[DX] ARRL BPL Video

[KC8FS@aol.com]

Chip,
You call for additional studies, I suppose by W1RFI and the good folks at the League.  I too am "puzzled"--- only I am puzzled by your request since you gave up your ARRL membership almost 2 years ago.  

Angry? No, not hardly.  That is your choice and I can respect it, even though I don't understand it or agree with it-- especially when the League is the only group fighting for us. 

You ask, "How many of us live --under-- in- the- air, 
 residential power lines?"    I guess my question is how many of us don't?  Unless you live out in the country and generate your own power, how are you actually going to be immune from this garbage? 

I have been fighting my power company for the past 10 months since I moved to this QTH trying to correct a hardware problem adjacent to my house that gives me a constant 24/7 10-20 over S-9 line noise, that is there rain or shine!  It has taken a complaint filed through the Public Service Commission and a threat from the FCC to get them to even look at this.  How responsive do you think the utility companies will be when they roll out this stuff and trash our bands.  I am just grateful to the League for going to bat for us and think all of us need to circle the wagons on this one or we can all start collecting stamps or doing needlepoint.  We need to file our comments with the FCC, contribute to the BPL fund and get others to do the same.  Otherwise, amateur radio is doomed if we don't.  

73,
Hal, KC8FS

In a message dated 8/7/2003 7:43:25 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Chipn1ir writes:

> I must confess that I am puzzled by the anger by some hams over BPL. The only 
> data I have been able to dig out on the web, regarding the US, is a summary 
> of W1RFI's data-taking trip. IF I understand it correctly--and I trust I will 
> be corrected with fact if I am wrong-- W1RFI made measurements well within the 
> near field of the emissions; underneath the lines; generally parallel to the 
> lines;and so on. Is there any data which supports those damning interpretations 
> from an actual ham residence? How many of us live --under-- in- the- air , 
> residential power lines? Is there any record of complaint from a ham in the 
> towns visited by W1RFI regarding RFI from BPL? Has any ham volunteered to assist 
> the ARRL in gathering data from a residence in which the BPL is active, and the 
> ham experiences major QRM? If not, then why not?
> 
> Incidentally, I have tried 8 times to download the video from the ARRL site, 
> without success. This is with a T1 line.
> 
> I have major concerns that if we present 'evidence' which is biased in some 
> way, then we, as a licensed service, will have the argument thrown back at us. 
> We are already seeing how the FCC perceives our use of the  60M band as purely 
> an emergency  service role (which is a valuable role indeed), rather than a 
> hobbyist or technical advancement one. If that is how the FCC sees the future 
> of the amateur service, then why is the issue of BPL so compelling? If there 
> is an emergency, then BPL would be down--and the QRM would be gone (if it 
> really was a problem to start).
> 
> I would be very interested in studies that show that BPL introduces S9+ QRM 
> 30 miles away, or skips to the west coast for example. Is there any US data on 
> that? 
> 
> Please do not respond in anger to my comments. I am merely posing a critique 
> of the data so discussed. I also feel that if there is more data which bears 
> greater applicability, then I, and others, might be so 
> pursuaded.
> 
> 73,
> Chip N1IR