RE: [Discuss-gnuradio] Fear and loathing of GNURadio in D.C.

[Weber, Michael J. \(US SSA\)]

Steve, thanks for the link...

I think articles like these miss two big points:

1: Software does not cause RF interference (of the magnitude that
disrupts my neighbor's television... yes, I've seen the
video-card-as-AM-broadcast demos too...) It takes some hardware to cause
noticeable interference. Even if you used the USRP to generate a signal
in a band you are not authorized to do so, you would have to take steps
(hardware) to amplify that signal to the point that it would cause
anyone any grief. This fact reduces the problem to the
unlicensed/illegal transmitter problem, which is as old as RF
regulation; software has nothing to do with it.

2: It is far easier and quite a bit cheaper to wreak RF havoc with
existing analog technology you can dig out of junk bins than with SDR...
why is the advance of highly-specialized software among enthusiasts a
larger problem than that? As far as I know, there is no widespread
malicious jamming of broadcast media today even though the capability to
do it is within the reach of those far less studied than SDR developers.

They fear the unknown. Fight the FUD.

$0.02,
Mike

> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> address@hidden 
> [mailto:discuss-gnuradio-bounces+michael.weber=baesystems.com@
> gnu.org] On Behalf Of Steve Schear
> Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 1:50 AM
> To: address@hidden
> Subject: [Discuss-gnuradio] Fear and loathing of GNURadio in D.C.
> 
> 
...

> everything except the antenna and the power source. The FCC 
> can prohibit manufacturers from selling radios that transmit 
> on illegal frequencies, but it would have trouble shutting 
> down a Web site distributing software that does the same thing.
...

> Techies assume they can solve such problems with better 
> software. But regulators have to anticipate that people will 
> try to drown each other out with transmitter power, says 
> Gerald Faulhaber, a former chief economist for the FCC who 
> now teaches at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton 
> School of Business.
> 
> <snip>
> 
> 
> 
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