[Hallicrafters] My response to the BPL article

[Rich Oliver]

Ken Brown, WSJ

Dear Ken,

I have read your article "... High-Wire Act Riles Ham-Radio Fans" and 
would like to offer my comments.  I am a 54 year old Ham operator with 
many years of experience working in commercial AM, FM, and TV 
engineering and industrial electronics, and I have held the highest 
classes of Ham and Commercial licenses for a long time.

First, I think Mr. Lindquist may have failed to convey the broad scope 
of Ham Radio.  It is a whole world with so many facets it would take an 
hour just to outline them all, and there are different, overlapping 
communities devoted to each.  One of those facets that receives little 
attention these days is advancing the technical state of the art.  We 
are still working hard to do that and accomplishing more than most 
people know.  To me the most exciting thing about Ham Radio is the 
synergy that takes place among the different Ham communities.  For 
example, DX contacts and the 'chatter' you described early in the 
article help to provide contacts for building emergency networks, those 
networks drive development of vhf repeater systems for enhanced coverage 
areas, and antenna developments help everybody.  The truth is that some 
aspects of Ham Radio would not be impacted much by BPL, most would be 
impacted to some unknown degree, and some like weak signal work are 
likely to become impossible.

Thank you for the comment that "[Hams are] a fairly vocal group that has 
been whipped into a frenzy by their organization".  I needed a good 
laugh.  The sad truth is that the ARRL has become an ineffective 
organization incapable of doing much more than publishing their 
magazine.  I have belonged to the ARRL through most of my years as a Ham 
so think I'm entitled to that opinion.  In truth the potential threat 
posed by BPL to the quarter million Hams (your number - I have not 
checked it) plus the millions of other Americans who listen to 
short-wave broadcasts and use the RF spectrum in other ways deserves an 
alarm.  Sadly the ARRL is no longer capable of sounding a proper one. 
The cry you hear is coming mainly from individual Hams.  They aren't out 
to pick a fight; they are just the canaries in the coal mine sensing 
that first whiff of methane.

How bad can it be?  There are plenty of unknowns but consider this. 
Under good conditions milliwatt level signals - far less power than is 
used in a flashlight - can be heard clearly around the world.  Even with 
careful filtering BPL power levels would exceed that by a large margin. 
  Perhaps some parts of the radio spectrum can be filtered out but the 
fact is that somebody uses and cares about each and every segment of the 
RF spectrum; you simply cannot filter them all out and have anything left.

"Why is this thing a major calamity?"  It depends on how you use radio. 
  If that does not extend beyond listening to commercial stations while 
you commute then the direct effect on you will be minimal.  If you are a 
Ham it will be considerable.  It comes down to asking Hams to justify 
their existence - again.  Hams have risen to the occasion every time 
disaster strikes and provided critical communications until the regular 
channels can resume operation.  This has happened time after time 
following hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and earthquakes.  There are 
other good reasons but that one clearly justifies Ham Radio all by 
itself.  We are the "spare tire" of modern communications; Hams get 
through when all else fails.  Or at least we have until now.

I work at an astronomical observatory in Arizona and light pollution 
kept coming to mind as I read your article.  The parallels are 
remarkable.  Is it OK for me to burn my yard light all night because I 
think its a good idea and I don't care about star gazing?  What about 
the needs of the astronomer whose job just got a little harder?  What 
about the kid next door who does like star gazing - or might if she 
could see them?  Just because your pollution doesn't bother you doesn't 
make it OK.

BPL ultimately benefits the stockholders of utilities companies.  Or at 
least that seems to be what is driving it forward.  I am not convinced 
that there would actually be much profit in it.  The technical obstacles 
appear to have been greatly underestimated and besides, it is clear that 
there are better ways to get the job done.

A twisted pair data cable or a coaxial cable could be run along the 
power lines and carry the data while causing little interference.  For 
that matter why not run an optical fiber with the power lines?  Fiber is 
no longer expensive in the scheme of things; such a system would be much 
more efficient for the utilities and would radiate no interference at 
all.  The utilities could even sell excess bandwidth to recoup the cost 
of the installation.  I believe that a careful accounting would show any 
of those alternatives to have a lower cost/benefit ratio than BPL.

I am not opposed to the utilities sending digital data around their 
network, it is a great idea whose time has come.  It just needs to be 
implemented properly if the utilities hope to maximize profit and 
continue to be good neighbors.

Sincerely,
Richard Oliver, KC9GQ
Flagstaff, AZ