"Jim Hampton" wrote in message ...
Dave,

You are correct, of course. Also, using 20 meters for a 40 mile away
contact would not sit favourably with many folks and might be looked upon
unfavourably by the FCC. Certainly neither I nor many folks would
intentionally interfere with anyone. The unlicensed devices are not
protected and must put up with any interference. Although there exist some
filters to protect amateurs (and likely other users of rf spectrum), they
are not overly efficient. They would tend (I would think) to distort the
BPL somewhat - and the higher the speed, the less distortion the modems can
put up with.

I probably shouldn't even have posted. These were indeed my thoughts, but
the reality is that much of the posting (certainly much of mine) is not
really related to policy. BPL would be related, but most of the posts are
intended to inflame rather than discuss.

Your point, Dave, is well made and is, in fact, current policy with the FCC.
I'd like to think this stuff could coexist with various HF/VHF
communications, but have *severe* reservations about it; especially after
W1RFI and others went through areas with BPL and put the video on the net.

Actually, the BPL question should cause many folks to try and reach some
kind of argreement rather than the constant flames. BPL will affect
amateurs who have passed code exams, amateurs who have not taken a code
exam, CBers, SWL enthusiasts and others.

Certainly there will be 'attacks' (if you will) on some of the UHF/SHF
amateur bands. Some accomodations will have to be made, hopefully with some
spectrum replacement. Pagers and cellphones require bandwidth and now we
have cellphones that take (and transmit) pictures. Wireless cameras will
pass information over the air. The cameras will, most likely, be very low
power and not a concern. Cellphones and similar devices, along with many
other users (hey, digital tv has arrived) will make some demands.
Hopefully, the FCC will try and accomodate everyone as much as possible
(however, don't hold your breath on any government agency - both Republicans
and Democrats are beholden to various, albeit often different, special
interest groups).

What amazes me is that this *one* interest (the power companies with BPL)
may well be allowed to wreck havoc with many (far more than just amateur,
which is what some folks think) users. I'm not even sure how inexpensively
BPL could be rolled out in a rural area. They would either need some kind
of boosters or run a *lot* of rf power at the source. Maybe I'm wrong, but
my thinking is that BPL would likely be targeted at suburbs where many might
live too far away for DSL, but the distribution costs for BPL might not be
too much.

In any case, thanks for your input, Dave.


73 from Rochester, NY
Jim AA2QA

Glad you found an ally in your scheme to interfere. But you should
take it off-line to work out the details. Public postings of
stupidity of such magnitude really won't endear y/our cause to the
FCC. Best of luck.