said by W1RFI :

I am honor bound to point out that 902-928 MHz is an Amateur Band, ... do you think that Amateur users could use that band for all that relaying that Amigo_boy thinks should be done so that BPL can make strong radio noise in the ham bands?

said by amigo_boy :

Ed, now you're being intentionally provocative. I've suggested more than once that 2 meter or 70 cm can be used. And, in the event of a disaster, 33 cm wouldn't be affected by local power meters that are out of service. It would also not be affected by propagation (common argument against BPL interference of HF, lower frequencies).

said by rf_engineer :

And why do people need the Internet anyway if ...

said by amigo_boy :

False analogy. Various access methods to the Internet are commercial. Not public gifts like hobby radio. Hobby radio is akin to a public park (who's users complain that it must be used exactly a certain way, err... until they themselves become pragmatic and ... oh well.).

said by rf_engineer :

But what's so important about your access to the Internet? It's really just a hobby for you.

said by amigo_boy :

A hobby I (and *billions*) pay for. Not a grant of *public* airwaves to a tiny minority who insist it must be used as [fill in the blank], but then [fill in the blank] and then... "but we're not being inconsistent. There is purity in pragmatism.".

said by amigo_boy :

Ed, now you're being intentionally provocative. I've suggested more than once that 2 meter or 70 cm can be used.

said by W1RFI :

And I suggested another licensed band that could be used.

said by W1RFI :

The relay scheme you propose to allow BPL to make strong noise on the Amateur bands, however, is not a viable alternative,

said by W1RFI :

It is clear that you think that this should be changed.

said by amigo_boy :

This is becoming quite predictable.

Hobby radio should be protected because it serves a public purpose (once every few years). When it's pointed out that only 20-30 people out of 650k licensees participate, the argument in favor of hobby radio changes to something else.

If circumstances have changed (and they obviously have in the past 2-3 decades, increasing the options for emergency communications) the public can "taketh away."

said by W1RFI :

far more than 20 Amateurs participate in EMComm work and that it occurs far more than once every few years.

said by W1RFI :

Your misinformation is intentional, IMHO.

said by W1RFI :

Get back to us when you have completed changing that. Everyone will be most interested in how it turns out.

said by amigo_boy :

How many? And, how often?

What I was referring to was the news reports of 20-30 hobbyists performing communications during the recent Northwest flood. That was portrayed (in this forum) as the reason to protect hobby radio.

Most reasonable people would wonder how significant that is relative to the 650k licensees (which isn't representative of actual active users). If public service is a selling point, perhaps it should be mandatory.

Ditto.

Be careful what you wish for. It seems to me like hobbyists would be better served by looking for ways to be more relevant today, including mandatory service. Taunting the public to go further in disrespecting their hobby seems counter-intuitive to me.

said by amigo_boy :

Be careful what you wish for.

said by amigo_boy :

How many? And, how often?