like the 133 locations the FAA just ruled on that will soon be illegal to fly around in the US starting on April 14th.
All newer cell phones have a emergency broadcast system alert built into it. It uses GPS to determine if you are in a location that is affected and alerts you of the emergency. Two weeks ago our phone went off 4 minutes before the sirens did to take shelter In the basement. If he blocked GPS then my alert on our phones wouldn't have gone off.
Did you know that most drone operators are already breaking the law and they don't even know it. Almost all FPV transmits higher then the allowed power and is in channels that require a HAM radio license in the US. So these 250mW, 600mW and higher FatShark FPV transmitters are illegal in the US to operate unless you have a ham radio license. But no one will tell you this because they want to sell them. And some are illegal even if you have a license because they are over powered. More power is not the answer to cleaner video when flying with multiple people. This needs to go digital like cordless phones did back in the day.
In addition, the frequencies this guy is jamming is not just over the max transmition legal limits, but also affecting a lot more then just drones. Not to mention because of the power he is pushing and it's probably not a clean signal so the harmonics of these frequencies are probably affecting a lot of other channels outside of what the jammer claims.
In a suburb area people would be complaining about loosing internet, or TV boxes not working. Hours of tech and man power would be waisted with troubleshooting trying to figure out why these devices are failing. I would have been sending my $6,000 insulin pump in for another, and same with the CGM and these items are over night shipping just to find out I would have the same problem while my health is spiraling out of control and probably would end up in the emergency room, slipped into a coma or worse and could suffer a heart attack. If I found out this was all from a neighbors paranoia and frequency jammer I wouldn't only be reporting him to the FCC, I would inform all the companies that he caused problems with, called the police, and then start a lawsuit on him in the end to recover any medical costs. But it doesn't matter, one day out of minor control takes one week off my life and I wouldn't get that back. If it caused a hypo-glycemic low then permanent damage is done to my organs and I can't get that back either.
He needs to be reported before someone dies, friend/neighbor or not, it doesn't matter. Or maybe you need to explain this all to him before something does happen and a life is lost and he is charged with involuntary manslaughter and get him to destroy that unit!
The only reason electronic companies are using these frequencies is becuase they don't have to pay for a license or pay for the frequencies, it's just to save a dollar. I personally think all drones and FPV need moved to another frequency that's not already overcrowded and then they can use more power if needed also. If all manufactures get together to buy a band for flying only then they can share the cost and have better flying drones with better signals and control. But that's a whole different topic I guess.
Example of additional wifi restrictions on 5Ghz AC:
Wireless AC has frequencies available in the US that most routers won't use because of additional restrictions. The router needs to know if its near a radar station or be able to detect if something else is on that channel, of something is then it has to be able to switch the transmitter and host in under a second to an alternate channel. This is to prevent radars interfearance, not just limitations radars but weather radars like Doppler radars for weather and emergency weather alerts that save lives from tornadoes. The only devices I've seen able to do this is wireless cable boxes.
P.S. Version 1 firmware on the Mavic Pro killed my 2.4Ghz wifi. They had a fast release for a new firmware version and claimed it was to improve signals. I think the truth is they released the first version putting out to much power by mistake.
Also my neighbor gave me two radios he bought because he didn't know how to program them. They can transmit on the emergency broadcast channels and many others they shouldn't be allowed to. I programmed them so he could listen only on those frequencies.
But manufacturers in China don't care and don't need to follow US laws and will still sell them to you for cheap. That doesn't mean they are safe to use. During the last tornado we had Columbus emergency weather take over the Ohio repeater network. At one point we lost the radar for a few minutes and all we had was people with radios to report the locations of these storms. During this time some kids keying up and clowning around on the repeater network because they probably bought one of those cheap radios.
I don't have my HAM but I listen because it's a faster way to get updates then the guy on TV and more accurate when the radar fails.
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he is breaking two federal laws that can send him to prison and cost him large fines and possible payment for damages. not only the FCC law, but if he damages a drone he has damaged an aircraft which is an FAA violation.
The jammer could cause the drone to lose control and crash. depends on how strong the jamming signal is.
N017RW
Premium Pilot
Heard???
You previously stated:
"... they have a certificate posted from the government that shows they are allowed to use it."
So which is it?
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Did not look into it, it was just a certificate on the wall behind the counter. Maybe it was something else, in that case, my mistake. That is what the employee told me it was.
N017RW
Premium Pilot
Thanks for that.
So you really don't 'know' then.
I always ask the questions because the WWW is so full of BS.
So you really don't 'know' then.
I always ask the questions because the WWW is so full of BS.
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Just an observation.... I would leave the wording "if a friend of mine gets cited"... to me, this kind of narrows it down who the sender is referring to, and can come back to you. this is just a thought....
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The ONLY reason I made a comment on this is that just the WORD drone raises the hackles of alot of uninformed people...
THAT IS ALL!!!!
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GREAT post!!!!
Being a type 1 on a Medtronic insulin pump, i can TOTALLY relate to all that you have said!
When someone's life is dependent on this technology (insulin delivery and monitoring 24/7/365), anyone interfering with this is jeopardizing life!
I know what it is like to have hyper (high) and hypo (low) blood sugar (glucose) and how close to a coma and/or death you can become.
To the OP,
If it were me in this situation, I would send a link of this thread to your neighbor and have him read over the 5 pages, which shows your concerns along with many others. This will help point out the dangers associated with the use of the jammer. Then if your buddy still can't see the big picture, then maybe it's time to choose a new friend, seriously. I know you mentioned you really liked this guy, so I put myself in your shoes with one of my friends. I know for a fact that I could talk someone out of something, especially my friend. Use logic on their side. Hell if he was that good of a friend I would steal it from him and destroy it
. Sometimes people are blind and it takes someone using a drastic measure to set things straight again.
Anyone report any of these distributors selling these devices or are they all over seas?
If it were me in this situation, I would send a link of this thread to your neighbor and have him read over the 5 pages, which shows your concerns along with many others. This will help point out the dangers associated with the use of the jammer. Then if your buddy still can't see the big picture, then maybe it's time to choose a new friend, seriously. I know you mentioned you really liked this guy, so I put myself in your shoes with one of my friends. I know for a fact that I could talk someone out of something, especially my friend. Use logic on their side. Hell if he was that good of a friend I would steal it from him and destroy it
. Sometimes people are blind and it takes someone using a drastic measure to set things straight again. Anyone report any of these distributors selling these devices or are they all over seas?
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I can relate as well. I'm type 1 diabetic on Omnipod. If my pdm can't communicate with the pod I'm wearing, I can't get reports on my insulin levels or change dosage amounts. If I end up needing to stop insulin for some reason and radio signals are blocked, it wouldn't be doable without ripping the pod off myself, in which case I couldn't put on a new pod until I was in a place without a jammer. Quite dangerous for someone who relies on radio waves to stay alive.
As for FPV devices being overpowered, if they have an FCC ID and have not been altered from what the specs were when applying for the FCC ID, then they aren't doing anything wrong. I'd say most devices marketed mainstream in the US would have such IDs.
N017RW
Premium Pilot
Just Google it.
You have to scroll to the bottom of the ads to see the FCC disclaimer(s).
Only Part-15 devices can be operated by the unlicensed.
It's not the vendor's responsibility to determine if you are licensed at time of purchase so there is no merit to relying on a 'if I can buy it I can use it' Motus operandi.
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