[South Florida DX Association] BPL Interference
William Shirley
[email protected]
Fri, 8 Aug 2003 00:21:14 -0400
My God... I thought it was hype till I saw / heard this video!!
I'm typing up my comments to the FCC tonight!
Thanks guys for bringing this to my attention!
Randy
N4QV
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Kleber" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2003 10:15 AM
Subject: Fw: [South Florida DX Association] BPL Interference
> As a follow-up to W2CQ's/NA2Ms earlier messages regarding BPL, and the
field
> tests of W1RFI, a video has been posted on the ARRL's website showing test
> receiver audio & video. The result of BPL (Broadband over Power Lines)
> would be disastrous for ALL amateur enthusiasts, including DXers.
>
> The direct link to the video is:
>
> * High speed connection - http://216.167.96.120/BPL_Trial-web.mpg
> * Dial-Up connection - http://216.167.96.120/BPL_Trial-small.mpg
>
> If you would prefer to click on the video link from the article:
>
> * Go to the article http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/08/08/2/?nc=1
> * Scroll down a page or so to the blue box in the center of the screen.
> * Click on high speed or dial-up link to video.
>
> If this gets your attention PLEASE, PLEASE let the FCC know how you feel
> about it. (As of typing this e-mail, 2138 others have filed their
comments)
>
> Here's how to file a comment on BPL.
>
> * Go to the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System page at
> http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/
> * In the "EFCS MIAN LINKS" box in the upper right hand corner click on
> "SUBMIT A FILING"
> * In Box #1 type in "03-104", the number assigned to the BPL Proceeding
> * (No need to check box #11)
> * In Box#12, "DOCUMENT TYPE" is be "COMMENT", which should be the default.
>
> Comments may be typed into a form or you may attach a file containing your
> comments. Do not include links to information not contained in your
> document as the server will reject your comment.
>
> It would be a sad day for amateur radio if BPL were allowed to move
forward.
> I have submitted my comments to the FCC. HAVE YOU?
>
> Very 73,
> Fred, K9VV
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Bill Marx
> To: aSFDXA
> Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 6:18 PM
> Subject: [South Florida DX Association] BPL Interference
>
>
> Here is an interesting note sent to me by Bill NA2M of the NNJDXA
> -Bill W2CQ
>
>
>
> This may be a repeat of the message I sent this past weekend.
> Bill - NA2M
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> ------------------------------------------------
> From: Joel Gilly
> Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 11:41 AM
> Subject: BPL in Emmaus, PA and My Meeting with Ed Hare.
>
> Gentlemen,
>
> As I had mentioned previously, Ed Hare W1RFI and ARRL Lab Manager, was
> stopping over in the Lehigh Valley, PA on Wednesday as part of a three
> state
> sweep to monitor and collect data about BPL. I had the pleasure of
meeting
> and spending time with Mr. Hare on Wednesday morning and had the
> opportunity to witness the effects BPL has on the Amateur HF bands.
>
> On Tuesday night, my cell phone rang and when I answered, it was Mr.
Hare.
> He was in the Valley, in Dorneyville, and wanted to touch base with me
> before our meeting the following morning. I was in West Chester at the
> time
> visiting my son, but Mr. Hare had mentioned that he had already swung
> through Emmaus that evening to make a preliminary assessment of the area.
>
> On Wednesday morning, I met Mr. Hare at the Comfort Suites in
Dorneyville.
> After the introductions, during which he presented me a copy of the
"ARRL
> RFI Book", we discussed a rough agenda, then loaded into his well-used
> Subaru wagon replete with measuring equipment and a Buddi-pole portable
> compact dipole strapped to the roof rack, and headed off towards Emmaus.
> The area in Emmaus that is being used by PPL for the BPL test is in the
> area
> of Pine St. just behind Emmaus High School and the East Penn School
> District
> Administrative building. We drove around to find a spot were we could
> setup
> to do some measurements. Mr. Hare had selected a spot the previous
evening
> that he thought might be a good area to listen to and measure BPL's radio
> signature. We parked outside a residence and he began setting up his
> equipment.
>
> Mr. Hare is using a very simple set-up in order to make an estimate of
the
> field strength of signals that he is interested in. Strapped to the back
> seat of the Subaru was a wooden palette that contained a deep cycle
> battery,
> an inverter, a step RF attenuator, an ICOM PCR-1000 receiver, and his
> laptop
> computer running custom data acquisition and processing software that Mr.
> Hare
> authored. As mentioned before, he used a Buddi-Pole compact loaded
> dipole mounted in a tripod strapped to the roof rack as the antenna. The
> measurement process involves using the sound card in the laptop PC as an
> audio voltmeter. It is first desirable to calibrate the system by first
> measuring the noise generated by the soundcard and the receiver without
the
> antenna attached. The antenna is attached, and the attenuator is
adjusted
> until the desired signal is audible just above the noise floor. The
> software is then
> used to sample the audio an that is processed to determine the RMS value
> based
> on the 9 kHz bandwidth that the FCC specifies for emissions from Part 15
> devices
> in the HF band. A calculation is then performed against this value
taking
> into account the
> parameters of the receiver system (radio, feed line, and antenna) to
> determine the dbuV/M
> fields strength of the signal. It is a simple and elegant system that
Mr.
