March 2006 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:13915] BPL article
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 20 Mar '06

20 Mar '06

Good AP article about BPL in Manassas -- I don't know where else it has been picked up. Allen Pitts and I both spoke to the reporter. Dave K1ZZ http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-03-19-powerline_x.htm?POE=TECISVA Net over power lines irks amateur radio lovers By Peter Svensson, The Associated Press George Tarnovsky can hear the Internet as he drives down Main Street in Manassas, Va., a rapid rattle emanating from the ham radio in his Chevy Tahoe. <http://images.usatoday.com/_common/_images/clear.gif> Ham radio enthusiast George Tarnovsky checks the interference on his radios in his truck near BPL power lines.<http://images.usatoday.com/tech/_photos/2006/03/20/powerline180.jpg> <http://images.usatoday.com/_common/_images/clear.gif> Ham radio enthusiast George Tarnovsky checks the interference on his radios in his truck near BPL power lines. <http://images.usatoday.com/_common/_images/clear.gif> By Kevin Wolf, AP "Suddenly you hear this incredible signal," Tarnovsky said. The radio interference, which can resemble rapid clicks or the whine of a phone-line modem, comes from a system that provides high-speed Internet access to about 1,000 Manassas customers through their power lines. The interference makes ham radio all but impossible in the Washington, D.C., suburb, Tarnovsky said. But in this fight of old and new, it appears that the old - ham radio has been around for a century - will be left standing. Broadband over power line, or BPL, is in danger of becoming an also-ran in the race to bring broadband Internet to the American home, even as it's overcoming some technical hurdles. BPL is an attractive idea because of the power grid's ubiquity. It has been touted as a "third wire" into the home, a possible competitor to broadband via cable and telephone wires - and a way to bring high-speed service to rural areas underserved by cable and phone companies. However, most of the utilities that have tried it have backed away, largely because of skepticism about the economic viability of the technology in the face of competition. BPL hasn't lived up to its early promise as a rural broadband alternative, either, because of a technical quirk that is also the source of the ham radio frustrations. For broadband, a radio-frequency signal is applied to the power line, much like a high-frequency signal is applied to phone lines to create a digital subscriber line, or DSL. But unlike phone and cable wires, power lines that run above ground can act as large radio antennas, emitting the high-frequency signal as radio waves. According to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national ham radio association, radio waves from an improperly designed system can drown out amateur radio within a quarter of a mile. The antenna nature of the line also means the signal loses its energy quickly, while the line picks up radio noise from the surroundings. A long line running in a rural area needs amplifiers at short intervals, adding to the costs; even so, the signal gets lost after a few miles. The operator of the Manassas broadband system, Communication Technologies, or ComTek, said it has made adjustments to minimize interference. Tarnovsky lives five miles outside the town, but to him, that's no excuse for interfering with ham radio bands. He said the Internet signal threatens the communications services that ham radio operators can provide from their cars in emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina. "If we see interference, regardless of where it is, we have to report it to the FCC," he said. The Federal Communications Commission has generally spoken warmly about BPL's potential, but this month, after two years of complaints from ham radio operators, the FCC told Manassas to eliminate any harmful interference. Nonetheless, some companies are pushing forward, and some variants of the technology now get the thumbs-up from the national ham radio group. The ARRL is optimistic about trials conducted with Motorola's BPL technology, which uses only the short line from the nearest transformer to the home, using wireless links in place of the interference-causing long lines. It also has no problem with the USA's other major commercial BPL deployment, in Cincinnati, which uses a different technology. There, local utility Cinergy formed a joint venture with Current Communications of Germantown, Md., to sell broadband for $30 a month. It's available to about 50,000 homes, but officials won't say how many have signed up. Current is starting this year on a much larger deployment with utility TXU, covering 2 million homes in Texas, mainly in the Dallas area. It will use the next generation of its technology, allowing speeds up to 10 megabits per second, 10 times as fast as Cincinnati's and faster than most cable and DSL broadband links. For the hams, though, it's still too early to heave a sigh of relief. They say BPL systems that interfere with their bands are still allowed under FCC rules. They want tougher regulations now that non-interfering technologies such as Current's and Motorola's are available.

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[arrl-odv:13914] Terms of reference for band planning committee
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 20 Mar '06

20 Mar '06

The Executive Committee discussed draft terms of reference for the ARRL MF/HF Band Planning Committee at its March 11 meeting. Following the meeting, a revised draft was circulated to the EC and approved by mail vote as per attached, 73, David Sumner, K1ZZ Secretary

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RE: [arrl-odv:13911] New Harmonic on the way
by Joel Harrison 19 Mar '06

19 Mar '06

Congrats there "OM" ! Joel -----Original Message----- From: Brian Mileshosky [mailto:n5zgt@swcp.com] Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 10:48 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:13911] New Harmonic on the way Hi Everyone -- This information has recently become declassified -- the Mileshosky's are expecting our first harmonic! Katelyn and I are really excited, and the due date appears to be October 2nd. So here's the thought: Ticket by 1, pounding brass by 2, DXCC by 3. 73, Brian, N5ZGT ARRL Vice Director, Rocky Mountain Division

