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Let's say my entire house is 5 stories underground with a lead nuclear sheild and no radio waves get out. Given that no interference will be made, am I allowed to transmit on any frequency (not only ham band) in the faraday cage house?

I guess a more practical situation, can I transmit whatever I want in an RF anechoic chamber? Or does the FCC "own" every point in space for all frequencies.

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  • $\begingroup$ If a bear transmits inside a faraday cage and nobody can hear him, has he transmitted at all? $\endgroup$
    – SDsolar
    Sep 12 '17 at 19:29
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The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) does not "own" space in some divine way, instead it is the US agency that issues licences for transmissions at certain powers and certain frequencies, and it may act to interdict unlicensed transmissions that cause interference to receivers of permitted transmissions (and radio astronomers). The questioner asks about radio frequency equipment that is so thoroughly screened that there is no transmission and that would be no concern of the FCC. In the case of frequencies that went unused after the change of analog TV signal to digital the FCC have expressly relinquished control. http://www.cnet.com/news/fcc-opens-free-white-space-spectrum/

However the activities described if discovered would likely attract negative attention from authorities in countries with little or no tradition for amateur radio, notably Iran, Yemen and North Korea.

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  • $\begingroup$ I fail to see how is the last paragraph useful. What do listed countries have to do with transmissions made in a Faraday cage located in territory supposedly under jurisdiction of FCC? $\endgroup$
    – AndrejaKo
    Mar 24 '15 at 9:56
  • $\begingroup$ AndrejaK - I don't see anything that says the OP is in such territory $\endgroup$
    – Rory Alsop
    Mar 24 '15 at 13:54
  • $\begingroup$ I believe that last paragraph was tongue-in-cheek, and it made me laugh. $\endgroup$
    – SDsolar
    Sep 12 '17 at 19:29

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