Lawful, zero-license wireless engineering for builders.
Under FCC rules, you don't need an individual operator license or callsign to run Wi-Fi, LoRa, HaLow, Z-Wave, or 2.4 GHz nodes. Manufacturers certify the silicon under FCC Part 15 and ETSI standards — freeing builders to transmit, encrypt, detect, and monitor legally. This notebook documents real workbench captures, firmware configurations, and passive diagnostic techniques: strictly engineering, no exploits.
The Unlicensed Framework
Compliance boundariesManufacturers handle laboratory testing for spectral masks and spurious emissions. Builders operate legally "by rule" off the shelf without an individual FCC station license.
Unlike amateur radio (where FCC Part 97 bans obscured transmissions), unlicensed ISM/UNII bands allow full AES-128 and AES-256 encryption for private telemetry, smart home security, and mesh routing.
Passive Wi-Fi beacon monitoring, channel congestion checks, and open sensor decoding for site surveys. Strictly diagnostic RF engineering — zero attack methods, jamming, or pentest exploits.
Latest notes
All entries
MeshCore Protocol: Structured Roles, Companion Topology & Repeaters
How MeshCore approaches sub-1GHz LoRa networking: distinct Companion, Repeater, and Room Server roles, deterministic routing paths, and AES-128 framing.
Meshtastic Off-Grid Messaging: Flood Routing, Airtime Budgets & FCC Limits
How Meshtastic builds peer-to-peer LoRa networks: managed flood routing, next-hop direct messaging, channel crypto, and why network hops are not FCC frequency hops.
LoRaWAN in the US: Architecture, US915 Channels, and Part 15 Reality
A builder's guide to LoRaWAN network architecture, US915 uplink/downlink channels, Class A/B/C receive windows, OTAA nonce traps, and FCC Part 15 limits.
Core Reference
ISM allocations across 433 MHz, 868 MHz, 915 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz, including EIRP limits and regional rules.
Preambles, sync words, checksum algorithms, and modulation schemes (OOK, 2-FSK, LoRa, Meshtastic, Z-Wave).
Transceiver breakout pinouts (CC1101, SX1262, SX1276), microcontroller interfacing, and solar node architectures.