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[arrl-odv:13912] Broadband-in-Gas
by Mike Raisbeck 19 Mar '06

19 Mar '06

Anyone notice the item on page 23 of the latest IEEE Computer Society magazine "Computer" on Broadband over Gaspipes? It looks like a broadband node based network of tranceivers mounted on people's gas meters. Oh goodie ... Mike K1TWF ----------------------------------- Law Office of Michael N. Raisbeck Phone: (978) 250-1235 Fax: (978) 250-0432 Email: k1twf(a)arrl.net CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email may contain privileged and confidential information intended only for the above-named recipient. If you have received this in error, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, or copying is strictly prohibited. In such case, please notify us by reply email and delete this message.

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[arrl-odv:13911] New Harmonic on the way
by Brian Mileshosky 19 Mar '06

19 Mar '06

Hi Everyone -- This information has recently become declassified -- the Mileshosky's are expecting our first harmonic! Katelyn and I are really excited, and the due date appears to be October 2nd. So here's the thought: Ticket by 1, pounding brass by 2, DXCC by 3. 73, Brian, N5ZGT ARRL Vice Director, Rocky Mountain Division

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[arrl-odv:13910] Letter from Rep. Heather Wilson
by Brian Mileshosky 19 Mar '06

19 Mar '06

Hi Everyone -- Yesterday I received a letter from Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM), in response to the H. Res. 230 letter mailed to her. A few key paragraphs: "BPL could give the American people a competitive choice for broadband communications. But I have also heard from others that they are concerned about interference with radio frequencies." "Mr. Ross' resolution has been referred to the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Internet. I am a member of this subcommittee and I will keep your thoughts in mind as this resolution makes its way through the committee." 73, Brian, N5ZGT

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[arrl-odv:13909] Fwd: Project report, or How to explain it
by Andy Oppel 18 Mar '06

18 Mar '06

Nevada Section Manager Dick Flanagan is absolutely correct... this really is too good not to share.... >This is too good not to share. > >http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5125780462773187994&q=rockwell > >Dick >-- >Dick Flanagan K7VC NV SM >E-mail: k7vc(a)arrl.org

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[arrl-odv:13908] Re: Wireless Bureau Restructuring and Creation of Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau at FCC
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 17 Mar '06

17 Mar '06

Greetings from Germany. While initially I thought it might be nice to ride along with public safety, after looking at the list of stuff that's going into the new Bureau I'm glad we're staying put. I don't want to have to battle for the attention of Bureau staffers who are dealing with CALEA, 911/E911, and non-wireless network issues. We'd be completely overlooked in there. Dave DL/K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:13907] Wireless Bureau Restructuring and Creation of Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau at FCC
by w3kd＠aol.com 17 Mar '06

17 Mar '06

In an effort to appear responsive to Congress' perception of the failures of communications during the aftermath of 9/11 and the last Hurricane season, the FCC has created, as it long ago told Congress it would, a "Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau". The Executive Committee discussed this at length at its meeting last weekend. We were not sure where Amateur Radio would land in the process. There was some sentiment that, if the entire Critical Infrastructure Division of the Wireless Bureau went to this new PS/HS Bureau, we might be better off. I firmly believed that. This morning, the FCC at its open meeting, adopted the order to create the new Bureau. It was not clear from the Office of Managing Director at the open meeting what was going to be taken from the WTB and moved over to PS/HS. However, the very last question that was asked at the press briefing of Acting Managing Director Anthony Dale after the meeting was about that subject. According to Dale, the Amateur Service will stay with the Wireless Bureau. He was asked what would happen to the Critical Infrastructure and Private Wireless part of the "Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division" which is Mike Wilhelm's Division. It is apparently being broken up, and the private wireless part (i.e. power companies, taxicabs, personal radio, aviation and marine, and Amateur Radio) is staying in WTB and the Public Safety part is moving to the new PS/HS bureau. There was discussion about 800 MHz, for example, being moved over to PS/HS because most of 800 MHz is now Public Safety. So, this is a bit of a mishmash, and the spectrum protection benefits of being in a "Homeland Security" Bureau appears, for us, to be an opportunity lost, at least for now. More when we know it. 73, Chris W3KD

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Comment about Hello Campaign Announcement
by JIM WEAVER, K8JE 16 Mar '06

16 Mar '06

A member shared the following with me about his reaction to the Hello Campaign. Nice reaction to good work: "Oh, by the way, I was at the ARRL website a little earlier today and noticed those "Hello!" audio and video spots. They sound (and look) great--good job!. "73, Fred W8LLY" Jim, K8JE Jim Weaver, K8JE Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL; http://www.arrl.org/ Chairman, ARRL ad hoc Legislative Action Committee 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040 Tel.: 513-459-0142; E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio Is! MEMBERS: The reason ARRL Is!

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