[Elecraft] BPL

[w7dah@arrl.net]

Jim -N2EY,

I agree most closely with your last paragraph:

> A big part of the answer to the problem is greater efficiency 
resulting in
> lower consumption. That's part of the Elecraft/QRP concept - 
simplicity
> and technical elegance rather than brute force. Now if we could 
just sell
> BPL on that idea.

I would like to see an expansion upon that key theme a bit too.
A local news story, here in Portland, OR, highlighted a resident of 
nearby SW Washington state; he and his family have not been on the 
power grid for more than 20-years. They currently use a combination 
of wind & solar & battery banks to supply ALL of their suburban 
home's energy requirements. And of course, some attention to 
conservation too. Think about it, this dude never sees an electric 
bill, or a blackout. How many monthly electric bill amounts equals a 
new piece of Elecraft gear, hmmm?

If the same experimental spirit of Ham Radio operators, and even more 
specifically the Hams who build their own gear, like Elecraft-er(s), 
were encouraged more strongly, through increased tax incentives and 
more of a political emphasis on energy independence, perhaps we could 
effectively reduce the need for giant power utilities before those 
same giants reduce the viability of our hobby. There are multiple 
books offered on the ARRL web-site related to energy generation & 
experimentation. Perhaps a greater emphasis and attention to that 
part of our hobby is more desperately needed now than ever before. 
Afterall, Hams of times-gone-by have been instrumental to the 
development of several technologies, why not greater (and more 
commercially viable) energy independence? That isn't likely to happen 
in the open marketplace where it really isn't desirable to the 
political machinery and their corporate pals in the energy industry, 
who would more likely *discourage* innovations which might ultimately 
cut into profit margins. But HAMS ... a non-commercial bunch of 
experimenters, that's a strength, not a weakness.

Personally, I have begun to apply the same techniques often used by 
politicians ... instead of talking BPL with just fellow Hams, I'm 
spreading fear and mis-information, hi-hi, among my friends and 
family members, especially the non-technically inclined ones. Tellin' 
'em about *potential* interference on their stereos, tvs, telephones, 
etc ... and tying it directly to the recent black-out news event in 
the NE to plant the seed of doubt about the power industry's 
reliability and management in general. Heck, the power company here 
in the Portland area (PGE) is a wholly owned division of "ENRON", 
another name that strikes a cord of distrust throughout the public 
and consumers. I mean, HEY, there is a great deal at stake for Hams, 
why play fair? Why just write technical papers and findings that make 
for dry reading that the great un-washed masses aren't likely to heed 
anyhow? Gotta fight fire with fire. Or at least QRM with QRM, in my 
humble opinion.

-- 
73, de Don, W7DAH
http://w7dah.home.comcast.net/