Disclaimer & Regulatory Boundaries

1. Not Legal Advice (I Am Not an Attorney)

The author and contributors to OpenRF Note are not attorneys or lawyers, and nothing on this website constitutes legal advice.

All technical notes, frequency allocations, regulatory summaries, FCC Part 15 interpretations, equipment authorization guidance, and rule references are provided strictly for general educational, hobbyist, and engineering reference purposes only. No attorney-client relationship is created by using or reading this site.

Radio frequency spectrum regulations are complex, jurisdiction-dependent, and subject to administrative interpretation and revision. You are solely responsible for ensuring that your own hardware configurations, power levels, and transmissions comply with all applicable local, federal, and international laws. If you require legal advice or regulatory compliance verification, consult a licensed telecommunications attorney or an accredited testing laboratory.

2. Engineering & Diagnostics Only (No Exploits or Pentesting)

OpenRF Note is strictly an RF engineering and diagnostic notebook. It is not a penetration testing or offensive security resource.

We do not document, teach, host, or publish RF exploits, penetration testing attack vectors, signal jamming, denial-of-service or deauthentication attacks, replay attacks on secured locks, packet injection, or methods to defeat access controls — whether conducted with or without permission.

All detection methods, packet sniffing, and spectrum monitoring techniques covered here are strictly passive diagnostics. They are used for verifying your own nodes on the bench, measuring ambient channel congestion, mapping Wi-Fi RSSI dead zones, and hunting background noise floors before deploying lawful field hardware.

3. FCC Regulation & Lawful Operation

In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates all radio frequency devices and spectrum under Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Open-source radio hardware does not grant anyone the right to operate outside the law. This project strictly adheres to FCC Title 47 CFR Part 15 governing unlicensed intentional and unintentional radiators, as well as equivalent regional standards abroad (such as ETSI in Europe).

We do not support pirate broadcasting, unauthorized high-power amplification, or transmitting on licensed public safety, cellular, aviation, or maritime frequencies.

4. How Unlicensed Operation Works (Operation by Rule)

Unlike amateur radio (which requires an individual operator license and callsign) or commercial cellular spectrum (which requires carrier frequency leases), end users do not need a personal license to transmit on Wi-Fi, LoRa, HaLow, Z-Wave, or Bluetooth.

This is made possible through Equipment Authorization and Modular Approval. Hardware manufacturers submit silicon and modules to accredited testing laboratories to prove compliance with spectral mask, harmonic suppression, and out-of-band emissions limits before being granted an FCC ID. Because the manufacturer certified the equipment, end users are authorized to operate "by rule" right out of the box.

The Builder's Responsibility: When designing carrier boards or attaching external antennas, builders must ensure total radiated energy stays within legal limits. Under FCC rules, EIRP = Conducted Transmit Power + Antenna Gain - Cable Loss. Attaching an excessively high-gain directional antenna to a maximum-power transmitter can turn a compliant device into an illegal emitter.

5. Electrical, Grounding & RF Exposure Safety

RF transmitters, outdoor masts, lithium battery banks, and solar charge controllers introduce real physical risks:

• RF Exposure: Always adhere to safe Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) boundaries under FCC OET Bulletin 65. Never look down high-gain directional antennas while transmitting.
• Outdoor Grounding: Any outdoor mast or antenna feedline must be grounded with a lightning surge arrestor before entering a building.
• Power Systems: Outdoor lithium-ion (18650/21700) and LiFePO4 battery banks must include fused short-circuit protection and battery management systems (BMS).

6. Funding, Patreon & Early Access

To help cover hosting, domains, and hardware bought for testing, OpenRF Note accepts optional memberships through the Patreon it shares with WSNY332. Payments are handled by Patreon under its own terms and privacy policy; this site never receives card or bank details.

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