> Hare feels will
> produce the consistent and high quality data that will be needed to
address
> the Amateur Radio
> communities about BPL to the FCC.
>
> The real eye-opening part of the day was to listen to BPL in action on
the
> HF bands. Mr. Hare disconnected the PCR-1000 and replaced it with a
> Kenwood TS-440 and we listened to several amateur bands. The type of BPL
> used
> in the Emmaus area (there are several "flavors" which Mr. Hare showed
> later) creates an impulse type noise on the bands. It sounds very much
> like a
> Geiger counter. The noise generated is very broad banded and can be
> heard continuously up-and-down the bands. It seemed to be strongest on
21
> MHz
> and faded below 5 MHz and a little above 24 MHz, but this may have been
due
> to our receive antenna not being optimized for those frequencies. BPL
> created
> a consistent S5 to S7 noise level on the bands. We listened for a while
> to 14.060 Mhz to hear what it would sound like on a popular frequency.
> Some faint CW stations in the background could be heard, but the opinion
> was
> that they would be "un-copyable" under the circumstances. We then got
back
> in the car and began driving around the area listening to the radio and
the
> noise. As we got farther away from the test area, the noise faded
> dramatically. A few blocks from our initial location, the noise level
had
> dropped dramatically to S1 to S2, the typical "quiet band" conditions.
>
> We then drove to an area that had BPL, but had it's electrical service
> delivered through underground feeds. In this case, we pulled up outside
> a residence that was owned by an engineer Mr. Hare had contacted about
BPL
> and who had an Amateur Radio operator living near him. In this case, the
> noise generated was somewhat reduced, but still around the S5 level
outside
> the residence. It was clear from this example, that if you were a ham
> living next door to this person, your operating conditions would be
greatly
> compromised.
>
> Later, we drove around again to attempt to find a "hot spot". In the
areas
> that had BPL, it was interesting to note the changing profile of the
noise
> as we roved around the area. Every time we passed a utility pole, the
> noise
> level peaked dramatically. We arrived at one area that exhibited a
> significant increase over neighboring areas. This area happened to be a
> pole that contained a BPL injection point. The noise present at this
> location was unprecedented. On the Kenwood, I noted a consistent S9 to
> S9+10 noise level. I tuned up to around 14.200 and found a 5 call area
> station in QSO with CY9A. The five was copyable, but CY9A was much
> weaker, and the noise would have rendered a QSO with the station
> unmanageable.
> Mr. Hare then disconnected the TS-440 and made some field strength
> measurements. His measurements revealed field strengths well in excess of
> FCC limits.
>
> We then packed up and stopped for lunch. During lunch, we discussed the
> ARRL ARIA project and BPL. Mr. Hare explained that while the aim of the
> ARIA project is much broader than BPL, it will be instrumental in
gathering
> evidence to support the ARRL's position on BPL. He also touched on some
> ancillary issue regarding BPL. On of the interesting points regarded the
> limits on conducted signals versus radiated signals from BPL. He
explained
> that some BPL systems are looking to use very high power levels and that
> these levels could exceed the design limits of other devices plugged into
> electrical outlets. Another point was that the FCC mandated field
strength
> levels were specified under certain conditions. The vagaries of the
> various
> BPL schemes and implementations can provide "wiggle room" for BPL
> implementers pass the FCC requirements while still creating systems that
> will adversely affect amateur communications. As Mr. Hare pointed out,
> an overhead electrical line is just a large radiator of an arbitrary
size.
> The radiation pattern developed by such a line could take the main lobe
> outside of the test measurement area, but still present a significant
> problem
> for amateur radio signals. Therefore, an integral part of the project is
> to
> gain "real world" experience about the affects of BPL on amateur
> communications. Still another question is how BPL will affect other
users
> of the HF radio spectrum. Right now, the Amateur Radio community is the
> only organized response to BPL. Mr. Hare hopes that when the data he and
> others are gathering is made public, other organizations will come
on-board
> and voice their concerns about BPL.
>
> After lunch, we went out to the parking lot of the hotel and talked some
> more. Mr. Hare showed me a video tape he had made of his visit to Briar
> Cliff Manor, NY (near White Plains), another BPL test site. In that
> video, he is shown driving around with the TS-440 tuned to the 20m
amateur
> frequencies. As he drives around the area, he tunes around the band.
> It can be heard clearly that on frequency after frequency, block after
> block, the band is filled with extremely loud "birdies". It almost made
> the
> Emmaus experience seem bearable. The frightening thing about what I saw
> was
> that the situation will only get worse. The interference that I heard in
> Emmaus is directly related to the amount of internet activity. As more
and
> more users come on-line, the crackling of the "Geiger counter" will get
> more
> and more persistent. We saw BPL in the day at low usage levels. I can
> only
> imagine what it might be like at peak usage hours.
>
> All-in-all, it was on of the most enlightening experiences I have ever
had.
> I am extremely thankful to M. Hare for inviting me along. I hope that
> in the near future, I can organize my material for the purposes of making
a
> presentation to the DLARC and possibly the LARC.
>
> If you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact
> me.
>
> Thank you for your time.
>
> Regards,
> Joel M. Gilly
> AKrion, LLC.
> (610) 530-3213
>
>
>
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