Don’t blame me for triggering these false alarms

As well as working for a security company, my hobby is ham radio. In my back yard I have a 60ft tower complete with a high frequency powerful antenna system. My licence which is issued by the Department of Trade and Industry allows me to transmit on various frequency bands using up to 400 watts peak envelope power of RF.

It disturbs me that more and more of these "wireless devices" are coming onto the home market. For several years we have been troubled by some poor quality PIR detectors which are freely available in some of our mega stores and some which have been installed by big names in the industry.

My radio signals have triggered several alarms in my home area and none of the installers concerned seemed aware of RF Immunity Standards or how to cure what is their problem. This does not sit well with the client (my neighbour) when a leading installer tells him that the fault lies with me and my equipment, and that if I wasn't transmitting, the problem would go away. Unfortunately it is not all one way traffic. Many of the peripheral devices connected to such systems actually, in themselves, radiate interference with the short wave bands.

I cannot persuade my neighbour that his sophisticated lighting control system is radiating unwanted interference and blocking my reception.Many items of wireless equipment are reviewed in magazines and much is made of their attributes, ease of installation etc etc, but seldom do we read stated levels of their RF immunity which should be just as important a selling point as their performance.

I wonder what the legal implications are if my transmissions were to repeatedly activate my neighbour's alarm so that police attendance is withdrawn, and then his house is burgled?

Tom Wylie, Video Watchman Systems, Block 3 Unit 1,Dundyvan Industrial Estate, Coatbridge ML5 4AQ