[PVRCNC] BPL in NC

[H Hoyt]

 From ARRL letter--

* Progress Energy reaches out to NC hams on BPL: North Carolina amateurs
are getting heard regarding broadband over power line Internet delivery by
a company whose infrastructure would carry such a system. Raleigh, North
Carolina-based Progress Energy has responded to many calls and e-mails
this fall from concerned hams by contacting several local Amateur leaders
and beginning a dialog that will include Amateur Radio in their BPL
testing. In October, Progress Energy network engineer Bill Godwin met
separately with Wake County ARES EC Tom Brown, N4TAB, and Gary Pearce,
KN4AQ, Wake County ARES PIO, and talked by phone with Technical Specialist
Frank Lynch, W4FAL. Godwin wanted to know more about Amateur Radio, what
hams thought problematic with BPL, and who in the amateur community he and
Progress Energy should work with. ARRL North Carolina Section Manager John
Covington, W4CC, and ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare, W1RFI, were identified
as primary persons for Progress Energy to work with. Godwin set a positive
tone by promising that Amateur Radio operators would be part of the next
phase of testing, to begin early in 2004 in Wake County, NC. Godwin asked
about notch filters. It was explained that notching the ham spectrum might
work in a limited sense, but it wouldn't protect other services like
shortwave broadcast listeners, aviation, etc. Progress Energy completed
their Phase I test in the Wakefield area of north Raleigh early last
summer. Phase I was designed to give Progress Energy engineers experience
with the hardware, and let them know if it really worked. Amateur Radio
was not involved in that test, and no Amateur Radio interference
monitoring was conducted. But they have been hearing from hams steadily,
and stridently, ever since. Phase II is planned for the end of 2003 and
early 2004. It will be a larger test and focus more on marketing than
technology, but hams will be invited to participate, and their interest
will be technical. Both Phase I and II tests involve mostly underground
wiring. ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare's testing in areas with underground
wiring showed that substantial interference still occurred, though above
ground wiring was worse. Progress Energy is testing a system manufactured
by Amperion. More information about BPL and Amateur Radio can be found at
the ARRL Web site at www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/ --Thanks to Gary
Pearce KN4AQ, Wake County, NC ARES PIO


-- 
Howard Hoyt N4AF
http://www.qsl.net/n4af
Bluebird Trail
Blounts Creek, NC
27814