I wonder what he has that radiates in the 700MHz band?
It could be all sorts of things.
When I read the citation my first guess was TV modulators feeding some distribution amps and cable/splitters that are leaking. UHF modulators on OTA channels 56-63 would put out signal between 722 and 770MHz; UHF modulators on cable channels 112-119 would put out signal between 720 and 768MHz.
A signal at a lower frequency that is clipping an amplifier could be generating harmonics in the 700MHz band.
It's kind of ironic, because the broadband companies have been generating unintentional interference to homeowners for a long time (particularly amateur radio operators).
But all the interference continues to plague AM radio from all the things homeowners use and the dirty A/C power. But when a big corporation with lots of money and government influence complains that's different.
So the big corporations that own all the radio stations should form a united front and complain that they can't get an interference free signal to their listeners because of things that the FCC regulates, and this affects their livelyhood. They sure pay enough for licences.
Mark
I think the story leaves a few holes. They mention commercial lighting equipment without stating that was the cause. However ham radio publications have constantly been reporting commercial lighting ballasts causing interference (re wideband noise) and being sold to the general public, and not labeling the units clearly as for commercial use only. These units are readily available in big box retailers (think Home Depot, Lowes, etc) and folks are buying them for home use when they're not to actually be sold for home use. One of the most popular reasons that these are purchased for residential use is using them for marijuana grow lights. The residential units aren't up to the job, so the pot growers buy the commercial ballasts.
Note how the homeowner would not let the FCC come in and seek out the source?
Further evidence is that it's an "unintentional radiator" so it's not a radio transmitter per se'.
My money is on a pot growing operation. And the guy probably doesn't realize it's his ballasts, and he keeps his pot operation going. And of course he won't let them in to track it down. Worth noting -- pot operations are often in attics, and in winter, up in this neck of the woods, investigators look for homes with big clear spots with no snow on roofs. The warm lights of the pot operation melt the snow off the roof above the growing operatiion tipping off locations!
FWIW, my Son lives in Topeka, KS and he is also a ham. After finally getting around to installing an HF transceiver he was plagued with a crapload of wideband interference. He took a portable radio around the neighborhood and determined a pole mounted transformer was the likely cause. He called the power company, and within a day had a guy out to check it out, confirmed the bad transformer, and had it replaced within a couple days. My Son said the guy was super polite and apologetic for the trouble. So, not all power folks are evil 🙂
TIB
The local power comany found a bad lightning device and my noise went from 20+ to S3