W1RFI
join:2003-05-12
Burlington, CT
| reply to bmn
Re: How nice of PowerGrid...
said by bmn  :So, they will gladly make concessions of the HAM operators of the area, but to hell with you if you happen to be a shortwave radio or AM time signal listener ? Nice, real nice. Actually, there are no concessions. As far as licensed Amateurs are concerned, a system must not cause harmful interference. So far, some of the BPL industry is doing that for Amateur Radio reasonably well.
You are right that shortwave broadcast will still be impacted. From what I have seen in most BPL systems, all but the strongest of shortwave stations have interference.
Whether that is a problem will probably depend on complaints. But how many casual shortwave listeners will know that BPL is their noise source? How many will know they can generate a complaint? How many will actually want to literally make a federal case out of their problem? And, if the BPL operator stonewalls a bit, how many will keep at it until it is resolved?
Fortunately for BPL, the AM broadcast band is NOT affected in any of the systems I have seen to date.
I'm curious to see how the Feds are going to feel about Powergrid when they go online and the licensed NIST signals suddenly are gone from the airwaves. It is one thing to interfere with a bunch of hobbyist radio guys, but it is another to interfere with a federal government signal.
In most of the BPL systems I have seen to date, various WWV NIST time signals have been strongly impacted.
Ed Hare, W1RFI@arrl.org |
